Basic Cultural Infrastructure (BIS)

  • policy & politics

At the beginning of November, the Council for Culture advised the minister to continue the current leniency policy until the end of the current policy period, i.e. that BIS institutions will not have their subsidies cut at the final settlement if they achieve a smaller number of activities and/or (live) visitors than envisaged in their original plans.

The council called on the national cultural funds, provinces and municipalities to (continue to) pursue a flexible policy with respect to the institutions they subsidize on a long-term basis. The council also reiterated its advice to extend the current policy period by two years in order to give the sector and the authorities the opportunity to leave the crisis behind in a healthy manner and to learn from the innovations introduced. 

"In addition, the council shares the recently expressed expectation of the Cultural and Creative Sector Taskforce that the corona crisis of the past eighteen months will have a long after-effect on the sector. The Taskforce foresees a loss of income that will also amount to 530 million euros during the first two quarters of 2022. The already fragile balance between supply and demand has been thrown off course by the crisis, with the result that sales of exhibitions, performances and concerts are under pressure." 

Concerns

BIS institutions responded to the question of how they are adapting plans and performance to changed circumstances. They also completed another performance review and submitted a balanced budget for the years 2021 and 2024. Based on this and the interviews conducted, the council has the impression that the sector has a great capacity for adaptation and innovation on the one hand, and has become mentally overburdened by the many uncertainties and adjustments on the other. Thanks to the support measures, the institutions are generally in good financial shape, but there are major concerns about the return of audiences, the disrupted international field, and the acquisition of one's own income, partly in relation to the increase in costs for innovation, upscaling and downscaling, and fair practice. 

The measures for international guest curators and artists which can vary enormously from country to country makes the working practice more complicated

Fine Art

As far as the visual arts are concerned, the BIS involves presentation institutions and post-academic institutions. The presentation institutions rescheduled exhibitions and public activities and focused on digital reach. The institutions continued to reach their audiences at home with online presentations. Extra attention was paid to talent development, for example by awarding commissions to artists. Released budgets were in some cases used for the creation of publications and a number of institutions emphasized stronger local embedding and regional talent development. The council notes that collaboration with smaller initiatives and artists was largely absent, as was exchange between the organizations themselves. Across the board, however, institutions did take a professional approach. Due to the postponement of the programme, many institutions are now 'fully booked'. This is a vulnerable situation for presentation institutions, which serve as springboards and are focused on current affairs. The measures for international guest curators and artists, which can differ enormously from country to country, make the work practice more complicated. 

Other institutions offered short-term residencies and last-call residencies for participants from the local area

The (also very internationally oriented) post-academic institutions have focused on their core task of guiding residents. Because of the travel restrictions, the duration of the residencies has been adjusted and 'open days' have been postponed. Here and there this has consequences for the occupancy rate in 2021- 2022. Residencies for collectives were dropped at the location in the Netherlands. Some organizations organized residencies decentrally, other institutions offered short-term residencies and last-call residencies for participants from the immediate area. For some participants, the residencies are a safe space proved, other institutions describe that isolation actually took a heavy mental toll on participants. At some institutions, investments were accelerated for the transition from offline to online, for example the development of online studio visits. The institutions mostly describe the importance of the urgency of art and culture. They feel a stronger awareness of their place in society and feel affirmed in the themes they address. 

The visual arts sector has weathered the pandemic reasonably well but anticipates that the effects will continue. Some institutions see the pandemic and related restrictions as a permanent reality. In the months that visual arts institutions have reopened, audiences have not found their way back nearly as they did before the crisis. The institutions point out that the lack of clarity about what is and is not allowed and possible is partly to blame for this and suggest that a sector-wide campaign could be helpful in this regard. 

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