Some Museums Have Only One Visitor a Day; Maybe They Should Be Closed – Pashinyan

The government plans to implement a new funding model for the Opera Theater. This model involves the allocation of additional funding from the state, which can account for up to 100% of the revenue from ticket sales for that organization in the current year, to stage new and revised versions of previous performances.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that this is one of the most important reforms, for which significant time and energy have been spent. “We say that culture is a strategic direction for the country. Naturally, when we say this, there is a response from the culture and theatrical organizations that the state should provide more support,” he stated.

The Prime Minister mentioned that the state must support new performances, and funding is being provided, but when people go to a performance, they see that aside from government representatives, there are no other audience members. “This cannot continue; the government is spending resources to make culture accessible to the people,” he said.

Pashinyan also discussed museums, emphasizing that there are some where barely one visitor comes each day. According to him, this is a disrespect to culture itself. “A museum is not a warehouse,” he noted.