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In Austria, ‘intercultural dialogue’ is often used in context with external relations, events, co-operation projects and the like. Different actors on different levels – state, Bundesländer (provinces) and local, but also NGOs – with divergent interests, have so far made it difficult to develop a cohesive, consensus-based integration and migration policy. Although Austria is an "immigration country", the immigration and integration policy is very restrictive, especially since the refugee crisis of 2015 (see chapter 2.6).  Concerning the cultural field – apart from individual projects and the stipulation of cultural diversity in strategy papers and laws – there have not been... read more →

The Digital Agenda for Europe, published by the European Commission in 2010, made proposals for measures on cultural and audiovisual issues that have also been implemented in Austria. For example, the EU online library Europeana and the digitalisation of cultural heritage content and support, for the digitalisation of film, for the development of indicators for digital qualifications and media literacy, as well as for initiatives in the field of intellectual property in connection with digital media. In 2016, the government adopted the Digital Roadmap Austria, which covers 12 topics, among them “Media, civil courage and culture”. By using digital technologies,... read more →

The national and the regional governments encourage the promotion and support of artists and creators. Not only does Austria perceive itself as a cultural nation, many great artists, musicians and writers add to the worldwide fame. But there is a strong gap between a few highly-paid artists and a huge number of them who barely can make a living from their work. This was concluded in the 2008 study Zur sozialen Lage der Künstler und Künstlerinnen in Österreich (On the social situation of artists in Austria). It revealed a dramatic level of poverty and came to the conclusion that the... read more →

On the national level, artistic freedom has been anchored in the Constitution since 1982, apart from the freedom of expression as an independent fundamental right. Thus, it protects any kind of artistic creation from state intervention. Participation and access to critical debates with art and culture are seen as key factors for the high quality of life of a society in Austria. The Bundesländer also safeguard freedom of art, support cultural education and mediation as well as equal access to and participation in art and culture for everyone. The Bundesländer are responsible for art and culture, the state acts in... read more →

Austria’s cultural policy in the period 2007-2017 (social democratic government) was characterised by the commitment to a sustainable safeguard for art and culture, by emphasising the promotion of contemporary art and emerging artists, the strengthening of cultural education and mediation, efforts of internationalisation and the improvement of working conditions of artists, particularly of women. Moreover, the promotion of gender equality and cultural diversity, the improvement of cultural participation and of the general conditions of cultural institutions, and the protection and mediation of cultural heritage were other key issues of social democratic cultural policy.  The commitment to freedom of art and... read more →

Numerous arts and culture institutions are involved in transnational cooperation, ranging from major institutions such as museums and theatres, arts universities to small cultural initiatives. Since the 1990s, cooperation projects have been concentrating above all on Central and South-East Europe, but there are international cooperations beyond Europe too. The activities include festivals (music, film, etc.), exhibitions (fine art, architecture, photography etc.), conferences and workshops, information and training programmes, and activities within European and international networks, such as Culture Action Europe, European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA), European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centers (ENCATC), International Network for Contemporary... read more →

In the field of European and international cultural cooperation and exchange, the Department IV/10 "European and international cultural policy" of the Division IV ‘Arts and Culture’ of the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport (BMKOES) is responsible for cultural affairs in the framework of the EU, the Council of Europe and the UNESCO as well as for bilateral and multilateral cultural exchange together with the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs. Austria has been a member of the European Union since 1995. It participates actively in the Creative Europe (2014-2020), Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+... read more →

The agendas of international cultural cooperation are distributed over various ministries in Austria. The main actors are the Cultural Policy Department of the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs and Department IV/10 "European and international cultural policy" of the Division IV ‘Arts and Culture’ of the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport (BMKOES). The Federal Ministries of Education, Science and Research, of Labour, Family and Youth, for Digital and Economic Affairs and for Agriculture, Regions and Tourism are also involved in this area; as is the Federal Ministry of Finance, which provides state guarantees... read more →

The debate over the status of major cultural institutions started in the second half of the 1980s. A great number of initiatives and demands to grant more autonomy to the cultural institutions and to relinquish state agendas were proposed. The restructuring of the Association of Austrian Federal Theatres is an example, which demonstrates moves towards greater partnership or "divestment" between the public and private sectors: A Federal Act on the Reorganisation of the Federal Theatres in 1998 created the Bundestheater Holding GmbH, owned by the federal state, which has four subsidiaries organised as private limited companies (Burgtheater GmbH, Wiener Staatsoper... read more →

Table 1: Cultural institutions, by sector and domain Domain Cultural institutions (subdomains) Public sector Private sector     Number (year) Trend last 5 years Number (year) Trend last 5 years Cultural heritage Cultural heritage sites (recognised)*1   37 280 (2013)38 367 (2018)Kulturstatistik table BK1   +2.92%   na   na   Archaeological sites*   866 (2013) 942 (2018)Kulturstatistik BK1   +8.8%   na   na Museums Museum institutions*   368 (2013) 769 (2018)*2 249 (2018)Kulturstatistik M01     361 (2013) na274 (2018)     Archives Archive institutions*   117 (2013) 119 (2018)Kulturstatistik Ar1   +1.7%   na   na Visual... read more →