Quo vadis ars?
The situation in the cultural sector has been
described and discussed in numerous interviews, corona diaries,
comments and reports in the past few weeks. Our annotated
collection
of currently 193 sources
gathers voices from different sectors and media.
This creates a picture of the cultural landscape in crisis,
whose temporal transformation can be explored interactively
via a dedicated
tag cloud.
Kultur ist kein Sahnehäubchen . Warum wir Theater, Kino und Buchhandlungen jetzt sofort öffnen müssen
Culture is not icing on the cake . Why we need to open theaters, cinemas and bookstores right now
by Alexander Skipis (23 Feb 2021)
Original source: FAZ
Applying the concept of catharsis introduced by Aristotle in his Poetics, Alexander Skipis, Chief Executive of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association, goes back very far in cultural history to describe the impact of the pandemic on the population. The release of strong feelings through reflection and witnessing in art and literature is only possible to a very limited extent during the lockdown. Even as policymakers attempt to compensate for the economic losses suffered by cultural producers, they fail to provide the consumer relief functions paraphrased by t he term catharsis. Skipis therefore combines his plea for the rapid opening of cultural institutions and bookstores with a warning about the mental damage to society that the pandemic has already triggered and the extent of which cannot yet be foreseen.
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tag Lockdown Systemrelevanz Katharsis All sections Kommentar
Ein Jahr ohne Werke . Was es für das Musikleben bedeutet, wenn Verlage um ihr Überleben kämpfen
A year without pieces . What it means for musical life when publishing houses fight for their survival
by Merle Krafeld (03 Feb 2021)
Original source: VAN Magazin für klassische Musik
Music publishers play an important role in the cultural ecosystem. Not only do they promote the work of composers, but they also produce well thought-out sheet music in individual parts, ensure good binding quality of the sheet music and produce new editions of historical works. To do this, they conduct study of sources and work with scientific precision. The publishers therefore generate income not only from the sale of sheet music, but above all from the lending of scores of mostly copyrighted works to orchestras and choirs. The rental fees are made up of various facto rs such as the length and instrumentation of the work, the number of performances and seats available for sale. Last year, the turnover from rental fees for music publishers collapsed by up to 80 per cent. In addition to lending fees, publishers and rights holders also lost income from distributions by the German Performing Rights Society (GEMA) and foreign collecting societies as well as the German Music Edition Society (VG Musikedition). Since royalties are usually only paid out in the following year, the loss of income will not be felt until 2021. Publishers who specialise in choral music are also particularly affected, as it is not foreseeable here when rehearsals can be resumed. In the lockdown, only the purchase of individual parts and chamber music with small ensembles boomed. Henle-Verlag, which serves this segment with an app, among other things, is the only publishing house that recorded an increase in turnover in 2020.
As long as there is no planning security in the cultural sector, the sale and rental of sheet music will not increase. The staff of the publishing houses are therefore currently on short-time work and at the same time working flat out to offer works with a small line-up.
Many publishers are currently falling through the cracks of the aid payments because they are either too small or too big. The Neustart Kultur programme can compensate for turnover losses from the rental sector, but only 30 per cent of the lost turnover from April to November 2020, against which aid already received, such as short-time allowance, must be offset. So in the end, the aid is just a drop in the ocean. Read More Read Less
As long as there is no planning security in the cultural sector, the sale and rental of sheet music will not increase. The staff of the publishing houses are therefore currently on short-time work and at the same time working flat out to offer works with a small line-up.
