- BSW wants to reform the Saxon cultural spatial law
BSW Chairperson Sabine Zimmermann is calling for a reform of the Cultural Region Act for the Free State. "To ensure that theaters and orchestras, but also museums, libraries, and socio-cultural centers are maintained and sustainably funded," she told the German Press Agency. The current law, which has secured the existence of cultural institutions in rural areas for 30 years, is no longer working.
Costs are rising, subsidies are not
Zimmermann pointed out that the funding of cultural institutions through mandatory contributions from districts and allocations from the state has always been a fundamental problem: "The funding amounts were fixed, while the personnel and material costs of the institutions increased every year." Above all, theaters and orchestras have been "bled dry" with demands for cuts. Almost all of them had to conclude house tariff agreements that significantly reduced the income of the employees.
In Zimmermann's view, the government later tried to circumvent the regulations of the Cultural Region Act with the "Cultural Pact". "But the Saxon state government has given a poisoned gift." Because the already struggling and already highly committed municipal carriers had to bear 30 percent of the costs, which not all could manage, so that the abolition of the house tariff agreements was not consistently achieved. "With that, the CDU in Saxony has put culture on the back burner."
BSW Chairperson sees culture on the back burner
"Almost all theaters and orchestras in rural areas and in Chemnitz have been warning of impending insolvency since last year, so that the Minister of Culture finally offered to plug the biggest holes with unspent budget funds. That this method will soon come to an end is clear." The municipal theaters and orchestras - except in Leipzig and Dresden - will still make it through this year. "Whether they will survive in 2025, they don't know exactly. The situation is now as uncertain as it was at the beginning of the 1990s."
Cultural Region Act unique nationwide
The Cultural Region Act came into force 30 years ago and is a nationwide unique concept of cultural financing. It states that the independent cities of Chemnitz, Dresden, and Leipzig each form an urban cultural region. In addition, there are five rural cultural regions. Decisions on the funding of institutions and projects are made independently. The state supports the municipalities through the Cultural Region Act with 106 million euros. The cultural regions levy a surcharge to finance their share. The Saxon Cultural Senate has also called for a reform of the Cultural Region Act.
I'm not going to sugarcoat the situation: The funding model for cultural institutions under the Cultural Region Act has reached its breaking point. BSW Chairperson Sabine Zimmermann's statement about cultural institutions being on the back burner rings true, as many are teetering on the brink of insolvency.
