The rates of participation have steadily decreased from 1991 to 2000, the main reason being the severe decline in personal income (over 90% of the total population has focused their interests on basic survival). In the same period, most of the cultural institutions have shifted from full state-funding to partial self-funding. This means they had to concentrate more on fundraising (by leasing their premises), while performances and audiences were only second priorities.
Since 2001, audience figures have slightly increased. This can be explained by the increase in the number of institutions, e.g. in the case of museums (from 66 in 2000 to 112 in 2013) and libraries (from 1 372 in 2001 to 1 380 in 2013), as well as by the diversification and improvement of their cultural services.
The number of visits to national museums increased by 11.6% (201 800 visits in 2013) as compared to 2012 (174 400 visits). The number of visitors increased thanks to museum programmes dedicated to the International Museum Day and European Night of Museums. The museums organised 137 exhibitions of their own collections dedicated to different events in the national history and culture, 1 963 guides, 460 scientific, educational (conferences, symposia, seminars) and cultural-educational activities.
The number of visitors to public libraries in 2013 was 827 100; the number of virtual visits was 2 965 400 and increased significantly (58.4%) compared to 2012 (1 871 600).
In 2013, 44 books were published, with a circulation of 55 000 copies. The number of books in public libraries increased in 2013 to 403 000 units, including 350 100 units in Romanian.
During 2013, national libraries conducted scientific activities and edited a number of publications: bibliographies, promotional editions, specialised periodicals, analyses, more than 20 titles. The national library has circa 20 000 users.
The activity of National Libraries covered both their direct responsibilities, as well as organising more than 100 national and international activities, such as: the International Book Fair for Children and Youth, IV-th edition of the International Poetry Festival “Grigore Vieru” (location Chişinău – Iaşi), XXIII-rd edition of the Literary Contest “The fountains of wisdom”, the National campaign “Children of Moldova read a book” and the XXII edition of the International Book Fair which was attended by more than 300 publishing houses with 6 000 book titles. There were over 150 book launches.
The National Book Chamber organised various cultural and scientific activities, and registered 2 366 titles; the archive reached 10 069 pieces. Also, 6 issues of the national bibliography of Moldova were published.
84 171 cultural-artistic events were organised and conducted in the regions (including 31 834 for children and teenagers), attended by 10 466 600 spectators (including 3 680 600 children and teenagers).
2 998 performances were presented in 2013, with 4.5% more than in 2012, 46 new stagings, 526 tours held in the country, 11 tours abroad, with a total number of 478 400 spectators. There were also 112 charity concerts and performances, 137 visual art exhibitions, book salons and fairs.
Despite a slight economic stabilisation in the Republic of Moldova, the financial possibilities of the population are quite modest. Most spectators cannot afford the cost of a ticket which are sometimes equal to their monthly salary (for example, the average salary in the cultural field is 1 350 MDL, while a ticket to the famous Spivakov’s chamber orchestra in Chisinau cost around 2 000 MDL (EUR 125) in 2009.
Annually, there are over 30 national and international festivals, contests, fairs and about 65 329 local cultural activities in the Republic of Moldova with an audience of over 9 000 000 people.
Table 6: Cultural participation rates, 2006-2013
| Institution | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theatres and concerts | 626 000 | 614 000 | 599 000 | 515 000 | 522 000 | 520 000 | 568 000 | 478 400 |
| Museums | 540 100 | 542 400 | 542 400 | 531 000 | 950 000 | 957 217 | 828 693 | 821 319 |
| Libraries | 9 800 700 | 9 222 650 | 9 780 500 | 7 210 240 | 8 253 700 | 8 591 900 | 7 888 000 | 8 271 000 |
Source: National Statistical Bureau, Ministry of Culture, 2013.
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