The amount of state funding for culture will rise by 17 billion forints (EUR 57m) next year, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated in Hódmezővásárhely, on Sunday.

Culture has received more attention and more money in the past years, in spite of the economic crisis, he said at the opening of an annual exhibition of handicrafts in the city. The Prime Minister emphasised that Hungary's network of public collections had been placed on new footing as part of the reorganisation of the state. He added that some 300 million forints (EUR 1m) had been made available this year for the renovation of existing museum exhibits and the creation of new ones.

Finally we have money to renovate our traditional bastions of culture, such as the Academy of Music, the Opera House and the Erkel Theatre, Prime Minister Orbán stated. There are many who are of the opinion that there is no value in making sacrifices for art in times of economic crisis, but this is necessary to show that when times of crisis unravel, human life is not just a simple struggle for survival, he emphasised.

(Prime Minister’s Office)