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Different government levels in Flanders and Brussels have support programmes aimed at (individual) artists and cultural workers. On the Federal level, there are specific regulations concerning social security for artists, discussed in 4.1.3.[1] The main funding schemes are located at the level of the Flemish Community, where most forms for supporting professional artists are integrated into the Arts Decree. Artists can apply for (short term and longer term) grants, which allow for the research and development of new ideas, residencies abroad or reflection on one’s oeuvre. Project funding is available for individual artists (max. three years), which can serve for... read more →

Public cultural infrastructure in Flanders (the so-called ‘nebular city’, see 1.3.1) is in large part a result of the interplay between the Flemish Community, the provinces, and local authorities. This balance has changed in recent years, however, as a result of the ‘Internal State Reform’ (see 1.2.4). This divested the provincial governments of most of their cultural competences and intensified a decentralisation of local cultural policy in Flanders. The lower levels of government nonetheless remain an important provider of funding for cultural and culture-related initiatives (see also 7.1.2). A substantial part of the funding of cultural organisations by the Flemish... read more →

Table 1 provides the most recent numbers of selected types of cultural institutions. Immovable heritage sites and archaeological sites are a competence of the Flemish Region (thus excluding the territory of the Brussels-Capital Region) and fall under a different policy area than the other mentioned institutions. Museums, archives, and other organisations receiving multi-year (‘structural’) funding through the Cultural Heritage Decree (95 in total [1]), the arts organisations with structural subsidies through the Arts Decree (performing arts, music, visual arts, architecture and design, and transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary arts; 215 in total[2]), and the organisations structurally supported through the Decree Socio-Cultural Work... read more →

Flanders has been described as a cultural ‘nebular city’, a sprawl of predominantly small to mid-large cultural infrastructure and organisations of private and public origin.[1] The distinction between both is not always clear, as some public organisations are former private initiatives and private organisations may have received some form of public support at some point in their history. The Flemish Arts Decree, for example, has provided a relatively flexible framework that allows organisations with a predominantly private income structure (such as music clubs) to apply for public funding. Many publicly funded socio-cultural organisations also rely for a large part on... read more →

Artists and cultural organisations draw from a diverse range of sources of income, both public (funding from the Flemish, Federal, local, and/or international level) and private (such as ticketing, membership fees, patronage, sponsorship, etc.).[1] Series of figures on income structures exist for organisations receiving multi-year funding through the Arts Decree (for the period 2007-2016)[2] and organisations funded through the Decree Socio-Cultural Work for Adults (for the period 2007-2014)[3]. In both cases, the mean ratio between public and private income remains relatively stable throughout the years. Former Flemish minister of Culture Sven Gatz (2014-2019) ordered two studies (in 2015 and 2017)... read more →

Table 7 displays expenditure by the Flemish government on culture in 2019 (EUR 510 238 000, or 1.1% of total expenditure by the Flemish government in 2019[1]). Here, ‘culture’ designates a specific range of activities and sectors, including arts (such as the disciplines falling under the Arts Decree and the funds for literature and film, see 7.2.1), cultural heritage (such as museums, archives, and intangible heritage), and socio-cultural work for adults (including circus and amateur arts).[2] This, however, excludes expenses on media (such as broadcasting services) and immovable heritage (such as monuments and protected sites), which each reside with separate... read more →

Table 6 presents figures on culture expenditure by the different levels of government in Belgium.[1] Each figure is the sum of expenditure on cultural services and on broadcasting and publishing services (see 7.1.1 for detailed explanation). With regard to Flanders, especially the data on the Flemish government (which combine data on Community and Region), the Flemish Community Commission in Brussels, and the Federal Government are important. The row of ‘Lower government levels’ includes the expenditure on culture by local and provincial governments in Belgium. As of 2018, provincial governments in Flanders are largely divested of competences on culture. These competences... read more →

The following data refer to public culture expenditure in the whole of Belgium in 2018. Each figure is the sum of expenditure on cultural services and on broadcasting and publishing services.[1] Public culture expenditure (for all levels of government together) represents: EUR 283.4 per capita0.7% of the GDP1.4% of total public expenditure These data were taken from Eurostat, the National Bank of Belgium, and Statbel. Compared over the period 2009-2018, the percentage of public expenditure on cultural services in the GDP has remained stable (0.5%), while that of expenditure on broadcasting and publishing services dropped from 0.3% in 2009-2010 to... read more →

Funding for audiovisual productions (film, television series, games) is provided by the Flemish Audiovisual Fund (VAF; see 1.2.3 and 3.5.3), which functions separately from the Arts Decree. The latter, however, does provide funding options for audiovisual work for multiple screens (which is usually shown in the exhibition circuit). The VAF was established by the Decree of 13 April 1999. There are also economic funds for audiovisual production outside the policy field of Culture. These are linked to competences of the Regions. Screen Flanders operates in the Flemish Region and the Screen.brussels Fund in the Brussels-Capital Region. The Media Decree of... read more →

The Arts Decree of 13 December 2013 is the main legislative framework for supporting the professional arts in the Flemish Community (see 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 3.5.5, 5.4, and 7.2.1). This includes project support, grants, residencies, and multi-year funding for performing arts, music, visual arts, (‘multiple screen’) audiovisual arts, design, architecture, and multi- and transdisciplinary arts. The funded architecture and design activities should be non-commercial (thus excluding commissions for designing buildings, for example) and artistically oriented or focussed on reflection. The Arts Decree is currently being reformed (see 2.9). Support for commercial activities is arranged by legislation in other policy fields than... read more →