Luxembourg

Last update: February, 2023

Last update: February, 2023

After each legislative election, a Grand-ducal decree establishes the ministries and defines their respective attributions. According to the decree currently in force, the ministry of Culture is competent for all areas relating to national and international cultural policy, cultural heritage protection, the coordination of national cultural institutes, relations with public and para-state cultural institutions and the implementation of the current Cultural development plan (KEP)[1].

Furthermore, there are a number of advisory councils to the ministry of Culture in the area of music, books, libraries, as well as commissions for heritage sites and religious edifices. These committees generally gather experts from public and private structures, depending on the topic and the organisation of the relevant cultural area itself.

Since 2016, the ministry also regularly organises either general or sectorial “assises”, i.e. plenary meetings with all cultural actors or actors from one specific area. These meetings serve as forum to exchange on ideas or gather input from the sector as to developments deemed necessary in the area of cultural policy.

Other ministries that intervene in cultural policies are the ministry of Education, Children and Youth (in charge of music education, music schools and the promotion of the Luxembourgish language) and the ministry of Finance (in terms of budgetary allocations).

On the legislative side, cultural policy involves the Parliament (Chambre des députés), made up of 60 deputies elected for five years via direct universal suffrage in four multi-seat constituencies (nb. voting is mandatory for all registered voters, registration on the electoral rolls being automatic for Luxembourgish citizens). Besides its main function to vote on government and parliament bills and ratify international treaties, the Chambre has means to exert control over the government both in financial matters and in political and administrative matters. The work within parliamentary commissions (composed of min. 5 and max. 15 MPs) is vital in the legislative procedure and commissions can also request the opinion of MEPs, as well as extra parliamentary persons or structures, such as the professional chambers. Culture is being dealt with by the Commission of Culture, currently comprising 15 members.

[1] https://legilux.public.lu/eli/etat/leg/agd/2018/12/05/a1099/jo

Last update: February, 2023

Although the country is subdivided into 12 cantons (that serve to define the electoral and court districts), there are no regional authorities in Luxembourg.

Notwithstanding, geographical regions play a role in cultural governance insofar as:

• the ministry of Culture explicitly recognises the regional dimension, both in the current Cultural development plan (KEP) and by setting up already in 1990 a unit for regional cultural affairs; initially spread between three offices situated in the northern, southern and eastern part of the country, the unit has been centralised at the ministry as of 2013 and acts as prime interlocutors for municipalities, intercommunal associations, cultural infrastructures and associations, heritage sites, projects etc. in local/rural and/or regional areas;
• ten regional/municipal professional cultural centers decided in 2008 to join forces within the Réseau association; its overall goal is to ensure a “basic supply” with diversified cultural offers among the population in decentralized areas; more specifically, the association seeks, among others, to represent the common interests of active members, to support regional cultural development consistent with national, interregional and European levels, to search and develop new audiences etc.;
• a number of intercommunal syndicates (e.g. Pro-Sud is a main interlocutor of the European Capital of Culture 2022 and manages a Unesco Man and biosphere label) or mixed administration unions (i.e. municipalities and State) are actively involved in or manage cultural projects as part of their activities.

Last update: February, 2023

Local cultural policy is of the exclusive competence of the municipalities that exert their authority through the communal council, the board of the mayor and aldermen (communal board). Depending on the size of each municipality, administrative services and structures are more or less important, defining the existence or not of a cultural department and the intensity of cultural activities and investments.

In general, the municipalities mainly finance local cultural services and facilities, intended for the use of their inhabitants and those from the geographically surrounding area, such as conservatories (in 3 cities) and music schools, libraries or theatres. There is a high level on spending on culture by municipalities (5.9% of global spending in general in 2016), but disparities are important with only 14 of the 105 municipalities in the country incurring 75% of all spending on culture.

Some municipalities display a distinctive cultural positioning and inspire similar approaches in the cultural sector. For example, the City of Differdange initiated the first creative industries center in Luxembourg, the 1535°, whereas the City of Esch-sur-Alzette is the first city in the country to adopt a cultural strategy and become a pilot city for Agenda 21 for culture.

Last update: February, 2023

The number of non-governmental professional actors has increased over the last 15 years, especially in the music business that has known a positive development of professional private actors. Private concert venues and organizers, but also bookers, managers and labels are settling now more often in Luxembourg.

