The Plateia – Association of Performing Arts Professionals has expressed concern over persistent delays that perpetuate a precarious system, resulting in instability and insecurity for hundreds of arts professionals. The association highlighted that, once again, results for Project Support and Simplified Support have not been released in a timely manner, preventing supported projects from starting as scheduled and proposed by the DGArtes [Directorate-General for the Arts].
The competitions for Visual Arts, Music and Opera Internationalization, Creation and Publishing, Programming, and the Simplified Procedure for 2025 were expected to open by the end of last December but only opened on January 15, closing on February 26.
According to the opening notices, in the cases of Simplified Procedure, Visual Arts, Music and Opera, Creation and Publishing, and Programming competitions, projects must be executed within a maximum of 18 months, between July 1, 2025, and December 31, 2026.
For the Internationalization competition, projects must also be executed within 18 months, between September 1, 2025, and February 28, 2027, with eligible project expenses allowed between July 1, 2025, and February 28, 2027.
In the statement, Plateia noted that although activities could begin from July 1, as of today, July 7, 2025, provisional results have not yet been communicated.
On June 20, DGArtes published the provisional results for the Internationalization competition on its official website, and a period for interested parties to respond is currently ongoing.
Plateia warned that these delays in releasing results are expected to result in months-long delays in contract preparation and subsequent payments.
The six competitions for 2025 have a total value of 13.35 million euros, unchanged from the competitions that opened in 2023 for completion in 2024.
The Visual Arts competition has a budget of 2.33 million euros, Music and Opera 3.37 million euros, Internationalization 1.035 million euros, Creation and Publishing 4.015 million euros, Programming 1.91 million euros, and the Simplified Procedure 690 thousand euros.
When these amounts were announced, Plateia regarded the “crystallization” of values as particularly concerning, considering the ever-growing diversity in Portugal’s artistic landscape, the increasing number of applications each year, and the high number of projects left without funding, even though they are eligible for support and showcase unequivocal quality.
In the communication released today, the association acknowledged past increases in support allocations but argued they have not yet corrected the underfunding of these policies, nor do they keep pace with the healthy growth of the artistic sector, which includes more professionals, increasingly skilled projects, and diverse initiatives crucial for the entire national territory.
Thus, Plateia calls on the Ministry of Culture and DGArtes for increased funding and also for more technical teams and management tools to handle applications, to address the chronic delays in the announcement of competition results.
The communication also warns of delays in the opening of the new edition of the support program for the Network of Portuguese Theaters and Cinemas (RTCP), which, according to the DGArtes Annual Declaration, was supposed to open by the end of May.
The RTCP Support Program is allocated 24 million euros between 2026 and 2029 (six million per year), the same amount presented in 2021 for the 2022-2025 cycle.
Currently, the RTCP includes 96 cultural facilities, 38 of which are supported for programming between 2022 and 2025.
The RTCP was created to address regional disparities and promote “territorial cohesion in access to culture and the arts in Portugal”.