Many publishers are currently falling through the cracks of the aid payments because they are either too small or too big. The Neustart Kultur programme can compensate for turnover losses from the rental sector, but only 30 per cent of the lost turnover from April to November 2020, against which aid already received, such as short-time allowance, must be offset. So in the end, the aid is just a drop in the ocean. Read More Read Less
tag Musikverlage GEMA Planungssicherheit Chormusik Leihverkehr Kurzarbeit Neustart Kultur Music Bericht
Auktionshäuser sind die Gewinner in der Krise
Auction houses are the winners in the crisis
by Christian Herchenröder (17 Dec 2020)
Original source: Handelsblatt
The corona-induced shrinkage of 30 to 40 percent is distributed differently among the players in the art market. While 2020 art fairs and galleries with virtual art fairs and exhibitions were only able to score with the public to a limited extent, the auction houses recorded strong sales increases with online-only auctions. In particular, they were able to encourage first-time buyers, especially from America and China, to bid for high-priced art, especially in the contemporary sector.
tag Kunstmarkt Galerien Auktionshäuser Online-Ausstellung Kunstmesse Rezession Visual Arts/Design Bericht
Kulturzeit extra: Theater im Lockdown
Kulturzeit extra: Theatres during lockdown
by Vivian Pekovic (Moderation) (18 Nov 2020)
Original source: Kulturzeit
The German TV program Kulturzeit focusses in this issue on the situation of the theaters during lockdown. The first contribution inspects the situation at the Volksbühne in Berlin. There, the project »Spielplanänderung« (Change of play program) aimed to bring back to the stage unjustly forgotten plays by important authors. But now the theatre is not only fighting for the authors, but also for not being forgotten as institution. The actors not only play, but also discuss the role of the theater. What bothers them about the political discussion is the disrespectful tone, because they all agree that the theater offers an important outlet for society. It is the place for a discourse on topics that are discussed by a broad audience. They consider it a luxury to be allowed to rehearse, yet the current situation costs a lot of energy - especially since for many actors who do not have a permanent contract with a theater, the income breaks off. The demand that the theaters be allowed to reopen soon is not only demanded by cultural workers, but also by the Senator for Culture in Berlin, Klaus Lederer.
The theater critic and author Simon Strauß developed the program for the ›Change of program‹. He points out that it is currently dangerous to over-adapt as theater and to play down one's own status. Subsidies and the standing of the theater as a psychological and humane institution could be lost.
An important experience for the actor Lars Eidinger was not being allowed to play for seven months. During this time he realized that for him, working on stage is the creative center of his work. For him, the central characteristic of theater is immediacy, which no other medium can achieve. However, he sees the theater not as a moral institution, but rather as a free space in which one does not have to distinguish between good and evil.
However, there are also voices that demand that theater professionals use the crisis to reflect on their own position. Simon Strauß is one of these voices. He would like to see the creative people emerge from the crisis with a new form of consciousness. For the theaters this means, among other things, revising play programs, making them more diverse. But new formats must be developed on stage. He sees streaming only as a substitute, a consolation for the time until the houses can play again. For him theaters make an important contribution to the psychological edification of people with their immediacy, with their way of raising questions. This has to be defended self-confidently against politics, especially in view of upcoming budget cuts. Theater - as Strauß puts it - is more than systemically relevant, it is »decisive«.
In addition to the theaters, however, other cultural institutions are also threatened by the crisis. Although it is still allowed to perform in Switzerland, many institutions survive mainly because of their parallel cafe and bar operation. The few spectators who are admitted to a performance make it almost impossible to work economically.
One of the few cultural institutions that are allowed to open in Germany are the galleries. They enable the artists at least not to be completely forgotten - after all, they not only suffer from the threat to their existence, but also from not being allowed to show their works. Nevertheless, it is also difficult for galleries to assert themselves on the market at the moment, because new groups of buyers cannot be addressed at present. So the question here is also how art and culture can be valued and rewarded as an essential good for society in the future.
