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In its 2021 report to the public, the Lithuanian Council for Culture presents the directions of funding programmes for culture and art, and the main trends in the funding of the areas. It contains General Data disclosing that in 2021, more than EUR 21 million were distributed from what is now the former Culture Support Fund. In the report, you can also become acquainted with the funding structure, funding intensity, and the distribution of project and grant funding by area.

The report presents the detailed structure of the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the scope of work of the Members of the Council and the administration, operating results, and the average remuneration paid.

In order to encourage artists and cultural professionals to pursue individual creative activities and professional development, more than EUR 2.3 million were distributed by providing 925 individual grants. The largest number of grants were given in the fields of music (241), theatre (123) and interdisciplinary arts (103). We were pleased to see that in 2021, men and women submitted the same number of applications for creative ideas. However, for the first time since 2014, more men received funding for their initiatives. Men submitted the most applications in the fields of photography, music and architecture, while women were more active in the fields of library, museums, design and dance.

To strengthen the multifaceted development of culture and art, education and accessibility for every member of society, EUR 18.6 million were allocated to fund 1,723 projects in 2021. The largest funding was allocated to projects in the fields of music, museums and theatre, and literature. The funded projects were carried out in 172 Lithuanian cities and towns. Unfortunately, as many as a quarter fewer dissemination projects were implemented abroad in 2021 than in 2018-2020 due to the pandemic. However, art residency funding increased as much as three-fold to EUR 1.7 million.

In order to ensure sustainable regional cultural development and promote the diversity of creative expressions, local cultural identity and mutual cooperation, a total of EUR 3.3 million was allocated to projects in the Sustainable Regional Cultural Development Programme, which were implemented in 10 Lithuanian counties. The projects in Šiauliai County received the most funding, and the municipalities in this county also provided the largest additional contribution to the financing of cultural projects – over EUR 357 thousand. Meanwhile, additional funding for regional projects increased the most in Marijampolė County – by as much as 169%. Ethnic culture and folk art, music, and library initiatives dominated in the counties.

You can read the Lithuanian Council for Culture’s full 2021 public activity report here. To become acquainted with the Lithuanian Council for Culture’s detailed 2021 operational plan implementation report, click here.