08 October 2019 - Prime Minister Duško Marković opened a conference titled Montenegro Creative Forum by noting that the Government will not save money when it comes to culture, that the Government encourages culture and artists in this area in many ways and that the aim is to link culture and economy in further branding of the country and that in that regard the Government expects support from artists.
"Nowadays, Montenegro has encouraging legislation in the field of film, thus showing that we hear and understand the needs of creators. In parallel, we firmly encourage festivals to position our country as a desirable cultural address in this segment. For the first time, at the prestigious festival Art Market in Budapest, we stood as the State behind works of visual artists and related art creators and made them increasingly visible at the European level. The linking between the culture and the economy, as a new approach to art, is supported through the programme "Creative Montenegro", which is used by 11 authors from creative industries. Finally, during its mandate, the Government will, together with its partners, invest over EUR 3 million to support this sector. Furthermore, we have been working on the development and affirmation of creative industries as a new field of cultural and entrepreneurial activity," Prime Minister Duško Marković stated at the opening of the conference, reports his Office.
The Prime Minister recalled that Montenegro has become, in a short time, the only country in the region to allow the establishment of cultural businesses by directly supporting artists and by recognising the era of information, technology and design of artistic expression.
Prime Minister Duško Marković stated that culture has been recognised for centuries as a soft power of a state, that is, one of the attributes of its strength and dignity, and that in this era culture must be used for the purpose of contemporary strengthening of the state, not only in terms of its identity and tradition, but also development and entrepreneurship.
"Recognising the needs of preserving national and cultural identity, recognising the needs of artists and their audiences, the Government and the Ministry of Culture are committed to creating new cultural policies. They have already yielded the first results and international visibility of Montenegro. Trends in the world, from the traditional notion of culture and cultural policies, have moved to the modern concept of valorisation. In a time of technological advancement, and in a crowded market that offers new opportunities, art becomes much more than the personal expression of the author. That is why our common task is to put rich creative potential in the service of entrepreneurial ideas and put them into practice, that is, create new social values. To make art, as the most prominent culture, actually become an exact product in the market sense of the word, and contribute to the national economy and higher standard of living of our citizens. Over the very first year of dealing with creative culture, Montenegro has decided to develop its art brands in this segment as well, such as big and famous names of classical art: Lubarda, Milunović, Stijovic, Poček, Šobajić, Popović and many others… Therefore, I see this conference not only as a dialogue on paving the future path of the Montenegrin culture, but as the beginning of a process of even stronger support for the creative sector," Prime Minister Duško Marković concluded.
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