Read More Read Lesstag November-Lockdown Theater Krise als Chance Unmittelbarkeit Streaming Simon Strauß Lars Eidinger Volksbühne Galerien Quo vadis ars Performing Arts/ Cinema Kultursendung
Kunst und Care-Arbeit . Fragwürdige Juryentscheidung
Art and Care Work . Questionable jury decision
by Brigitte Werneburg (09 Nov 2020)
Original source: taz
The Neustart Kultur program also offers scholarships for artists* with children under 7 years of age. The awarding was carried out by the Stiftung Kunstfonds, which also awards annual project scholarships. The benchmark - artistic quality in a nationwide comparison - also applied to the awarding of the scholarships in this special program of the German State Minister of Culture. Now the outcry is great, because more men than women were awarded this scholarship, although more women than men applied. Brigitte Werneburg, editor of the newspaper taz, asks if the awarding of the scholarships is now an expression of the fact that gender-equitable distribution of tasks has already been introduced in the visual arts. This does not seem to be the case when you have a look at the number of applications, in which women are far ahead with 60 percent. The feedback from the Stiftung Kunstfonds was disappointing for many, as the foundation referred to its statutes and the standard of artistic quality, since the grants awarded are not economic subsidies but project funding.
This raises the question of why women artists cannot compete with their male colleagues in terms of quality and whether the fact that one has a child under 7 years of age is an artistic criterion. According to the analysis of the taz article, the Kunstfonds Bonn Foundation does not seem suitable to award the scholarships within the framework of the rescue program Neustart Kultur, since they are now explicitly intended as economic aid.
However, the concluding considerations of the article are particularly worthy of consideration. Artists currently need economic aid. After all, they are not unemployed, but are engaged in gainful activity, which, however, is not permitted on the market at present. Hartz IV is in this situation no adequate offer - not only because the artists are getting into a bureaucratic wheelwork, in which they must attack their old age provision, participate in further training offers and must accept job offers. Much more important is that they are thus excluded from the artists' social security fund (KSK). This unique German system - in which the artists contribute like employees to health and pension insurance, while the employers' contributions are paid by art and culture companies and the state - is fundamentally endangered in the crisis, because when art and culture facilities are closed, there is no income. Read More Read Less
This raises the question of why women artists cannot compete with their male colleagues in terms of quality and whether the fact that one has a child under 7 years of age is an artistic criterion. According to the analysis of the taz article, the Kunstfonds Bonn Foundation does not seem suitable to award the scholarships within the framework of the rescue program Neustart Kultur, since they are now explicitly intended as economic aid.
However, the concluding considerations of the article are particularly worthy of consideration. Artists currently need economic aid. After all, they are not unemployed, but are engaged in gainful activity, which, however, is not permitted on the market at present. Hartz IV is in this situation no adequate offer - not only because the artists are getting into a bureaucratic wheelwork, in which they must attack their old age provision, participate in further training offers and must accept job offers. Much more important is that they are thus excluded from the artists' social security fund (KSK). This unique German system - in which the artists contribute like employees to health and pension insurance, while the employers' contributions are paid by art and culture companies and the state - is fundamentally endangered in the crisis, because when art and culture facilities are closed, there is no income. Read More Read Less
tag Neustart Kultur Stiftung Kunstfonds Stipendien Wirtschaftsbeihilfe Künstlersozialkasse Hartz IV Geschlechtergerechtigkeit Visual Arts/Design Bericht
Auch der Staat profitiert davon . Corona-Soforthilfe für Galerien
The state also benefits . Corona emergency aid for galleries
by Rupert Pfab, Gabi Wuttke (27 Sep 2020)
Original source: Deutschlandfunk Kultur
The Secretary of State for Culture Monika Grütters is going to provide 16 million Euros to support the galleries in the Neustart Kultur program. Only a part of this money will be used for purchases, whereas the larger part of the support will be used to support the work of galleries in the exhibition business, but also in the field of digitization. The Düsseldorf gallery owner Rupert Pfab is not convinced by the strategy of Monika Grütters. If galleries are to be supported in the current crisis, a reduction in the VAT rate would have the greatest effect. O verall, he considers purchases for the federal art collection to be sustainable. The works would go to museums and other public institutions, which would not only benefit the galleries and artists, but also the general public to whom these works are made accessible. The gallery owner, on the other hand, does not understand why the Federal Purchasing Commission can also buy directly from the artists, as this would circumvent the galleries as an important institution of the art market.
