RIYADH: The Ministry of Culture has launched a new fund to nurture local talent, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Nomow (Growth) Cultural Fund will support people so they can complete their projects.
The ministry wanted to help professionals in various cultural sectors and creative fields including writing, publishing, filmmaking and visual content, said spokesman Abdul Karim Al-Hameed.
“This support will focus on developing local content and supporting local talent,” he added.
Details of the initiative will be announced during the second half of 2019, after the completion of its structure and executive regulations. It will support all production stages of cultural work on a case-by-case basis.
The ministry studied the Kingdom’s current cultural scene to assess the reasons behind the low quality and quantity of output. The study showed that one reason was the lack of funding mechanisms to support production and ensure the continuation of a project’s creative flow.
Last month the ministry announced that international artists would be offered the chance to take up residency in Saudi Arabia.
It was one of several initiatives in the ministry’s vision and strategy for the future.
Earlier this week, an official said that the Culture Ministry will launch 11 independent arts and culture organizations this year as part of a restructuring of the Kingdom’s cultural sector in line with Vision 2030 reforms.
Abdulkareem Al-Hameed said the new cultural units will oversee museums, movies and visual shows, libraries, fashion, music, heritage, literature and publication, performance arts, visual arts, architecture and interior design, and food and the art of cooking.
The organizations will replace the General Authority for Culture (GAC), with “each entity supervising one cultural sector with full independence, to ensure the highest quality and efficiency in implementing the initiatives of the Ministry of Culture’s vision and guidelines,” Al-Hameed said.
Replacement of the GAC will be carried out in phases “to ensure the completion of the structuring according to the ministry’s plan,” he added.
Al-Hameed said the new cultural organizations’ role will be operational.
“Each entity will implement the initiatives it specializes in, with a specific time frame, following the main goals specified by the document (outlining) the ministry’s vision and guidelines,” he said.
The ministry will supervise the organizations to ensure their commitment to the guidelines’ three main goals: Promoting culture to become a lifestyle, contributing to economic growth, and promoting the Kingdom internationally.
The guidelines were announced in a ceremony on March 27 attended by more than 1,200 representatives of local, regional and international cultural groups.
A total of 27 cultural initiatives was also announced at the ceremony, including literature, heritage, filmmaking, theater, music, cooking and fashion.
