The Council of the Creative Unions of Latvia has founded in 1998 at the Plenary Meeting of Writer’s Union as the Cultural Council of Creative Unions. In 1995 registered as association of the professional creative organizations – the Council of the Creative Unions of Latvia. Since 1995 is a partner organization of the Council of European Artists as well sit in the board of this organization. Creative Unions, which play the role of roof organisations in their fields, are united in an interdisciplinary federation: the Council of the Creative Unions of Latvia.
The Council of the Creative Unions (CCUL) of Latvia has united 12 creative unions – the Artists Union, the Association of Architects, the Designers` Society, the Writers` Union, Theatre Union, the Scientists` Union, the Union of Journalists, the Filmmakers` Union, the Composers` Union, the photo Artists` Union, the Gild of Dramatists, the Association of Professional Photographers.
The aims and objectives of the Council of the Creative Unions of Latvia - actively participate in solving of different issues of cultural policy of Latvia. The Council of the Creative Unions of Latvia (CCUL) had been established with purpose to create a tool for creative intelligentsia, that promotes a dialogue with public authorities as well inside of the Council of the Creative Unions of Latvia (CCUL) coordinate information flow and collaboration among creative unions. Wherewith it is successfully created structure of creative individuals autonomy. Due to the Council of the Creative Unions of Latvia (CCUL) the Creative Unions could delegate it’s members to consulting commissions, expert commissions, collaborate with Parliament Commission of Republic of Latvia, government and municipality bodies.
The CCUL as an interdisciplinary “umbrella organisation” has a special legal status of public rights. The governmental institutions acknowledge it- as the main partner in the negotiations on cultural policy issues and questions concerning artists' rights. The Creative Unions and other artists' organisations have been active through the initiatives of their Council to defend artists' rights and to reach such concrete cultural policy solutions, which are positive for creators and their activities. In several occasions the CCUL has succeeded in achieving some Iega1 amendments (for example, concerning the rules for paying income tax, privatisation of artists' studios) etc. which are positive for artists.
The most notable achievement of the Council of the Creative Unions of Latvia (CCUL) was the establishment of Culture Capital Foundation. On the base of gathered practical experience of the Culture Capital Foundation activities in Estonia, with assistance of the Council of the Creative Unions of Latvia (CCUL) it had been worked out and adopts a law that determinate the functions of Culture Capital Foundation.
The CCUL has had an important role in the long and rather complicated process of negotiations, which preceded the establishing the Culture Capital Foundation and which lasted from 1995 till 1998. The CCUL has acted and still acts as a strong pressure force in order to defend such a cultural projects' funding system according to which any person or organisation may apply and compete for getting financial support for different programmes, projects and activities.
The Cultural Capital Foundations (it is the National Cultural Endowment based on approximately the same legal principles as the Kulturkapital Foundation in Estonia) was established in 1998 (More detailed information on its status and structure attached on a separate list. Since the first steps of its activities the CCF has suffered several cuttings on its initially planned financial resources. It was decided to supply the financial resources far the CCF from 2 sources of earmarked taxes: a part of excise tax on gambling (hared with sports) and a certain percentage of the excise tax on alcohol and tobacco. Quite recently, when preparing the budget bill for 2001, the first of these two sources was taken away from the CCF, this previously earmarked tax was returned to the total state budget. It is not quite clear yet from which other sources this lost sum might be compensated. Thought it's financial resources up to now have been rather limited, the CCF, has already won a profound reputation of a well - organised armth-length body. It comprises 8 branch Councils (7 branch councils + an interdisciplinary Council) with 7 experts in each of them. Two of the experts are chosen by the minister, the other are nominated by the council of the Creative Unions and by different cultural institutions. In 1998 there were 4 project competitions, it has supported 339 cultural and art projects (in all creative disciplines + presentation of heritage and support for traditional art), and it has awarded 37 travel grants. In 1999 there were 4 project competitions, and 170 stipends were awarded to senior creators for their contribution to the development and enrichment at culture.
The Lifelong Scholarship is also one of the considerable achievements of the Council of the Creative Unions of Latvia (CCUL). Many great cultural activists and artists gotten the highest evaluation for it’s long-life work – the scholarship till the end of it’s life, however it is pity, that it not possible to endow the scholarship for everybody who should desert it.
In 1999 already 182 persons started to receive these scholarships.
The most essential point is, that it is created a system for culture financing who could improve and accomplish in the further.
Another source from which the artists` organisations may try to receive some funding is the Annual Competitions of cultural projects organised by the Municipality of Riga. Previously municipalities supported mainly amateur art activities but since 1998 their cultural policy strategy has been restructured in order to establish closer links with professional artists and their organizations. The AUL, the Latvian Sculptors' Centre, the Chamber of Graphic Art and several other organizations have already received from the Riga Municipality a certain financial support for their projects.
There are no other earmarked funding systems for artists` support. The legislative framework for the activities of different private and other funds is not favourable; therefore they cannot form a strong and efficient network of supporting system for creative activities.
Representatives of artists organizations obtained a considerable experience of lobbying, of leading the negotiations and also, if necessary, acting as a pressure group. This experience helps us to take further steps aimed at protecting artists' rights and creating a general "umbrella" law for creative professions.
It is evident that a complex approach to solving the legal aspects of the artists' status requires a serious re-examination of the tax and social security systems. The necessity to settle the legal aspects concerning the status of creative professions has been asserted in several governmental directives in Latvia, but up to now; the governmental bodies are rather reluctant in taking any decisive steps in this respect. The artists' organizations are expected to be the main initiators of the needed changes and the implementers in the process of creating a legislative framework for creative professions. It is a kind of surprising paradox that without receiving a regular and really coordinated juridical or financial assistance from the governmental institutions, the artists' organizations still continue their efforts to improve the legal status of the artist.
While preparing the Draft of the law and during the discussions at the above mentioned seminar a suggestion to introduce a common registry of professional artists, both authors and performers, was offered. It was described as a registry and a data basis of the professional artists that could be built up and supervised by the CCUL in cooperation with other artists' organizations (The Ministry of Finances has refused to introduce a separate registry for artists.) The introduction of such a registry and many other mechanisms coming up in the process of defining the status; of professional artists may be developed according to different schemes or models. Therefore further debates on all these issues are needed.
In the spring of 2000 the CCUL organized a special seminar where we discussed the problems connected with the creation and maintenance of such a registry of professional artists. A questionary was spread in order to collect different opinions on the characteristic and amount of the information included in the registry and its data bank.
While being concerned with the rules and regulations which the artists as tax-payers should observe, we have understood that it is not an easy task for an artist to find and to know all the rules scattered in different legal acts on taxation and social insurance. Therefore the Board of the CCUL has decided to publish a handbook "Artists and Taxes". A kind of booklet containing the information about all the legal norms and all the situations, with which an artist meets in his status of a tax-payer. The text far the booklet will be written by an experienced specialist in the matters of taxation. This project has received the support of the CCF, and it will be carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Finances. We hope that by publishing such a handbook we shall get a clearer general vision of the taxation policy in its relation to different aspects of the specificality of creative professions.