WATCH: Malta To Announce COVID-19 Initiatives For Artists In The Coming Weeks, Minister Says
A number of initiatives to help the arts sector will be announced in the coming weeks and month, Arts Minister Jose Herrera said.
Herrera told Lovin Malta that the ministry has been in close contact with the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA), which has consistently voiced its concerns about artists’ livelihood.
“Through Arts Council and the Ministry, in the coming weeks and months we will be releasing a number of initiatives to keep helping this sector,” Herrera said.
“I will be having a meeting with the top players of my ministry – the chairman of Arts Council Malta, the director of Festivals Malta, and my consultants – to see how what the best way to use our funds during COVID-19 is.”
During a press conference with the Chamber of Commerce yesterday, the MEIA proposed that people in Malta should be given €20 vouchers to spend on the arts.
“People working in the cultural sector – especially the performing arts – are bound to badly affected. Their work requires interaction with people, they need audiences, and therefore, they are badly affected,” Herrera continued.
“I agree that art workers need to be treated as a priority and I believe that they should benefit from the maximum that the government can allocate.”
Currently, there are 4,924 people employed in the industry in Malta – this includes arts, entertainment, publishing, film, TV, sound, libraries and museums.