More than half of the applications for the Music and Opera Creation contest of DGArtes' Project Support Program 2025 were unsupported, because the available funding was exhausted.
© Lusa
22/09/2026
by
Lusa
Dand according to the final decision, released today on the official website of DGArtes, the contest, to be held this year, had 222 applications, 145 of which were without support. Of these, the large majority (131) will not receive any money for “the overall amount available has been exhausted” of around EUR 2 million.
In addition, 14 applications were not eligible for support because they were below the 60% minimum score required.
The 2,195,000 euros of the competition will serve to support 77 artistic projects, most of which (72) of music and the remaining (five) of opera.
In geographical terms, 26 are from the North, 23 from the Center, 11 from the Great Lisbon, seven from the Alentejo, five from the West and Tagus Valley, two from the Algarve, one from the Setúbal Peninsula, one from the Autonomous Region of Madeira and another from the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
According to DGArtes, in a statement, “the activities financed take place until the end of February 2028 and include the design, execution and public presentation of works, artistic residences and — in the area of music — the interpretation and may also integrate complementary activities in the areas of national circulation, programming, internationalization, training, strategic mediation, editing and research”.
Among the artists and structures with supported projects are the musicians Dela Marmy, Filipe Raposo, the Robalo Music Association, the Association Quartet de Cordas de Matosinhos, the Unique Son, Jazz to the Club Center and AREPO – Association of Opera and Contemporary Arts.
DGArtes opened, at the end of January, the competitions of the 2025 Project Support Programme – which includes this to support creation – with a total allocation of €13.35 million, the same value of 2023 and 2024.
The deadline for submission to this competition – and to all of the Project Support Program 2025 – was until March 12, but it was extended until April 2, taking into account the consequences of the bad weather at the beginning of the year, which affected the artistic sector, especially in the Center region.
The organisations representing the Culture sector have repeatedly warned of the delays in the opening of DGArtes competitions and their underfunding.
When last year the results of the Project Support Program contests were revealed, dozens of structures were again out of funding, although they were considered eligible for support, as had already happened in previous years and is happening this year.
Final results of other competitions have also been published this year.
In the Internationalization, 115 projects were supported, with 41 remaining unsupported for having exhausted the available funding, although they had a final score above 60%.
In the Programming contest, 71 artistic projects were supported, with 110 applications without support due to lack of funding, although they had a final score above 60%.
In Support for Projects in Creation and Programming – Crossing Discipline about one third of the applications was without support for having exhausted the funding that allowed to support 99 artistic projects.
In the Visual Arts contest, 74 projects with around 1.9 million euros are supported, with 60 remaining without funding for lack of funding.
In the contest for Creation in Street Arts, Circus, Dance and Theatre more than half of the applications were unsupported, because the amount available was exhausted.
In the Editing contest, in Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Street Arts and Discipline Crossing, 54 projects will be supported, 52 being without funding for lack of funding.