Hanoi (VNA) – On July 1, the Government issued a resolution on an aid package worth 26 trillion VND (more than 1.14 billion USD) for workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, incl⛦uding performing artists in State-owned units.

The relief is considered a source of support for them as the coronavirus resurgence has temporarily shut down the theatres.

Practical encouragement for artists

Thuy Anh, an artist of the Hanoi-based Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, was happy when she came to know of the Government’s aid package. She has stayed off work for more than a year and had to do many different jobs to support her family. The support worth 3.71 million VND for her under the aid package holds great significance to her at present. Anh, born in 1993, started working at the theatre in 2016. In the pre-pandemic period, artists like Anh earned a monthly salary of over 8 million VND. Added with the income from her husband’s business, her family still managed to make ends meet in the capital city. Her theatre has long been known as “the only in Asia to perform water puppetry for 365 days a year”, with most of its audience being foreign visitors. The COVID-19 outbreak has taken a heavy toll on the theatre, causing numerous difficulties for more than 100 artists and musicians. “Coming to know the financial aid for artists, I’m very happy, feel that I have benefited from the State’s attention and not been neglected. This sum of money is a highly practical source of spiritual encouragement and material assistance at the moment,” Anh noted. People’s Artist Tong Toan Thang, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Circus Federation, said the federation has quickly made a list of more than 100 beneficiaries of the assistance. Performing artists have been struggling against difficulties for the last two years, and it is hard to predict how long the pandemic will last. Modest as the financial aid is, it is still a source of spiritual support for them, he said. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, there are more than 100 non-business public units involved in performing arts nationwide, excluding arts troupes of armed forces, with more than 2,000 personnel whose salary is lower than the region-based minimum wage.

More beneficiaries expected

Highly appreciating the Government’s assistance, theatre leaders and artists also wonder when they can receive the aid. Artists are facing numerous hardships in their life, and they hope that procedures will be handled swiftly in these trying times, Thang told VietnamPlus. He added that circus artists are living at a subsistence level as their daily diet now is not enough for them to undergo training. Circus artists need much more nutritious meals than normal persons. Meritorious Artist Kieu Minh Hieu, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Drama Theatre, said the State’s support is very precious as it shows management agencies’ attention to artists. However, after nearly two years of theatre shutdown, artists have lost their main source of income. This financial aid is hardly more than a spiritual encouragement, he went on, holding that it is necessary to have a particular salary mechanism, as well as specific training and performing assistance allowances for artists so that their livelihoods are guaranteed and they can focus on devoting themselves to the arts. People’s Artist Quoc Anh, Acting Director of the Hanoi Cheo Theatre, said many young artists graduated from universities or colleges and, after deducting insurance premiums, their salary is just 2 - 3 million VND, yet they are not entitled to the support. Units in performing arts hope that cultural authorities will organise an online meeting to listen to artists’ opinions so as to identify the right groups in need of assistance, he added./.