Section 7.2.1 provides an overview of the current public funding for artists, including Flanders Literature (which supports writers, translators and illustrators) and the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF, which offers funding opportunities for individuals working in the audiovisual sector). Aside from these, Flanders does not have government funds specifically oriented towards artists.
Belgium has a system of funds for subsistence security (‘fondsen voor bestaanszekerheid’), which, for example, set up additional training, provide guidelines for secure working conditions or manage additional social benefits for employees of companies and organisations. These are organised according to collective labour agreements in officially delineated sectors (see 4.1.5), such as the ‘performing arts’ (which in this case include theatre, dance and music), the ‘socio-cultural sector’ (which in this case includes museums and visual arts organisations), and the audiovisual sector. Funds active in these sectors are, respectively the Performing Arts Social Fund, Sociaal Fonds voor het Sociaal-Cultureel Werk (SFSCW), and Mediarte. Note that their benefits are directed at employees (e.g. musicians receiving wages from ensembles or actors employed by theatre companies), not at independent freelancers.
For a discussion of private foundations, whose contributions directly or indirectly support artists’ activities, see 7.3.
For a discussion of the (temporary) public and private funds aimed at mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on individuals in the cultural sector, see the separate COVID-19 overview on Flanders.
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