Resolution No. 19/2026/NQ-HĐND, passed by the Gia Lai Provincial People’s Council on April 24 and effective from May 4, sets out financial assistance measures designed to preserve and promote traditional artistic heritage at a time when the sector faces mounting challenges from modern entertainment trends.
The resolution covers a broad range of beneficiaries, including retired artists, performers working in public art institutions, non-public art troupes and students pursuing studies in tuồng and bài chòi.
Artists and artisans have described the policy as both timely and practical, particularly as traditional performance arts struggle to attract younger generations and maintain regular community audiences.
People’s Artist Xuân Hợi, a former performer with the Đào Tấn Tuồng Troupe under the Provincial Traditional Arts Theater, said the policy provides meaningful and concrete support for veteran performers.
“The most encouraging aspect is that Resolution 19 provides specific and practical support. Retired artists like us now have better conditions to participate in teaching and performing”, Xuân Hợi said.
Under the policy, retired artists participating in training, performances and teaching activities will receive support ranging from 180,000 VND to 800,000 VND per session, depending on the professional role and activity involved.
The resolution also offers significant assistance to amateur and non-public art troupes, many of which have operated for years through self-funding and personal dedication.
Eligible troupes can receive one-time grants of up to 100 million VND for costumes, props, sound systems and lighting equipment, alongside annual performance funding of up to 30 million VND.
Meritorious Artisan Minh Lưỡng, head of the Nhơn Hưng Hát Bội Art Troupe in East An Nhơn Ward, said only six amateur hát bội troupes remain in Gia Lai province.
“With additional support, amateur hát bội troupes will be able to invest more systematically in props, costumes and stage equipment. More importantly, it gives us artisans greater motivation to preserve the craft”, Minh Lưỡng said.
A shortage of young performers has long been a concern for the Provincial Traditional Arts Theater, where recruitment challenges have intensified as tuồng and bài chòi require years of rigorous training while offering limited financial prospects.
People’s Artist Phương Thảo, also a former performer with the Đào Tấn Tuồng Troupe, said preserving traditional arts depends on maintaining active communities of performers, learners and audiences.
“To effectively preserve traditional arts, the most important thing is to ensure that these heritages continue to live within the community”, Phương Thảo said.
A central feature of Resolution 19 is financial support for students training to become performers and musicians in hát bội and bài chòi.
Students with permanent residence in Gia Lai province who enroll in relevant programs will receive living allowances of 5 million VND per month for up to 10 months each academic year.
Nguyễn Trọng Quỳnh, Director of the Provincial Traditional Arts Theater, said the institution views the policy as a crucial step toward rebuilding the sector’s talent pipeline.
For years, the theater has struggled to recruit actors and musicians specializing in tuồng, while training programs related to tuồng and bài chòi are no longer offered within the cultural and arts sector at Quy Nhơn College of Technology and Engineering.
“Now, with Resolution 19 providing direct support to students, more young people will be encouraged to enroll”, Quỳnh said, adding that the theater plans to cooperate with the Hue Intermediate School of Culture and Arts to recruit students through a local training order mechanism.
In addition to student support, the resolution provides one-time grants of 50 million VND for artists working at public art institutions who pursue specialized training in directing, scriptwriting, choreography, sound and lighting related to tuồng and bài chòi productions.
Artists and artisans said the new measures have renewed confidence in efforts to preserve traditional performance arts for future generations.
Meritorious Artisan Huỳnh Thị Kim Chung of the Phước An Hát Bội Art Troupe in West Tuy Phước commune said the support policies would help ensure the survival of cultural traditions passed down through generations.
“When artists and artisans receive attention, students of traditional arts are supported, and amateur hát bội troupes have better conditions to operate, the ‘precious heritage’ left by our ancestors will surely find a new generation to carry it forward”, Kim Chung said.