Mykola ZHULYNSKY: “Centralize all cultural facilities!”
Last Thursday Mykola ZHULYNSKY, chairman of the National Council for Culture and Spirituality under the President of Ukraine, Vitalii ZHURAVSKY, deputy chairman of the Kyiv City Administration, and Svitlana ZORINA, head of Kyiv’s General Directorate of Culture and Arts, met to discuss the problem of illegal seizures of cultural facilities.
Mykola Zhulynsky told The Day about this meeting:
“Vitalii Zhuravsky and Svitlana Zorina expressed their concern. I don’t think they expected this turn of events. It is obvious that the municipal authorities are unable to foresee and exert influence on everything. Many cultural facilities, such as premises and studios occupied by artistic associations, are now communal property owned above all by district administrations. It is common knowledge that every district has its own chairman, who, judging by what is now going on in Kyiv, pursues his own policies. The Presidential Secretariat urged City Hall back in December 2006 to streamline this system because there are laws to this effect, such as the law ‘On Professional Artists and Artistic Associations.’
“Following our request, the Kyiv City Council passed Resolution No. 170/831 of Feb. 22, 2007. This document introduced changes to the Kyiv Council resolution dated Sept. 28, 2006, to which the Presidential Secretariat and the National Council for Culture and Spirituality under the President of Ukraine reacted because they saw the situation was evolving in a direction that is absolutely unfavorable for Kyiv’s cultural infrastructure. Now the Presidential Secretariat is making a careful study of all these changes. But it is clear that the heads of artistic associations and artists have nothing to hope for. Fifty sq. m. of premises are given to artists almost free of charge, but then payment is taken for each additional square meter, and, as a rule, premises occupied by artistic associations and studios occupy more than 50 sq. m., which raises certain problems and difficulties. We are going to request that the limit be increased to 150 sq. m.
“I think the situation will be resolved when the premises are handed over to Kyiv’s General Directorate of Culture and Arts. At the moment, though, some artistic facilities are at the disposal of district councils and others, of different agencies. Various publishing houses, including Mystetstvo, Oberehy, and others, are also at risk. I think the Kyiv Directorate of Culture and Arts should make an inventory of all cultural facilities and place them under its jurisdiction. Then the principles of rental payments must be established. We are in favor of long- term leases with certain guarantees that creative associations will be helped. On the other hand, we should insist that all artistic facilities with national status be transferred to state ownership. This is not taking place, and that makes it very difficult for them to function.”
