Maastricht is going to do things differently. Starting next year, the city council will determine what art is needed, and art institutions will be allowed to submit plans that fit within that framework. If their plans do not comply, they will not get any money. Sounds nice, but the capital of Limburg is treading on thin ice. This is because the city is changing from grantor to commissioner, and then very different rules apply. European rules.
On the website Domestic Administration says a spokesperson for the municipality:
´We have reversed roles, because it allows us to better give hands and feet to the policy and we can steer in a more targeted way. After all, you can only spend every euro once and in these times we prefer to do that as effectively as possible. You have to take the lead, otherwise it will fragment. We now have that direction in our own hands.´
But in fact, he argues that Maastricht will now treat art the same as spatial planning. The municipality then sets budgets, and asks the market to build a park, school building or intersection, and then everyone gets to subscribe to it. That's called tendering. So now with culture. There should be an orchestra with and learning track, something with drama. Locally, this can then be awarded to parties that are already active here, provided the amount of the tender remains under 2 tonnes. If it exceeds that, it should be put out to European tender, with the cheapest bidder winning. And that may come from anywhere.
Good chance, then, that Maastricht will have a Bulgarian orchestra next year.
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