STREET ARTISTS IN EUROPE - Fondazione Fitzcarraldo

Street Artists in Europe
In principle, culture does not come under the responsibility of the State in Germany. The Länder
are responsible for culture, as guaranteed by the 1949 Basic Law. For their part, ‘towns and
municipalities have the constitutional right to determine their cultural policy’ 235 . A breakdown
of public expenditure on culture in Germany in 2003 clearly shows that most public action in the
field of culture takes place at local level: – communes: 55%, - Länder: 38%, - Federal State:
7%. 236 . ‘Each Land and each town carried out its cultural responsibilities on the basis of its own
interests without any “national cultural policy” in mind’ 237 . There is, however, a very marked
trend towards cooperation (via cooperation agencies, forums and conferences …) between the
various public authorities. The Federal German State’s concept of culture had given rise to a
wide variety of cultural policies responding to specific local characteristics, which creates ‘a
dense and fairly homogenous pattern of cultural institutions throughout the country’ 238 , each
with its own cultural administration, priorities and funding procedures.
A brief survey of the German cultural landscape highlights the importance attached to theatres
and orchestras (in the wider sense of music, dance, opera, theatre). Whether municipal or
regional they are funded almost exclusively by the municipality or Land in which they are
located. Another striking feature of German cultural life is the very large number of festivals,
generally sponsored by the towns. Public funding is more usually diversified, which means the
State can intervene with additional funding.
Since unification and the crisis it engendered, a national cultural policy has been emerging.
Aside from the political and socio-economic upheavals, the Unification Treaty forced the
Federal Government to take over responsibility for culture so as to ensure that political
unification did not lead to the suffocation of East German culture. To that end, it established the
Chancellery Secretariat of State for Culture in 1998 and the Federal Cultural Foundation in
2002.
Against that background, it is easier to understand why national cultural policy has not yet
concerned itself with street arts. Moreover, the German system prefers political recognition to
come primarily from the regional and local authorities. The survey has highlighted the activity
of the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia, which grants subsidies to street arts via the Secretariat
for Culture. It should be noted that this Land has one of the strongest economies. It is also one
of the most advanced in terms of public/private partnerships, especially since the 1998 reform,
which encourages sponsorship. Festivals are nearly always funded by municipal and local
authorities. We could say that the strong public presence has some bearing on municipal
decisions. There are also two foundations that give financial support to street arts: the Lotto-
Stiftung Niedersachsen and the Kultur-Stiftung NRW. Within the Kultursekretariat Gütersloh
association in the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia, between 12 and 15 towns work together to
organise German and foreign summer tours for companies. The association’s budget for street
arts amounted to EUR 80 000 in 2005 (promotional aid). Companies can apply for grants from
the Fond Darstellender Künstler or from the Kulturstiftung NRW foundation.
This sector, therefore, has a rather European outlook, as emphasised by those who support a
national cultural policy. That is partly because other European countries actively encourage the
development of street arts, and partly because they realise that this art form makes a valuable
235 Lacombe, Robert, Le spectacle vivant en Europe: modèle d’organisation et politiques de soutien, op. cit.,
p. 172.
236 Ibid., p. 169.
237 Ibid., p. 153.
238 Ibid. p. 171.
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