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 private sources of income.
(Ameliorating the conditions for) private funding was one of the key policy themes during the term of former Flemish minister of Culture Sven Gatz (2014-2019) (see 7.3). It remains a focus under current minister of Culture Jan Jambon (2019-2024). In his recent Strategic Vision Statements for the Arts, Jambon stressed that the cultural sector is to be seen as part of a broader market economy and that subsidized actors should organise and sell their work according to the market value.[2]
[1] Davidts, Wouter. 2004. ‘Vlaanderen Culturele Nevelstad: culturele infrastructuur in een horizontaal verstedelijkt landschap’. In Jaarboek Architectuur Vlaanderen 02-03, Antwerpen: Vlaams Architectuurinstituut (VAi), 71–79.
[2] Jambon, Jan. 2020. ‘Strategische Visienota Kunsten’, 16-17.
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