Promotion of cultural institutions and measures in 2021
Cultural Mayor Ralph Burghart today presented the City of Chemnitz's strategy for funding cultural institutions and measures in 2021. At around 5.6 million euros, the volume of applications is almost twice as high as the available budget of around 3 million euros.
In the draft for the new 2021/22 biennial budget, the City of Chemnitz is therefore proposing to increase the budget by 205,000 euros in order to maintain the previous year's level of funding from 2020 for most organisations (around 95%). Subject to the budget resolution, which is planned for March, around 3.007 million euros will be available.
Mayor Ralph Burghart: "The City of Chemnitz is thus proving to be a reliable partner for independent cultural organisations, which are an essential part of the cultural landscape in Chemnitz. In order to maintain the structures and cultural life, it is important to provide planning security, especially in these times characterised by the pandemic."
However, larger new applications cannot be granted for financial reasons.
Nevertheless, the amount of funding for small projects (34,705 euros) could be visibly increased compared to the previous year (20,962 euros) within the available funds. Several new applicants/measures are also included in the funding proposed by the administration. This fulfils the declared aim of supporting even more smaller projects.
The administration also proposes that the minimum amount of the reserve fund be made available in accordance with the new funding guidelines. This means that approx. 50,000 euros are still available for the current funding year to support spontaneous applications and small project funding.
In order to avoid significant cuts or the curtailment of applications, two measures will be supported from the European Capital of Culture budget. The international projects "Dance/Modernity/Dance" and the "Begehungen" are relevant for the development towards 2025.
Background cultural funding for independent organisations:
The City of Chemnitz budget provides annual funding to support independent organisations in the field of art and culture. According to the main statutes, the Culture Committee is responsible for the distribution of these funds. It is advised by experts from the Cultural Advisory Board, which makes recommendations on the funding of independent organisations. The basis for this is formed by the administration's funding proposals presented in the template.
2021 is the first year in which the new "Art and Culture" funding guideline, which provides for gradual changes, comes into effect. Applications were still submitted on the basis of the "old" funding guideline, but the content of the City of Chemnitz's cultural strategy (adopted in January 2019) has already been taken into account.
The administrative proposal was prepared on the basis of these funding strategy approaches. Following feedback from the applicants and the incorporation of the updated plans, the draft resolution will be prepared and launched. It will be discussed by the Cultural Advisory Board on 24 March and adopted by the Cultural Committee on 15 April 2021. This will create the legal basis for issuing the grant and rejection notices to the applicants.
Information on the funding guideline and the funding conditions under Corona can be found at www.chemnitz.de/kulturfoerderung