What we do is highly praised, but as of now, there is no special budget for our cultural programs. The resources for the programs have been hand-to-mouth, so to speak, and therefore restricted. Many possible events have had to be turned down. And, too often, the potential of the programs that do take place have not been fully realized due to financial limitations. We cannot pay the artists in a decent manner nor contribute to paying their expenses. We cannot even afford to promote the events in a way that the artists actually deserve. This is not a good situation and it is for these reasons that we have decided to establish the Trygve Lie Gallery Cultural Fund – The Norwegian Seamen’s Church in New York, so that we can change this. We want to heighten the level of the cultural activity, but to do that, we need financial support. If the cultural activity is to be continued in an effective way, it is necessary to raise money to put this fund in place.

Norwegian corporations and private persons in the US contribute financially to the general work of the Norwegian Seamen’s Church in New York and continuing fundraising for the church is of course ongoing. These monies are limited in terms of the extent to which they may be allocated for use on the cultural programs. This is as it should be, but the cultural activity can only suffer as a result. Therefore we now ask corporations in Norway and the US to contribute specifically to the establishment of the Trygve Lie Gallery Cultural Fund – The Norwegian Seamen’s Church in New York. Our goal is to urge 50 corporations or individuals to give $3000 each. This would give the cultural work at the church a solid basis for worthy future programs.

Next: The cultural fund