26.02.: The next shock for the Styrian cultural scene has arrived! In addition to the problems with the lack of financial resources for cultural funding, the Styrian state government is now replacing the state’s existing cultural board of trustees, thus bringing even more unrest to the Styrian cultural landscape.
Since the new Styrian provincial government took office, events in the area of cultural funding have pointed to a dramatic development. Even when the first decisions on funding applications were announced, the level of the previous year could not be maintained, let alone adjusted for inflation. The situation is expected to be even worse when decisions are made in the near future, as the budget shortage is likely to be even greater at this time.
In addition to the budgetary problems in the area of cultural funding, the Styrian provincial government has now unexpectedly decided to replace (at least large parts of) the existing Cultural Board of Trustees. While it was not yet clear yesterday whether a replacement of the entire cultural board of trustees or just individual members was planned, everything is now clear: with the exception of two members (Wilhelm Gabalier and Johann Baumgartner), the entire board of trustees has been replaced. Once again, there are only 4 women on the 15-member board. The Kleine Zeitung has published a list of the new appointments. An official explanation as to why the provincial government has made this decision at this particular time is still pending.
According to § 9 of the KuKuFöG 2005, the Cultural Board of Trustees is appointed for a period of three years. Accordingly, the Cultural Board of Trustees that has now been replaced was appointed together with the experts on 01.01.2024 for the term of office until 31.12.2026. Although the law (Section 12) provides for premature resignation by revocation of the appointment by the provincial government as well as a replacement for the remaining duration of the current term of office for the members of the Cultural Board of Trustees and the experts, this has never happened in the form now implemented. This naturally raises the question of “why?”. In any case, it is important to emphasize in this context that although the replacement process has now been completed in no time at all, the new members of the Board of Trustees need a familiarization phase and that takes time.
In this respect, it is completely incomprehensible that the state government is now replacing the Cultural Board of Trustees. We find ourselves in a very volatile situation in which the time available for processing applications for multi-year funding agreements is extremely limited. Against this backdrop in particular, it would be important to draw on the expertise of a well-established body instead of creating new uncertainties in this context and thus opening the door to potential delays in the review process. The Provincial Council has emphasized on several occasions that it does not see itself as having the power of interpretation when awarding funding, but instead relies on the expertise of the committees. For this reason, the way in which the body that advises the provincial government on cultural policy issues and assesses funding applications is appointed plays a decisive role in the future development of the Styrian cultural landscape and is a delicate political act.
And last but not least: a politically motivated change of review bodies is in stark contrast to the goals of the Cultural Strategy 2030, which envisages the depoliticization of bodies by establishing transparent and non-political selection and recommendation procedures as well as the transparent appointment of advisory and expert review body members. This is a long-standing demand of the cultural scene and, as stated in the Cultural Strategy 2030, should be implemented in “a constructive, critical climate of cooperation” (with this very scene). In order to achieve this goal, the existing KuKuFöG 2005 needs to be amended, which in turn requires a period of preparation. The new appointment based on the power principle within the state government means “business as usual” and is therefore a bitter disappointment after three years of intensive discussions about the state’s cultural future. Moreover, the current approach arouses strong mistrust of the provincial government and its plans for the future of the Styrian cultural landscape, which do not appear to be in line with the Cultural Strategy 2030.
Source (in german): IG Kultur Steiermark