Opinions & Interviews

“Over the past years we concentrated on the development of the physical infrastructure of cultural institutions,” Boris Svetlov said. Under the new program, the emphasis will be shifted to artistic potential of the individual, the spectator, the consumer of art, Boris Svetlov underlined.

According to him, first of all, the purpose of art is to nurture the ethic standards which have been here from time immemorial, and which should be respected for a society to be able to exist. Culture can be seen as a means for safe and secure existence.

Speaking about the management of culture, the Minister noted that the levers may be different: administrative and financial ones. “By investing in certain projects, we designate the areas of development of culture. Another thing is that we cannot direct art. Because art is a very individual process and any intervention is impossible and unacceptable,” Boris Svetlov noted.

The Minister also raised the issue of optimization in the system of culture. Optimization is usually perceived as a set of measure to improve the functioning of any system, including the system of culture. “Today we live in the new economic realities. We need new thinking and pursue the optimization based on it,” the Minister said. We are talking, first and foremost, about the quality of management in culture, he added.