The government approved how the status of an artist should function

Prague - The conditions under which people working in the cultural sector can apply for artist status were approved by the government today. The amendment to the law is intended to assist primarily those outside employment relationships. Minister of Culture Martin Baxa (ODS) informed about the approval after the cabinet meeting. The proposal from his office includes a definition of artist status. It is estimated that state support for artists will amount to 126 million crowns annually, mainly for artistic scholarships. The proposal is expected to affect approximately 1,400 individuals. This is indicated in the background materials for the proposal on the government website. The necessity of legislatively establishing artist status has been discussed since the COVID-19 pandemic, during which state measures significantly restricted the possibility of artistic production. The amendment could take effect from January 1 of next year.

According to Baxa, the proposal is based on practices in other EU countries and reflects the specific position of artists who do not have employment contracts. It also includes a mechanism that should help artists obtain support in emergency situations, Baxa told journalists.

According to the proposal, a person who has been engaged in artistic activity for at least two out of the last three years could be registered based on a submitted application. To receive the grant, they must not be a student and, at the time of application submission, must not be in an employment relationship that exceeds half of the weekly working hours. Additionally, their income from artistic activity for the last two years must constitute at least half of their total income and must not exceed the average wage. According to the proposal, which will now be assessed by the Chamber of Deputies, the Ministry will announce a selection process for providing scholarships at least once a year, including rules and deadlines for submitting applications for scholarships.

According to the authors, the law is mainly intended to help individuals who engage in artistic activity primarily outside employment relationships. "The collected background analyses indicate that this is the most vulnerable group of artists, who face numerous disadvantages and obstacles in performing their profession," states the law's background materials. The establishment of artist status is part of the National Recovery Plan, which defines reforms and investments for which the European Union will provide funding.

The National Recovery Plan was created to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and to restart the economy using European funds from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility in the years 2021 to 2027. Last September, the European Commission approved its revised form and simultaneously increased the amount of money allocated for the Czech Republic by 2.2 billion euros to 9.2 billion euros (232.5 billion crowns).