Arts Council to Implement Early and Expanded Support for Venue Rental Fees Considering COVID-19 Impact

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The Korea Arts Council is advancing and expanding its support program for venue rental fees to assist the performing arts sector, which has been severely affected by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The Arts Council plans to accept applications for the 1st and 2nd rounds of venue rental fee support through the National Culture and Arts Support System (NCAS) until 6 p.m. on May 19. Eligible applications are for performances held at registered domestic venues from December 1 of last year to April 30 of this year.

Every year, the Arts Council has conducted the venue rental fee support program through one or two rounds of calls for applications in July.

This year, considering the severe impact of COVID-19 on the performing arts sector, the support period is being advanced and the scale of support expanded. The number of support rounds, which was usually one or two, will be increased to five this year. The support amount will also be raised to cover up to 90% of the total rental fee, with a maximum annual support of 30 million KRW for a single identical or similar performance work.

Additionally, the procedures from application to selection have been greatly simplified. For the 1st and 2nd rounds of this call, instead of the existing support review committee operation method, a support eligibility screening system will be introduced. This method allows for bold, accurate, and rapid selection, enabling arts organizations and artists to receive support funds immediately once their eligibility and the objectivity of submitted supporting documents are confirmed, without long waiting times. Furthermore, the program will identify cases where arts organizations and artists were unable to receive refunds for venue rental fees despite performance cancellations and will include these unpaid rental fees in the existing support items. Moreover, multiple performing arts works can be supported through a single application form, and the required supporting documents have been reduced from a maximum of 13 to 5, easing the burden on the arts field.

The Arts Council will organize the Korea Small Theater Association and the Venue Rental Fee Support Project Promotion Team selected through the call to fully reflect the situation and opinions of the arts field in carrying out the project.

The Arts Council stated, "We will lead this project to provide some strength to overcome the unforeseen crisis that has come to the performing arts community," and added, "We will continue to monitor the difficulties arising in the arts field due to COVID-19 and operate the venue rental fee support flexibly."

For more details, please visit the Korea Arts Council website or the Korea Small Theater Association website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.