Thousands of artists threatened with bankruptcy during a pandemic

The delayed 'First Aid' scheme will help only a fraction of people working in the creative industries.

The Culture Ministry will support independent culture with at least €11 million, most of which, up to €9.5 million, will be redistributed by the Slovak Arts Council. The Culture Ministry will support independent culture with at least €11 million, most of which, up to €9.5 million, will be redistributed by the Slovak Arts Council. (Source: TASR)

The last stage which audio engineer Tibor Krištof designed and controlled the sound for before the outbreak of the pandemic, was a concert stage for the music band Polemic on March 10, four days after the discovery of the first person infected with coronavirus in Slovakia.

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The state subsequently banned the Polemic concert and all other mass events in March, and Krištof lost his livelihood for many months after having spent 15 years in the industry.

"Since then, I've worked at a laptop repair service, later on a construction site where I installed electricity and I also helped an ISP to mount antennas on the roof," he said.

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