Henry Arturo Mercedes Vales is the country’s first director of the newly created Arts Patronage Agency. Mercedes Vales is a specialist in education, an actor and film script writer.
An online search indicates he has served as strategic advisor to the Minister of Culture. He is listed in the area of operations of the Film Agency (DGCine). On his LinkedIn page, he is described as director of information and research at the Ministry of Education.
He is a graduate of the UNPHU in Santo Domingo, with doctoral studies at the Universidad de Sevilla in Spain. He did his thesis at the Universidad de Sevilla on data collection systems to bolster quality in Dominican education centers.
President Luis Abinader formalized the appointment of Mercedes Vales with the publishing of Decree 31-23 on Wednesday, 8 February 2023.
The Patronage Agency is in charge of planning, coordinating and supervising the implementation of policies for promoting art through the incentive of cultural patronage, as established by Patronage of the Arts Law 340-19.
The general director of Arts Patronage is responsible for directing and administering the entity and collecting and managing the Solidarity Funds for the Support of Culture (Fosac) for carrying out projects, plans and programs aimed at developing the cultural industry.
Arts patronage is defined as the protection or help given to a cultural, artistic or scientific activity. The patron acts out of altruism and social commitment.
The new Arts Patronage Agency will gather and keep updated statistics and cultural indicators to identify needs in artistic and cultural creations. It is responsible for proposing draft policies, standards and procedures to facilitate support for the cultural industries.
Arts Patronage Law 340-19 seeks to stimulate and protect professionals in the fields of artistic creation, management, management and administration of projects aimed at promoting, developing, innovation and modernizing of the cultural sector.
It also has articles intended to promote public and private collecting by encouraging the direct purchase of works or objects of art from artists or art galleries.
The law was drafted to favor artists, cultural managers or public or private cultural entities that design and submit cultural management projects or proposals to the Patronage Council.
Read more in Spanish:
Presidency
UNPHU
Diario Libre
9 February 2023