ICEC budget increase to support endeavors in the arts
New grants seek to fund Catalan comic books, podcasts, and virtual reality works
The Catalan Institute of Cultural Enterprises (ICEC) has increased its budget by 8.5% for 2020, for a total of 63.5 million euros.
This increase will allow the institute to recover assets in the form of aid to supplement cultural happenings around the city of Barcelona and allots for grants to support work by Catalan artists — mainly comic books, podcasts, and virtual reality work.
The ICEC’S budget renders it the best-endowed entity within the Department of Culture. These new grants funded by the budget increase will support various industries in expanding their efforts.
The grants include 100,000 euros for the publication of comic books in Catalan and another 120,000 allotted for podcasts and other virtual reality projects related to culture.
Music and performing arts
These increases also hope to bolster an already lively scene within the city. This includes over 1 million euros to support the creation of small and medium-sized music festivals, and funds encouraging and aiding radio stations in supporting Catalan artists and their work.
Performing arts in Barcelona will receive a one million euro increase in funding compared to 2019. These increases will go towards the production and development within the theater industry, as well as infrastructure.