Status of the Artist

The 1980 Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist, adopted by UNESCO General Conference at its twenty-first session in 1980, calls upon Member States to improve the professional, social and economic status of artists through the implementation of policies and measures related to training, social security, employment, income and tax conditions, mobility and freedom of expression. It also recognizes the right of artists to be organized in trade unions or professional organisations that can represent and defend the interests of their members.

In 2003, the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO in cooperation with UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture and the Lithuanian Artists’ Association organized an international conference on the Implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of the Artist and the Florence Agreement in Eastern and Central Europe.

The dispositions of the 1980 Recommendation in the field of recognition of the central role of artists in the creation and production of a diversity of cultural expressions  correlates with the 2005 Convention  on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which provided a new normative framework for the implementation and monitoring of the Recommendation. UNESCO regulary calls the Member States  for updating data submission on the implementation of the Recommendation in their territories and elaborates surveys and summaries on this subject. Lithuania provides required data and information to UNESCO on regular basis.