Professional and sectoral federations, associations or networks represent the interests of their members in most of the cultural and artistic areas and also act as spokespersons. In those areas where they still lacked, the creation of such federations has been strongly encouraged by the ministry of Culture in recent years through financial support. A directory of all these structures has also been assembled in the context of the current Cultural development plan (KEP). It is regularly updated and available online.

Some of the professional chambers are also important actors in the cultural policymaking processes insofar as the government must seek their advice whenever new laws or Grand-ducal regulations concerning one or more sectors represented by these chambers are being prepared. There are currently five such chambers: Chamber of Employees, Chamber of Civil Servants and Public Employees, Chamber of Agriculture, Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts.

Much input comes from the cultural and creative sector itself, as well as other professionals related to the sector and civil society at large. Since 2016, this input is channeled through the regular organisation of general or sectoral meetings, the Assises. On the other hand, the citizen initiative Forum Culture(s) acts as an exchange platform on Luxembourg cultural policy issues and regularly proposes insights and reflections on the matter.

Last update: February, 2023

There is no intergovernmental committee set up specifically on culture, but the ministry of Culture participates in a number of interministerial committees set up by other ministries on various topics (such as Comité interministériel de l’égalité des chances, Commission des zones rurales, Commission interministérielle du 10^e plan quinquennal d’équipement de l’infrastructure touristique, Commission de subvention des gîtes touristiques, Commission interdépartementale pour les équipements sportifs, Comité interministériel pour la coopération au développement, Comité interministériel « Jeunesse », Comité interministériel de coordination de la politique européenne, Comité interministériel « Intégration », Comité de coordination interministérielle pour la coopération transfrontalière, Comité interministériel pour la coopération au développement, Comité interministériel Droits de l’homme, Comité interministériel de la promotion du pays – nation branding). These provide fora to introduce or defend cultural issues should they arise within these contexts.

There are nevertheless exceptions such as the Interministerial working group Education-culture or an informal coordination group with the ministry of Foreign and European affairs on embassies’ cultural projects.

On the local and regional level, transversal cooperation arises more regularly in the context of mixed administration unions (“syndicat mixte”) between municipalities and the state. Examples of such cooperation are frequent in the context of nature parks, such as the “Natur- & Geopark Mëllerdall” that manages, among others, a UNESCO Global Geopark label, or the “Naturpark Öewersauer” that proposes many cultural projects.

Last update: February, 2023

According to the law of 25 June 2004 on the reorganisation of the State's cultural institutes, there are currently seven + 1 State cultural institutes: National Archives, National Library, National Audiovisual Center, National Center for Literature, National Museum of History and Art and Dräi Eechelen Museum, National Museum of Natural History, National Institute for Architectural Heritage, National Institute for Archaeological Research. This law is currently under review following the adoption and entry into force in February 2022 of the law relating to cultural heritage[1].

Other public institutions (“établissements publics”) are also under the ministry of Culture’s tutelage and benefit from an important budgetary endowment by the State, such as the Philharmonie or the Rockhal. Likewise, there are cultural structures that function mostly as non-profit associations, but benefit from more or less budgetary endowments from the State in order to perform precise missions, e.g. Mudam Luxembourg/Musée d'art moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'art contemporain, Théâtre national du Luxembourg etc.

A certain number of municipalities also support important regional cultural institutions, such as the Grand théâtre of the City of Luxembourg, the Escher Theater in Esch-sur-Alzette, the Kinneksbond in Mamer, the Trifolion in Echternach, Cube 521 in Marnach or Opderschmelz in Dudelange.

In the private and specifically commercial sector, cultural premises that would fully qualify as “institutions” are rarer, depending also on the definition of the word.

[1]https://mc.gouvernement.lu/fr/actualites.gouvernement%2Bfr%2Bactualites%2Btoutes_actualites%2Bcommuniques%2B2022%2B05-mai%2B05-reorganisation-instituts-culturels.html

Last update: February, 2023

Table 1: Cultural institutions, by sector and domain

Only data for performing arts available

Source(s):Ministère de la Culture Luxembourg

Last update: February, 2023

The law of 25 June 2004 on the reorganisation of the State's cultural institutes is currently under review, a bill to that end having been submitted by the minister for Culture to Parliament in May 2022. The need for this initiative amounts, on the one hand, to modernizing the legislation governing key elements of the promotion of cultural heritage in Luxembourg. On the other hand, since 2004, these cultural institutes have been faced with the development and multiplication of their missions, as well as growing demand from audiences and cultural workers. The purpose of this bill is thus to respond to this development by providing for the adaptations that have become necessary for the proper functioning of the institutes.

