President of the Workshop criticizes lack of state funding for CIAJG

O president of the cultural cooperative of Guimarães The Workshop considers “deolidor and terrifying” that the International Center of Arts José de Guimarães (CIAJG) does not receive state funding such as the Casa da Música and the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB).

In an interview with the agency Lusa, one year after being in charge of the Workshop, which manages the main cultural spaces of Guimarães, Esser Jorge Silva regrets that the CIAJG, symbol of the European capital of culture 2012, continues to be treated differently in relation to other equipment, such as the Casa da Música, in Porto, and the CCB, in Lisbon, which receive millions of euros through the State Budget.

“It is, to some extent – here I will use an adjective –, demolishor, to think that the Casa da Música receives every year around 10 million euros, the Centro Cultural de Belém receives around 10 million euros every year, nine million, save error. And these two equipments receive these amounts because they were erected within the European capitals of culture”, laments the executive president of the Workshop.

In this sense, he assumes that it is “deolidor” to know what was done in Guimarães in the context of the European capital of culture, with the construction of this International Center of Arts, not having “a small state funding”, which he has already had for one or two years.

“The State cannot look at this equipment as well as coming out of a European capital of culture, which is an equipment that the city itself has chosen to be its own symbol equipment and which has an international level programming, has an activity that works with the great museums of contemporary art in Europe,” says the sociologist.

For Esser Jorge Silva, “it’s absolutely appalling” to see the passage “from governments over governments, ministers over ministers, state secretaries on state secretaries”, assuming that it is difficult to accept that the CIAJG is not entitled to a value.

“I will not say 10 million euros, nine million euros. If we had this, maybe we would die stuffed”, graces the president of the Guimarães cultural cooperative, pointing out that a value between half a million and the million euros would already be fair.

“ It would no longer be just for Guimarães, it would be for the region as a whole, for what is intended in the future to be the metropolitan area of Minho, a phenomenal contribution to give a very large increase here to equipment that has the possibility of being a great international equipment, of international demand at the level of the visual arts ", says.

With this support, according to Esser Jorge Silva, it would be possible to transform the CIAJG into an “international centre of arts, a hub of interest for virtually all of Europe”.

“ And I think that from the point of view of tourism, cultural tourism, we are talking here about something that was more seen as an investment,” he says.

The president of the Workshop says that the explanation that has been given by the guardianship for the non-attribution of state funding is related to a “bureaucratic” issue, because the CIAJG is not a foundation, justification with which it disagrees.

“ When there is will and if one wants to have will, the state finds a solution here, because it is justice, it is law. Évora will soon be the next European capital of culture and what is to ask is whether Évora will have the same treatment as Lisbon and Porto or if Évora will have the same treatment as Guimarães ", questions Esser Jorge Silva.

In this sense, the president of the Workshop also wonders whether metropolitan centers are treated differently from peripheral areas.

“It is an issue that remains and therefore I think this is a good time for us to resolve this issue. Even in the case of Évora, which in 2027 will be the European capital of culture”, recalls.

Esser Jorge Silva hopes that “in this legislature this injustice will be rectified”, adding that the theme is being addressed between the mayor of Guimarães, Ricardo Araújo, and the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Margarida Balseiro Lopes.

“ We have some expectation that the Minister will look at this case and, this time, the matter will be resolved, not to be an ephemeral resolution, but to be a lasting resolution, which will give the International Center of Arts of José Guimarães the same dignity as the House of Music and the Cultural Center of Belém”, defends the executive president of the Workshop.