To Mr. Mindaugas Sinkevičius, Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania

To the Culture Committee of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania

To the Budget and Finance Committee of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania

To Mr. Lukas Alsius, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania

To Mr. Taurimas Valius, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania

Copy: Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania

Lithuanian Council for Culture

Vilnius, August 18, 2026

REGARDING FUNDING FOR THE LITHUANIAN CULTURAL SECTOR

We, the undersigned associations and organizations of the Lithuanian cultural sector, taking into account the parliamentary oversight discussion held on June 10, 2026, by the Culture Committee of the Seimas, and in view of the 2027 state budget currently being drafted, strongly urge the Government to ensure a real and sustainable increase in cultural funding. We request that special strategic attention be dedicated to the Lithuanian Council for Culture (LKT).

The LKT is a foundational pillar of Lithuania’s cultural funding ecosystem. It sustains the creation of professional art and cultural content, supports independent non-governmental organizations and creators, ensures cultural accessibility across regions, and drives the internationalization of Lithuanian culture. Therefore, any reduction in LKT funding extends far beyond individual organizations—it directly jeopardizes the vitality of the entire cultural ecosystem, from regional public engagement to our national presence on the global stage.

In 2026, a flat reduction of 5.45% was applied across agencies, programs, and funds under the Ministry of Culture. For institutions relying heavily on project-based funding, this cut directly minimized the volume of funded projects, artistic grants, and international initiatives. Consequently, fiscal decisions for 2027 cannot merely aim to restore nominal 2025 levels; they must realistically account for the sharply increased costs of labor, services, technical infrastructure, logistics, and international operations.

We welcome the Ministry of Culture’s commitment to restoring the funding baseline that was reduced in 2026. However, we emphasize that simple restoration is no longer sufficient—the sector requires real, predictable growth. In recent years, while the costs of services and average project values have risen sharply, the LKT budget has remained flat or decreased, forcing the Council to fund fewer initiatives.

Official LKT data reveals a profound funding deficit. In the most recent arts funding round announced on June 5, 2026, only about one in five applications could be successfully funded, leaving at least half of all expert-approved, highly valuable projects completely unfinanced.

This ongoing fiscal stagnation carries immediate negative consequences: it compromises cultural availability in the regions, suppresses new initiatives, weakens NGO structures, increases economic insecurity among professional creators (where one in five currently lives at risk of poverty), and restricts the content available for international cultural diplomacy. By funding new theatrical productions, exhibitions, and concert programs, the LKT ensures that Lithuania is adequately represented internationally, including upcoming highlights like the Lithuanian Season in France and the planned season in Germany. Restricting these creative conditions directly diminishes our international cultural diplomacy and undercuts the strategic goal of minimizing regional disparities. Without increased funding, both high-quality regional programming and vital cultural education for children and youth will inevitably decline.

During the presentation of the 2027–2029 state budget framework at the Seimas Culture Committee on June 10, 2026, the Ministry of Culture appropriately designated LKT funding growth as one of its top three institutional priorities. The targeted increases over the 2026 baseline are 9.283 million euros for 2027, 13.847 million euros for 2028, and 19.202 million euros for 2029. This growth trajectory is essential to maintaining the volume of cultural activities at the 2025 baseline while adjusting for inflation and operational costs.

We propose: Gradually increasing the total annual appropriations for the LKT for the 2027–2029 period by adding between 9.3 and 19.2 million euros to the 2026 baseline, thereby establishing a clear, predictable, multi-year growth trajectory. As the principal institution operating on the independent arm’s-length principle, the LKT must be guaranteed sufficient and secure financial resources.

Funding for the LKT is not an administrative expense—it is a strategic investment in the vitality of Lithuania’s entire cultural ecosystem, driving new content creation, sustaining creative professionals, ensuring regional vitality, and elevating Lithuania’s visibility worldwide.

