The 36th year of the Jazz Club Chur's activities is going "miserably" and could well be its last. This is not due to the audience or the musical program, but "mainly to the abrupt turnaround in the canton's cultural policy", writes the club.
The Jazz CLub Chur has had its annual deficit guarantee, which has remained largely unchanged since the mid-1990s, practically halved from CHF 18,000 to just over CHF 9,000 without any prior notice or justification, writes Club President Andrea Engi.
He is now "quite stunned" with a program that is too large and whose financing is in no way secured. He had to cancel plans for a major concert with an international concert agency, which had not yet been fully completed, without being able to offer a replacement. He has suspended further planning.
According to a report by the Southeastern Switzerland the decision is a consequence of the reorganization of the cantonal awarding practice, which has been in force since January 1, 2013. This means that applications from smaller event organizers no longer fall under the jurisdiction of the cantonal cultural promotion commission, but are dealt with directly by the Office for Culture.
Government councillor Martin Jäger does not see the reorganization as "an abrupt turnaround in cultural policy", writes the newspaper.