As part of the Swedish “ArtNexus” program, a dialogue platform on “How to promote the creative sector of Armenia and support art and culture practitioners” was held at the Arno Babajanyan Concert Hall on February 21.

RA ESCS Deputy Minister Arthur Martirosyan and Ambassador of Sweden to the Republic of Armenia Patrik Svensson delivered a welcoming speech at the opening of the program. Armenian representatives of culture and art participated in the discussion.

“ArtNexus” is a Swedish initiative aimed at cooperation between Armenia and Sweden in the field of art and culture, contributing to the formation and expansion of further programs.

Welcoming the participants of the event, the RA ESCS Deputy Minister Arthur Martirosyan noted that the program starts in the format of discussions and is aimed at contributing capacity building and promoting a continuous dialogue in the context of cultural development between state and non-state partners in the field of culture of the Republic of Armenia.

Speaking about the importance of the program, the Deputy Minister emphasized that it aims to contribute to the coordination of existing programs in the field of culture, the implementation of priorities and the enhancement of Armenian-Swedish cooperation. In this regard, Arthur Martirosyan pointed to the “Strategy for the preservation and development of culture of the Republic of Armenia for 2023-2027”, emphasizing that it is a guiding document for the development of the sector.

“The issue of combining resources is very important, especially in the field of culture. The RA Government provides unprecedented state allocations to the sphere, but there is a need to attract new funding in the field of culture. In this context, I would like to highlight the “Creative Industry” partner program, which has very important goals reflected in the cultural strategy for 2023-2027 or is in line with its final outcomes. At the end of 2022, we also ratified the “Creative Europe” program, and in the near future, an opportunity will be created for close cooperation between European and Armenian creators. The “ArtNexus” program has its unique place in the panorama of many partner and joint programs: this will undoubtedly become a new word and an important platform both in the context of complementing the existing programs and in the advancement of Armenian-Swedish partnership,” noted Arthur Martirosyan and added that thanks to this program, the Armenian-Swedish palette will be enriched by another important component - valuable cooperation in the field of culture.

Ambassador of Sweden to Armenia Patrik Svensson welcomed the participants on the launch of the program and noted that the program is aimed at the advancement and expansion of Armenian-Swedish cultural cooperation.

Head of the “ArtNexus” program, Liv Weisberg, presented the details of the program, the Swedish state policy in the field of art and the creative industry. Afterwards, the participants and speakers of the event discussed a number of issues related to the program in a question-and-answer format.

Note that on February 20, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia Arthur Martirosyan received Head of the “ArtNexus” program in Armenia Liv Weisberg, program coordinator Nyusha Khan Mohammad and National Advisor of the program Lilit Grigoryan. The implementation of the “ArtNexus” program in Armenia and possible avenues of cooperation were discussed at the meeting.