No total revision of cultural promotion in St. Gallen?
The preliminary committee of the St. Gallen Cantonal Council has discussed the draft of the totally revised Cultural Promotion Act. The majority of the committee asked the cantonal council not to approve the bill. However, the Tonhalle and Theater St. Gallen are undisputed as cantonal cultural locations.
One concern of the majority of the committee was the emphasis on communal autonomy. It would like to refrain from mentioning the municipalities in connection with the canton's cultural policy objectives. The municipalities should be free to define their own cultural policy objectives.
In line with regulations at federal level, the government is proposing that artists and cultural institutions should be obliged to pay contributions into pension funds or other pension schemes. The Commission would like to remove these provisions and rely on the personal responsibility of cultural professionals and organizers.
The Commission proposes a legal provision with a list of cultural locations by name and the possibility for the Cantonal Council to designate further cantonal cultural locations. According to the government's proposal, the Lokremise St.Gallen, Werdenberg Castle, the Tonhalle and the Theater St.Gallen would currently have the status of a cantonal cultural location, as would the Alte Bad Pfäfers in the medium term. The commission also gives this status to the Kunst(Zeug)Haus Rapperswil-Jona.
The government does not intend to increase expenditure with the revised Cultural Promotion Act. It should also continue to be possible to draw subsidies from the lottery fund. The majority of the Commission expressly wants to retain the current priority role of the Lottery Fund.
The Commission would also like to see explicit mention made of the fact that people with disabilities should also be able to participate in cultural events. The government should be instructed with a motion to draw up a partial revision of the existing Cultural Promotion Act, which regulates the support of regional funding organizations, the promotion of Unesco World Heritage Sites and the cantonal cultural locations.
