Global Courant 2023-05-19 20:29:13
Since its foundation in 1998, the Contribution for Cultural Decentralization (Adesca) has managed to establish a dialogue with the needs of restless people around the Guatemalan territory who have seen in the platform an opportunity or vehicle to land the pulses of their artistic imagination.
During the last 25 years, Adesca has allowed people from all over the country to enjoy a budget percentage to carry out art initiatives in resonance with different communities.
According to the statutes of the program, the vision of these projects must be oriented to favor both the rescue, dissemination and promotion of popular cultures, as well as the development of their cultivators and producers.
“We have supported different projects ranging from literature, music, humanities, heritage preservation, restoration of different monuments and images, and we work on education through art. It is a great range”, points out Yasmyn García de Lima, Executive Director of Adesca.
García comments that the operation of this program has been achieved during the last 25 years thanks to a budget allocation from the State, which receives 5 million quetzales. 20% of the amount is allocated to administrative operations, while the remaining 80% is used to finance projects.
The cultural initiatives that enjoy the support of Adesca usually enter the competition through a call launched annually. The Adesca board of directors explains that, of the total budget allocated to cultural projects, 85% should be oriented towards the monetization of initiatives located outside the metropolitan area, while the other 15% is for the city.
To date, Adesca has executed 930 projects. Of these, 162 in the metropolitan area (center of the country) and the remaining 768 in departmental areas outside the capital.
A call for creativity
Annually, the Contribution for Cultural Decentralization opens the call through its social networks and various communication channels for the financing of projects devised by artists, writers, academics, educators, managers and cultural promoters, as well as groups or individuals with and without legal personality.
Gloria Coyote Olcot, Director of Projects at Adesca, explains that when a person or group wants to finance a project, the first thing they need to do in the selection phases is to contact the headquarters. Then, a date and time will be assigned to carry out an interview with those in charge of the institutions with which the purposes of the idea will be clarified.
Adesca has promoted the publication of books on different topics related to the multiculturalism of Guatemala. (Free Press Photo: Courtesy Adesca)
If the project is approved, a proposal form must be filled out. During the course of the preparation there will be an adviser who will support the managers. If it turns out to be feasible, in the course of a month to a month and a half, there will be an answer on the possibility of executing the project.
The evaluation of the initiatives must be approved by the members of the commissions to which the initiatives and interests of the project fit. Adesca has commissions in: Theatre, Literature, Dance, Popular Arts, Visual Arts, Humanities, Heritage Preservation, Music, Art and Culture in Communication Media and Art Education.
Coyote Olcot explains that for an initiative to be financed it must have a collective impact on the communities from which they are proposed. Yanira Gálvez, coordinator of Activities at Adesca, comments that a distinction of the financing project lies in its decentralization, since, directly, “the funds are delivered to each project beneficiary so that they are in charge of the execution.”
Music in its different branches has been one of the artistic areas supported by the financing program. (Free Press Photo: Courtesy Adesca)
According to Gálvez points out, many times, after the call and the approval of the projects, various groups that propose initiatives have maintained their development, even when the Adesca financing has ended.
This year the call ended on May 11. Meanwhile, the institution executes 22 projects that were approved in 2022, among them the following stand out: The publication of books such as Tzijonem Rech Popol Wuj-Historias del Popol Wuj and El Perro en Llamas, the development of the No abrir dance, the strengthening of dance academies marimba in Quiché and Alta Verapaz, contributions to the Comalapa Mayan Art Museum, restoration in temples in Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, Huehuetenango, among others.
Other recent Adesca projects are the publication of the Beleje Ajmaq comic, the projection of the short film Tún Tún, the restoration of the Camotán temple, the digitization of the scores of the musician Joaquín Orellana, among others.
celebration activities
With the purpose of commemorating 25 years of Adesca, the institution will carry out two activities open to the public to share about the projects:
Commemorative act Adesca 25 Years
Thursday, May 25 at 11:00 a.m. in the “Hugo Carrillo” Chamber Theater of the Miguel Ángel Asturias Cultural Center
The commemorative act will present a publication that brings together some of the work he has done over 25 years. Likewise, the Labor Report 2023 will be delivered and tribute will be paid to personalities who have accompanied the institution. To conclude, there will be a concert by the Camerata “Jesús Castillo”, directed by the musician Léster Homero Godínez.
Wednesday, June 7 at 6:00 p.m. at the Cultural Center of Spain
The documentary short film reveals part of the life and career of Francisco Tún, one of the most outstanding artists of the national plastic, but also one of the most enigmatic due to his personal history and the way in which he reflected it in his work. .
They will participate: Daniela Sagone (director), Carla Molina (photography), Coki Ortega (Editing), Pamela Guinea (Producer) and Eduardo Cáceres (Sound Engineer). Moderator: Ingrid Roldán (Commission of Art and Culture in Communication Media of Adesca)
