One of the most unresolved issues of the relationship between a country and its artists has to do with the support artists received to develop their work; individually, through scholarships or residencies, or collectively, through so-called cultural industries.
This debate has grown in response to the recent modifications made to Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte (SNCA) call for applications that have been criticized by some of its beneficiaries because the community had not been consulted.
According to economist Ernesto Piedras when asked about the relationship between culture, money and economics, research outlining the different forms that culture can take has not been carried out in Mexico, or in other parts of the world.
“There is a culture that is profitable, that can operate according to market mechanisms. How can you support it? Through training or with productive funds, as it is already happening; but there is another culture that is not profitable, that has no positive rebates, even though it is socially needed and desirable. At this point economy cannot be explained or loses its capacity to explain. Which is the value of culture? Is it the economic contribution of industries protected by copyright in Mexico?"
Irma Caire, Director of Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (Fonca), considers that the State should support culture for a reason that stands alone and that is not affected by controversies: “Culture is a fundamental part of a country’s development. It is one of the foundations of a country, of its identity, of a nation’s spiritual growth. Every citizen has the right to culture and because of this, every state must support creativity”.
Culture is necessary, but not always profitable
La Vanguardia,
30 July 2013, Mexico
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