We could say something derogatory about Belgians and arithmetic, but we won't. Firstly, because the Belgians have disbanded themselves and, secondly, because there is nothing wrong with the maths ability of the Flemings. At least, those Flemings who joined the Flemish Theatre Institute Have calculated how subsidy money for the arts is spent. In Flanders. And that turns out to be a very complicated story, according to the pdf full of tables, graphs and beats. Reassuring, actually, because 'the complicated' is apparently still cherished in Flanders. After all, in the Netherlands, the Rutte government is as difficult about cutting back on the arts as it is about rescuing a civilian from a beach in Libya or building a nuclear power plant in an area that was still under water 60 years ago.
No, then the Belgians Flemish. Even though only 86 million per year in state subsidies goes to the arts, there are countless other pots of money and there is 'the market'. All this adds up to a highly complex organised art world with around 200 million in costs. Nice. Keep it that way. Now the curious thing is that the researchers, who have gone wild on the new Excel version that the VTi had available, find that the Flemish government generates a lot of money with this subsidy. This has also been investigated in the Netherlands, but then it was about economic value and added value for society (running into billions). At the Theatre Institute, they thought that was all just too complicated. The research now shows that this government subsidy mainly invites a lot of other governments to subsidise. Which they apparently still see as an advantage in Flanders, given the jubilant tone in which this discovery is published. It is only logical that most of the money also goes into personnel costs. Apparently not a problem either.
In any case, as a lobbying piece for a sector that wants to arm itself against austerity, the pdf from the Flemish is totally unsuitable. Although we do like the pictures and colours very much. We can already see Mr Zijlstra here licking his fingers at so much researcher naivety. Although, the Dutch cultural sector also has its share of it, now that the now infamous Table of Six has already fleshed out the Rutte administration's entire austerity proposal, even before the thrifty Frisian has even once opened his mouth substantively.
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