Sincerely,

The cultural sector associations and organizations signing this letter (agreed upon electronically):

1. Nacionalinė kūrybinių ir kultūrinių industrijų asociacija (National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries / KIK Lietuva)

2. Lietuvos dizaino asociacija (Lithuanian Designers Association)

3. Lietuvos leidėjų asociacija (Lithuanian Publishers Association)

4. Lietuvos muzikos verslo asociacija (Lithuanian Music Business Association)

5. Asociacija „Kūrybinės jungtys“ (Association „Creative Connections”)

6. Kino kultūros asociacija (Lithuanian Association of Film Culture)

7. Architektūros kokybės vystymo asociacija (Association for Assurance of Architectural Quality)

8. VšĮ „Socialus menas“ (NGO „Social Art”)

9. VšĮ „Lithuanian Shorts“ (Lithuanian Shorts)

10. Lietuvos tarpdisciplininio meno kūrėjų sąjunga (Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists’ Association)

11. MB „Menų Komunikacija“ (Arts Communication)

12. VšĮ „Ateities visuomenės institutas“ (Future Society Institute)

13. Lietuvos dailininkų sąjunga (Lithuanian Artists’ Association)

14. VšĮ „Vokalinio meno tinklas“ (Vocal Art Network)

15. VšĮ Urbanistinio šokio teatras „Low Air“ (Low Air Urban Dance Theatre)

16. VšĮ „Kristupo festivalis“ (Christopher Summer Festival)

17. VšĮ „Religinės muzikos centras“ (Religious Music Center)

18. VšĮ „Meno avilys“ (Meno avilys)

19. Šiuolaikinio šokio asociacija (Contemporary Dance Association)

20. Lietuvos žaidimų kūrėjų asociacija (Lithuanian Game Developers Association)

21. VšĮ „Erdvės“ (NGO „Spaces”)

22. MB „Experience Design“ (Experience Design)

23. UAB „Antras kadras“ (Second Frame)

24. UAB „Digital freedom“ (Digital Freedom)

25. Lietuvos architektų sąjunga (Architects Association of Lithuania)

26. Asociacija LATGA (Copyright Management Association LATGA)

27. Lietuvos bibliotekininkų draugija (Lithuanian Librarians’ Association)

28. Lietuvos kinematografininkų sąjunga (Lithuanian Filmmakers Union)

29. Lietuvos kompozitorių sąjunga (Lithuanian Composers’ Union)

30. Lietuvos muzikų sąjunga (Lithuanian Musicians’ Union)

31. Asociacija „Kultūros savivaldos kolegija“ (Association „Board of Cultural Self-Government”)

32. Lietuvos aktorių profesinė sąjunga „Lietuvos aktorių gildija“ (Lithuanian Actors Guild)

33. Lietuvos chorų sąjunga (Lithuanian Choral Union)

34. Lietuvos nacionalinė filharmonija (Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society)

35. VšĮ „Lietuvos šokio informacijos centras“ (Lithuanian Dance Information Center)

36. VšĮ „Kultūros platforma“ (Culture Platform)

37. Nevyriausybinių scenos meno organizacijų asociacija (Association of Non-Governmental Performing Arts Organizations)

38. Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus (Lithuanian National Museum of Art)

39. Nacionalinis M.K.Čiurlionio dailės muziejus (M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art)

40. Asociacija Lietuvos rašytojų sąjunga (Lithuanian Writers’ Union)

41. Scenos meno kritikų asociacija (Performing Arts Critics Association)

42. Lietuvos literatūros vertėjų sąjunga (Lithuanian Association of Literary Translators)

43. Lietuvos fotomenininkų sąjunga (Lithuanian Association of Art Photographers)

44. Lietuvos nacionalinis dramos teatras (Lithuanian National Drama Theatre)

45. Lietuvos meno kūrėjų asociacija (LMKA) (Lithuanian Art Creators’ Association)

46. VšĮ „Menų fabrikas“ (Loftas Arts Factory)

47. Lietuvos gretutinių teisių asociacija AGATA (Lithuanian Neighbouring Rights Association AGATA)

48. Lietuvos nacionalinis muziejus (National Museum of Lithuania)

49. Lietuvos tautodailininkų sąjungos Vilniaus bendrija (Vilnius Community of the Lithuanian Folk Artists’ Union)

50. Vilniaus krašto tautodailininkų – meno kūrėjų bendrija (Vilnius Region Society of Folk Artists and Art Creators)