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tag Galerien Kunsthandel Ankaufsetat Neustart Kultur Mehrwertsteuer Monika Grütters Visual Arts/Design Interview
Wir sind ein Ökosystem . Krise des Kunstmarkts
We are an eco system . Crisis of the art market
by Deborah Schamoni, Esther Schipper, Catrin Lorch (11 Sep 2020)
Original source: Süddeutsche Zeitung
With the exception of Art Cologne, all major art fairs have been cancelled in 2020. On the occasion of the traditional gallery tours, which open the cultural autumn in Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Munich, gallery owners Esther Schipper and Deborah Schamoni are talking about the state of the industry in Corona Autumn.
The art trade is not down, but the situation is serious. Whereas international collectors traditionally attended the gallery openings in the fall, they are now largely attended by a local audience. With the collectors, not only is there a lack of income, but the concentration on local business also leads to a complete breakdown of the exchange at fairs. Whether the time left for written contacts can compensate for this will be seen in the near future. The gallery owners agree, however, that the losses cannot be compensated for by a virtual presence - be it their own homepage or the pages set up by the trade fairs. Although it would be possible to sell works by well-known artists, the newcomers have little chance of attracting attention.
On the other hand, the gallery owners are well aware that the art market will have to change in the coming years. Climate change and Corona will become a task for the art market in the coming months and years - even if the gallery owners have to admit that their artists have so far shown little consideration for the climate.
It is still uncertain whether the galleries can really be helped by government support. At the very least, this is an appreciation of the galleries' work. Although they view the funds earmarked for purchases in the Neustart Kultur program positively, they see a reduction in VAT on sales as a guarantee for the kind of sales boom the industry currently needs. Read More Read Less
The art trade is not down, but the situation is serious. Whereas international collectors traditionally attended the gallery openings in the fall, they are now largely attended by a local audience. With the collectors, not only is there a lack of income, but the concentration on local business also leads to a complete breakdown of the exchange at fairs. Whether the time left for written contacts can compensate for this will be seen in the near future. The gallery owners agree, however, that the losses cannot be compensated for by a virtual presence - be it their own homepage or the pages set up by the trade fairs. Although it would be possible to sell works by well-known artists, the newcomers have little chance of attracting attention.
On the other hand, the gallery owners are well aware that the art market will have to change in the coming years. Climate change and Corona will become a task for the art market in the coming months and years - even if the gallery owners have to admit that their artists have so far shown little consideration for the climate.
It is still uncertain whether the galleries can really be helped by government support. At the very least, this is an appreciation of the galleries' work. Although they view the funds earmarked for purchases in the Neustart Kultur program positively, they see a reduction in VAT on sales as a guarantee for the kind of sales boom the industry currently needs. Read More Read Less
tag Kunstmarkt Kunstmessen Mehrwertsteuer Neustart Kultur Ankaufsetat Klimabilanz Art Cologne virtuelles Angebot Visual Arts/Design Interview
Durchs Raster gefallen . Kulturschaffende in Coronakrise
Fallen through the cracks . the arts community during Corona crisis
by Sabine Seifert (29 Jul 2020)
Original source: taz
Three months after an initial conversation about her personal situation as an artist during the lockdown, Sabine Seifert meets again with a singer, a visual artist, an actor and a museum educator to talk with them about their experiences during the Corona crisis.
The working conditions for the artists are still all but optimal, as the hygiene rules for all cultural fields of work entail restrictions. Many people appreciate the social network that is provided in Germany. Emergency aid and basic security have helped them to survive the last few months financ ially. However, applications for basic security have only increased by about a quarter. Due to the bad aura of basic security called Hartz IV, many people were reluctant to apply.
