'Peace, trust and continuity central to cultural subsidies'

Fair remuneration, trust in the cultural sector and less administrative burden are among the main principles for the cultural subsidy period 2025 - 2028. With this, State Secretary Uslu (Culture and Media) wants to bring as much peace to the sector as possible in the coming years. She is also tackling a number of bottlenecks, for example in the youth performing arts. She is largely following the advice of the Council for Culture on the organisation of the coming period.

The main assessment criteria for the basic cultural infrastructure (bis) will be artistic / content quality, social significance, accessibility and sound management. Geographical distribution is also an important element. In addition, it is important that bis organisations comply with the Fair Practice Code, the Diversity and Inclusion Code, and the Governance Code.

State Secretary Uslu: "Cultural institutions are yearning for breathing space to recover from the corona years that have really cut into them. I notice this in the conversations I have with people from the sector. In the coming years, I therefore want to ensure peace and continuity. My spearhead remains improving the labour market and fair remuneration for makers and employees. I find that more important than the number of productions an institution makes. That is why I allocate 34.1 million euros for that. There is also more focus on sustainability and how we can help institutions prepare for the future."

An additional €1.6 million is available annually for the subsidy of youth performing arts and €0.47 million for performing arts festivals in the period 2025-2028. There will also be a place for an institution dedicated to improving the labour market position of workers in the cultural and creative sector.

A total of €497.22 million is available annually to subsidise bis institutions and state culture funds. To this must be added an amount of €34.1 million per year to fair pay encourage. There are 120 spots in the bis. Four-year institutions are also subsidised through the various state cultural funds.

Earlier, the state secretary announced a relatively simple application round for the period 2025 - 2028. Agreements have been made to ensure a better match between grant applications to the state, the state cultural funds and the municipalities. The positions within the bis will remain the same next period, and the extra places added to the bis at the request of the House of Representatives will be retained.

These principles will be incorporated into a grant scheme. After that, cultural institutions can submit their applications. This is possible from 1 December 2023 to 31 January 2024. The Council for Culture will then advise on the submitted applications. The final subsidy decisions will be announced on Budget Day 2024.

The central government's cultural subsidies consist of two elements: institutions that receive direct four-year subsidies and thus form the so-called basic infrastructure, and subsidies distributed through the national culture funds. In both cases, the government is at a distance in terms of content: in the case of bis institutions, the independent Council for Culture gives a weighty advice. The state culture funds decide how to distribute the available money on the advice of substantive experts.

The parliamentary letter and guiding principles for cultural subsidies 2025-2028 can be found at the central government website.