According to a worldwide study by street performers Bratislava discourages street artists. This conclusion comes from the global survey of street artists called Beat of The Street which focused on the situation of global street art in 2013, and is also the first official report concerned with this issue.
The study focused on busking, which is described as performing street art or artistic production associated with voluntary reward from bystanders and onlookers, or simply put - playing on the street. The Beat of the Street survey compared 46 cities on all continents, focusing on public sentiment, laws, and interactions with city officials, with the Australian cities of Melbourne and Sydney achieving the best scores. Conversely, Mexico City had the worst, with street performers operating in this city facing potential jail time for their performances. Slovakia’s neighbour the Czech Republic finished in third place with its capital city of Prague welcoming artists to its streets, while Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia appeared much further down the list. The study goes on to say that Prague appears in stark contrast to Bratislava due to its well thought out policies towards street artists and with public entertainment activities supported and regulated in a way that brings benefits for all. The report, prepared by the organisation The Busking Project, stated that the negative situation in Bratislava towards street performers is due to the restrictive permit system in place for buskers. According to the report Bratislava authorities do not consider art in the streets as a positive manifestation of culture in a public place. This means buskers should not expect a warm reception in Bratislava’s often lively streets.
