Culture Ministry to ask for double budget allocations for museum repair

The Ministry of Culture last year received 5 million lei from the budget for repairing the Chisinau museums. That was the lowest amount in the last ten years. Acting Deputy Minister of Culture Gheorghe Postica has told Info-Prim Neo that the Ministry of Culture this year will ask for double budget allocations. The 5 million lei was distributed to the National Museum of Plastic Arts, which needed 20 million lei, the Museum of Ethnography, the Organ Hall, and the Academy of Theater, Music and Plastic Arts. According to estimates, about 40 million lei is needed to restore three Chisinau museums – the National Museum of Plastic Arts, the National Museum of Archeology and History of Moldova, and the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History. “We will try to convince the Government and Parliament to increase the allocations for restoration at least to 10 million lei so that we have an ascending trend. The situation will be difficult if the budget will be the same as last year,” said Gheorghe Postica. It is expected that the U.S. Embassy this year will offer several grants for implementing cultural patrimony programs. “Last year, we had a grant that was provided for Orheiul Vechi. This year, the U.S. Embassy will finance a project to design a number of architectural buildings in the area,” the deputy minister said. As to the homes of culture, the official said that in 2010 the Ministry of Culture tried to promote a bill aimed at improving their situation, but it wasn’t passed as the Culture Law does not include the phrase ‘home of culture’. This year, the Ministry will put forward amendments to the Culture Law so that the bill on homes of culture is adopted. There are 110 museums in Moldova.