Bernese cultural expenditure to be increased
The municipal council of the City of Bern (the executive) has approved the four-year plan for the city's cultural funding for the years 2020 to 2023, thereby agreeing to an increase in the city's cultural expenditure of around seven percent (CHF 2.3 million) compared to the period 2016 to 2019.
In addition, Bern's municipal council approved 24 service contracts with cultural institutions and forwarded the corresponding credit lines to the city council. The voters will be asked to decide on four loans in May 2019. The majority of cultural funding, namely around 85%, goes to cultural institutions, some of which are subsidized jointly with the canton and regional municipalities. Around 15 percent of the funds flow into direct funding. This is where the city sets its own priorities.
The same institutions are to be subsidized in the years 2020-2023 as in the previous period. These are the major cultural institutions such as Konzert Theater Bern and the Bernisches Historisches Museum, as well as many smaller institutions such as Kino Rex and the Haus der Religionen. A new addition is the Swiss Jazz Orchestra, which receives a contract from the city, canton and regional municipalities. In total, the public sector subsidizes cultural institutions in the city of Bern with over 60 million francs annually. Just over half of this, a good 32 million, is paid by the City of Bern.
The direct funding focuses on specific areas. These are contemporary culture with a focus on dance, digitalization and cultural participation. As a cross-cutting theme, the focus is on the social benefits of cultural promotion.