An update of the general and specific missions of the institutions will thus make it possible to better account for the evolution of the role adopted by the cultural institutes in the fields of study, conservation and research of the cultural heritage. A work program, as provided for by the law on the general status of civil servants, will then define the specificities related to the implementation of the missions granted to them.

Among the other main changes introduced by the new text, the possibility of recruiting up to two deputy directors as well as the ability to set up a scientific committee is also noteworthy. In addition, the draft law provides for the possibility of granting the title of "scientific collaborator" to voluntary collaborators.

Last update: February, 2023

Whereas the ministry of Foreign and European Affairs deals with international cultural relations in relation with embassies’ cultural promotion projects, the competence for the definition and implementation of international cultural policy lies with the ministry of Culture. This encompasses bilateral as well as crossborder and multilateral cultural affairs. State and other publicly funded cultural institutes manage their international networks according to their own priorities.

Local authorities may be engaged in cultural activities with an international dimension on an autonomous basis, but it is rather seldom the case and depends on what is defined as such (e.g. town twinning activities might often be considered as cultural project). Regional or local cultural institutions, on the other hand, may often be in contact with foreign structures, though not so much for coproduction reasons than for distribution purposes.

Luxembourg does not have cultural institutes abroad, even though a handful of embassies are qualified as so-called “Maison du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg”, meaning that an extra amount of budget is made available for promotional activities of all kinds. Nevertheless, most of the time, these Houses do not equal a cultural venue and play no fixed role in terms of cultural diplomacy.

An export bureau for music having been created in 2011, it has since been integrated into an arts council type structure that has been established in 2020, called Kultur|lx. This structure’s missions are three-fold: stimulating the career development of Luxembourgish creatives, supporting and encouraging the dissemination of artistic creation, boosting the impact and promotion of artistic creations in and outside of Luxembourg. It focusses on professional artists and their career development inside the country and abroad.

Another important player in international cultural relations in the larger sense is the Film Fund Luxembourg. Established in 1990, the Fund is an official body supervised by both the minister responsible for the audiovisual sector and the minister responsible for culture, its main mission is to promote and foster an environment in which the country’s film production industry can develop and flourish, including internationally. Accordingly, coproductions represent nowadays a major part of Luxembourg’s film production, thanks notably to coproduction treaties that have been signed with a certain number of countries.

Other treaties and instruments, such as bilateral cultural agreements that have been signed with over 30 countries, are generally ill recognised and thus underused. Nevertheless, works are currently underway to define a general and coherent strategy for international cultural relations that would also allow valorising policies and instruments and making better use of them.

Last update: February, 2023

As a founding member of both the Council of Europe and the European Union, and a member of UNESCO since 1947, Luxembourg participates in an important number of their respective programmes, such as: Cultural routes, Herein, European Heritage Days, Eurimages (Council of Europe), Creative Europe, European Heritage Label, European Capitals of Culture (EU), World Heritage, Intangible cultural heritage, Geoparks, Man and Biosphere, Associated schools (UNESCO).

Furthermore, transborder cooperation is of particular importance in the context of the “Greater Region” that encompasses two German Länder (Rhineland Palatinate and Saarland), the Belgian French-speaking and German-speaking communities of Wallonia and Ostbelgien, the French region of Grand Est and Luxembourg. As a follow-up to the European Capital of Culture 2007 that included said territory, a specific association had been created to perpetuate exchanges and best practices from that year; the association has since been incorporated into the institutional framework of intergovernmental Greater Region cooperation and henceforth concentrates on political issues.

Luxembourg is also member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). The OIF have gradually transformed from a cultural cooperation agency to a fully-fledged foreign policy structure, cultural implication in its’ activities is now limited to the Jeux de la Francophonie that take place every four years.

The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions has been ratified in December 2006 and its implementation and monitoring falls within the competences of the ministry of Culture who delegates the task to the National UNESCO Commission.

Last update: February, 2023

While ensuring most of the financing of these participations, the ministry of Culture has delegated the organisation of the country’s representation in major projects, such as the Venice Biennale, the Frankfurter Buchmesse or Les Rencontres d’Arles, to external professional structures: for the Venice Biennale, it is either Mudam/Musée d’Art Moderne or Casino Luxembourg-Forum d’art contemporain or Luxembourg Centre for Architecture; the stand at Frankfurter Buchmesse is organised by Kultur|lx; Les Rencontres d’Arles pass through the non-profit association Lët’z Arles. For other such projects (e.g. Düsseldorf Tanzmesse), the modus vivendi is the same.