Culture promotion in Styria: Hope despite tense budgets!

Culture promotion in Styria: Hope despite tense budgets!

in the heart of Styria, it is bubbling, while the new blue-black state government presents its ambitious plans in a comprehensive government agreement. According to orf.at , the financing of art and culture will be hotly discussed in the coming years. With a cultural budget of around 78 million euros, which is less than one percent of the entire Styrian budget, the creative artists are under pressure. The newly appointed Council of Culture Karlheinz Kornhäusl was optimistic about the stability of the financing, but in the shadow of impending cuts, such as the deletion of the ORF state delivery, a large hole in the budget could be gone. Kornhäusl announced that the new advertisement of the multi -year support contracts will soon take place for the years 2026 to 2028 to offer creators a perspective.

new ways in cultural financing

The tension in the Styrian cultural scene remains high, especially after the first government exam. This brought seven "lighthouses" as a lead project, but a central cultural project was not named. Kornhäusl emphasizes the importance of a variety of grants, says: "The funding is tax money that is awarded according to factual guidelines." The new government agreement, such as Today, also promises an equivalent treatment of folk culture and high culture. While the folk culture is under the direction of FPÖ chairman Mario Kunasek, Kornhäusl remains the high priest of high culture. In the coming years, significant events such as the Styria show are to be continued and folk culture projects are being promoted.

A explosive topic will also be social and asylum policy, since according to the government plan, new asylum quarters are rejected and the basic care of asylum seekers is to be outsourced to a state agency. A digital fingerprint scanner is introduced for control in asylum homes. The language of German becomes a duty, not only in class, but also on the breaks, which focuses on integration. At the same time, measures to upgrade domestic culture in schools and kindergartens should also be promoted, which can strengthen the identity of Styrian. Despite these many changes, it remains to be seen which specific measures will ultimately be implemented and to what extent future discussions will shape the Styrian culture.