The Chamber of Deputies approved on Tuesday, 27 August 2019, the bill that establishes the Regime of Incentive and Promotion of Cultural Patronage in the Dominican Republic (Ley de Mecenazgo).
This is an initiative to stimulate the arts through economic incentives, training, project management and administration. The bill now passes to the Executive Branch for signing and publishing. The Senate had already approved it.
The initiative is to promote public and private collecting through the direct purchase of works from artists or art galleries.
Also to stimulate the arts with donations or sponsorship nonprofit programs, scientific and cultural research, art exhibitions, competitions, literature, audiovisual productions, craft fairs, among other activities.
The bill creates the General Patronage Agency (DGM) as an autonomous and decentralized institution of the state with administrative, financial and technical autonomy but under the Ministry of Culture.
This new institution will be in charge of promoting policies to stimulate art and culture and of promoting policies aimed at national or foreign investors for their insertion as “cultural patrons.”
The Patronage Council (Conme) is created as the governing body of the General Patronage Agency. Conme members represent the ministries of Culture, the Presidency, and Hacienda. Other members are a university rector chosen by the rectors of the country’s universities, a specialist in program management and cultural planning appointed by the President of the Republic, a specialist in tax and cultural financial management, appointed by the President of the Republic and the director general of the General Patronage Agency, who will serve as secretary, with voice but no vote.
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Diario Libre
28 August 2019