ECONOMIC DEPRESSIVE EPISODE III:
PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

On average, an emerging artist applies to 50 - 70 exhibitions or festivals annually. Half of these demands a one-time payment in the form of an entrance fee which ranges from 10 to 30 Euros, amounts that add up to over 900 Euros only in contributions. When there's a positive outcome, these investments translate into participation in 3 to 4 projects in which the production costs would – most likely – be paid; however, this does not include other fees, nor royalties. At such events, works are usually not for sale – the events are run by non-commercial institutions–, this alone creates different levels of conflict that are deepened when taking into consideration that the official status of an artist is proved by a CV which should contain a list of international projects. Statistically speaking, most contributions to these international competitions are paid by artists who come from countries where governmental support for the arts is either negligible or absent; thus, part of the international cultural processes in the European territory is subsidized by developing countries of Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and/or Latin America.
"Lottery" is a very appropriate word to describe this economic process within the systems of culture, up to the complete confluence of contexts: for example, in Germany or the Netherlands, the lottery subsidizes the arts and culture sector. This, of course, is not as entertaining as the situation in Sweden, where the culture is supported through weaponry sales. Nevertheless, it sounds like a symptom: culture lives off of the hope of the poorest segments of the population, including immigrants, the hope to change their lives for the better; in other words, at the expense of those who do not have access to culture.