Kolarac waiting for a permanent financing solution
Kolarac's Endowment in Belgrade, a unique cultural and educational institution founded 142 years ago by a Serbian merchant Ilija Milosavljevic Kolarac (1800-1878), has been facing the problem of financing for years, which is further strained by the consequences of the corona virus pandemic. The current epidemiological situation led to the cancellation of numerous concert and other events and made it almost impossible for Kolarac's Endowment to generate revenue as part of the income coming from tickets sale. Even though the intervention of Prime Minister Ana Brnabic provided certain donor funds, and at the the same time less support from the City of Belgrade authorities, Kolarac expects from the new Government of Serbia a permanent solution to the financing problem.
Kolarac's Endowment has been operating in the building on the Student’s Square since 1932, according to the concept founded by Ilija Milosavljevic, leaving all his property to his people. He founded the endowment for the purpose of "meeting the people's needs in literature" and "raising and sustaining the Serbian university".
Especially renowned for its Concert Hall, whose acoustics were praised by some of the world's greatest classical music stars, Kolarac's Endowment is an independent institution and it actually belongs to the civilian sector. This means that the State does not have a hundred percent share in its management. Therefore, it is considered that there is no obligation to provide regular funding for the basic needs of this institution.
Considering that the annual funds open call of the City of Belgrade for cultural programs in 2020 was canceled last spring, and the funds allocated by the Ministry of Culture of Serbia were reduced, Kolarac was left without the amount of about 30 million dinars (about 255,000 Euros) of planned income.
Bearing in mind that the Law on Culture defined this institution as "a cultural entity that enjoys special care", and that in that case there is a legal possibility of financing up to 45% of annual costs from the state budget, Kolarac's endowment addressed the Ministry of Culture, Government of Serbia / The Cabinet of the Prime Minister and the Secretariat for Culture of Belgrade in order to solve its financial problem by applying these legal solutions. A specific request for support was sent for the amount of 18 million dinars, based on an internal analysis, which can cover business costs (salaries of employees, current and material costs of facility maintenance and realization of program costs). These are, according tothe director Jasna Dimitrijevic, the minimal resources that are necessary in overcoming the crisis.
By mid-October, and with the intervention of Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, Kolarac was provided with 6.8 million dinars (about 57,000 Euros) through donations and additional 1.2 million (about 10,000 Euros) from the City of Belgrade for the costs of the program. Those eight million dinars are the result of appeals and numerous meetings with the authorities regarding the initiative of Kolarac for a permanent solution to the financing problem.
According to Jasna Dimitrijevic, the promises from the authorities are primarily reduced to requests for patience, for now.
"Kolarac is an important institution because it has been continuously fulfilling its mission since 1878. Lifelong additional education, publishing, foreign language workshops, presenting the world's biggest names in the art of music, support and promotion of artists through the annual program of the Art Gallery, Art Cinema ... are just a few of the activities that this institution offers, leaving traces in the cultural environment in which we live in", Jasna Dimitrijevic pointed out on the occasion of the 142nd anniversary of Kolarac's endowment.
The worsened epidemiological situation prevented Kolarac's Endowment from organizing a celebration for 142 years of its existence on November 22 and handing out plaques for exceptional contribution to program activities, as well as the annual award for the best solo exhibition for the 2019/2020 season.
The winners of the plaques are Prof. Dr. Veljko Brboric from the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade and Prof. Ljubisa Jovanovic, MA, from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, while the annual award for the best solo exhibition went to Jelena Ilic.
Every year since 1968 the Board of Ilija M.Kolarac Endowment wes awarded Plaques for exceptional contribution to its programme development, and since 1977 it has given the Annual Gallery Award for the best art exhibition of the season.
(SEEcult.org)
*Support: International Relief Fund of the German Federal Foreign Office, the Goethe-Institut, and other partners