Even the applications for solo self-employed persons do not take into account the living and working conditions of artists even after three months. Seifert critically observes that in many federal states the cost of living may not be regarded as operating costs, but also the fact that in the second round applications may only be made by tax or accountants is completely ignoring the reality of small and medium-sized enterprises. Although the profession of an artist is fundamentally associated with uncertainty, the general conditions have currently changed radically. No one can predict with certainty how the pandemic will develop. When again which event format will be possible.
Olaf Zimmermann, Managing Director of the German Cultural Council, points out that the working structures on the cultural market have changed in recent years. Although there are fewer artists, there are more solo self-employed people in the field of cultural education, management and technology. Cultural policy has failed to counteract the precarious structures that have emerged here. Basically, according to Olaf Zimmermann, one should think about whether the classic concept of the entrepreneur still applies to artists and cultural workers - especially since they make an important contribution to society. Read More Read Less
Even the applications for solo self-employed persons do not take into account the living and working conditions of artists even after three months. Seifert critically observes that in many federal states the cost of living may not be regarded as operating costs, but also the fact that in the second round applications may only be made by tax or accountants is completely ignoring the reality of small and medium-sized enterprises. Although the profession of an artist is fundamentally associated with uncertainty, the general conditions have currently changed radically. No one can predict with certainty how the pandemic will develop. When again which event format will be possible.
Olaf Zimmermann, Managing Director of the German Cultural Council, points out that the working structures on the cultural market have changed in recent years. Although there are fewer artists, there are more solo self-employed people in the field of cultural education, management and technology. Cultural policy has failed to counteract the precarious structures that have emerged here. Basically, according to Olaf Zimmermann, one should think about whether the classic concept of the entrepreneur still applies to artists and cultural workers - especially since they make an important contribution to society. Read More Read Less
tag Soforthilfe Grundsicherung Solidarität Verdi bbk Elisabeth Anschütz Sascha Oliver Bauer Ka Bomhardt Wilko Reinhold Olaf Zimmermann All sections Bericht
Lieber Maler, male mir! . Diskussion über Kunst in Coronakrise
Dear painter, paint for me! . Discussion on art during Corona crisis
by Ingo Arend (08 Jul 2020)
Original source: TAZ
Under the title »Painting by Numbers - Art in the Corona Crisis«, the Green Party in the German Bundestag invited to a discussion about a group that currently plays hardly any role in the public discourse about the Cornona Crisis: the visual artists. At the moment, there is great concern that the money from the economic stimulus package will flow into the support of museums and cultural institutions, but that the artists themselves will go away empty-handed.
The author Ingo Arndt is somewhat irritated by the fact that in the discussion about possible s olutions to the precarious situation of artists, the idea of a New Deal, which Hans Ulrich Obrist brought up in April, has not been taken up. A large-scale acquisition project for museums and public institutions launched by the German government could offer a way out of the crisis by commissioning visual artists.
The author Ingo Arndt is somewhat irritated by the fact that in the discussion about possible s olutions to the precarious situation of artists, the idea of a New Deal, which Hans Ulrich Obrist brought up in April, has not been taken up. A large-scale acquisition project for museums and public institutions launched by the German government could offer a way out of the crisis by commissioning visual artists.
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tag Grundeinkommen Neustart Kultur Konjunkturpaket Die Grünen Lobby New Deal Erhard GrundlHans Ulrich Obrist Visual Arts/Design Bericht
Jeff Koons, Gagosian Gallery, and Many Other Blue-Chip Art Operations Received Millions of Dollars in Government Stimulus Money
by Taylor Dafoe (07 Jul 2020)
Original source: artnet news
Art seems to be a different business in the US if you look to the public aid during the crisis not only for museums, but also for galleries and artist studios. According to the data released by the federal Treasury Department not only galleries as Pace, David Zwirner and Gagosian received millions but also the studios of Jeff Koons or Meow Wolff. The lists of who received how much is publically available.
