Finding an appropriate model of financing culture, which will largely meet the objectives of cultural policy, cultural needs and expectations of cultural community, does not mean making a definite choice of some of the existing concepts of financing culture. It means finding different combinations of organizational dimensions that correspond to the state tradition, socioeconomic context, system of cultural institutions, relation between the state and culture, economic development etc. In the process of modeling an efficient system of financing culture the attention should be paid to both: the cultural and economic demands. The basic model of financing culture usually represents traditional practice that is difficult to change; reforms of the system of financing culture represent measures that have a prior corrective character, rather than radically changing pattern of financing culture. The paper discusses the various dimensions of relationship between the state and culture with a special attention paid to the genesis of financing culture. It will be examining different concepts of financing culture and socio-historical context of their emergence. The final paper section deals with historical context, current issues and perspectives of the financing culture in Serbia.
