Maybe you are having a bit of a rough day right now. It gets darker and colder. Life offers its usual speed bumps. But think again. Do you feel quite as bad as the poor men and women who are responsible for the budgets of the municipalities and county councils? Yesterday, news was able to report major budget gaps in Kommune-Norge. There is a lack of money for basic welfare services. The needs are queuing up, the funds are not there. Perhaps it is still possible to have it professionally even tougher than being a local or regional financial politician. Perhaps you are a theater manager or festival organizer, and will try to wrangle your way into a budget where there is hardly any money for kindergartens and care for the elderly. MET IN THE RAIN: Many Oslo citizens and theater people demonstrated against the decision to almost halve the support for Oslo Nye Teater. Photo: Anna Rut Tørressen / news Bergen saves a whopping 2.7 million by not paying out 33 artist grants. Oslo cuts almost half the budget for Oslo Nye Teater. The much-loved Østensjø Children’s and Youth Theater also loses a hundred thousand kroner on the same budget. As far as the two big cities are concerned, many of the affected artists find it extra provocative that the politicians are simultaneously taking advice to cut the property tax. And Vestfold County Council has decided to withdraw from Teater Ibsen, which they own together with the state and Telemark County Council. But when one of three legs breaks, it is enough for the theater to be thrown into an uncertain future. In a way, it’s no wonder it turns out that way. The municipalities and county councils are required by law to carry out a wide range of tasks. They must have primary schools and child welfare services, GPs, care for the elderly, crisis centers and support schemes for the mentally ill. The county municipality must provide secondary education, school buses and power generation. To name a few. UNCERTAIN FUTURE: Teater Ibsen’s future is uncertain after Vestfold County Council pulled out. The theater plays many of its shows at Festiviteten i Skien. Photo: Britt Boyesen / news On both levels, it is very challenging for cultural life to come forward with arguments that they should receive support when the financial framework becomes tighter. Because there is so much in the second scale that weighs heavily with lead. Therefore, it has mostly been a case of large cultural institutions coming under the state, not the municipality or the county council, as much as they can. For Oslo Nye Teater, it would prove to be a disaster to be wholly owned by its municipality, which happened through a change of husband in the nineties. Kode, Bergen’s enormous art museum, self-consciously refused to come under state control at about the same time, and thus receives a far smaller amount from the Ministry of Culture per year than its big sister the National Museum. The years since then have shown that it has been impossible for them to get the funding they need from other quarters. In spring, all employees were offered a severance package after the financial situation had become acute. STRUGGLING FINANCIALLY: Earlier this year, all the employees at Kode in Bergen were offered a severance package. Here, the museum’s audience watches “Last Dance” by Børre Sæthre. Photo: Dag fosse That is not to say that there is only a small sea for the theaters and museums that are on the state budget. There is hardly any cultural institution in Norway that believes they get enough money. But there is a difference that is not only about the sums you have access to, but also what is in the other balance. When you are on the Ministry of Culture’s budget, you are not fighting directly against schools and health and roads, but against people who do more or less the same thing. You are part of a national strategy, not an item of expenditure that shrinks because the other items of expenditure cannot. This was the reason why cultural life fought with everything they had when there was talk of placing the cultural institutions at county level as part of the regional reform. It was also not so easy to find regional politicians who wanted a blue whale of a theater or a symphony orchestra pouring into their budgets. The most startling outcome of the reform would have been that Den Nationale Scene in Bergen, and the Philharmonic in the same city, would be managed from Førde, which had been given administrative responsibility. FIRST? The National Stage in Bergen could be controlled from Førde. Here Emilia Roosmann and Tore Christian Sævold in a scene from the theatre’s production of “Morgenstjernen”. Photo: Andreas Roksvåg / Den Nationale Scene In fact, the regional politicians and the artists largely agreed that they did not want to have much to do with each other. The artists would like to avoid having to argue for their right to exist all the time, in the same way that the politicians would like to avoid having to explain why the millions should flow out to create art to voters who wanted safer roads. The then Minister of Culture Abid Raja was allowed to put the ball dead, to general satisfaction. With all this in mind, it is after all impressive what local and regional authorities in Norway have achieved, also in the cultural field. Modern Norwegian cultural policy was created in the seventies, when the regional and municipal management structure in the field was expanded. Since the eighties, cultural budgets have remained fairly stable at around four percent. Large parts of cultural life live well in cooperation with local authorities who can see the needs and demand with their own eyes. But the fate of Kode, Oslo Nye and Teater Ibsen shows how unpredictable life at this level can be. REVERSED CULTURAL REGIONAL REFORM: Abid Raja (V) had the unwanted regional reform for culture parked when he was Minister of Culture. Photo: Maria Kleppe Vihovde At the same time, culture is one of the fields where you get the most for relatively modest sums. The money taken from the artists in Bergen and the theater children on Østensjø does not go far on a large budget. But they mean a colossal amount to the recipients, and to their audience. All festivals in Norway rely on a significant voluntary effort, which helps to ensure that the entrance tickets do not become more expensive than they are. A theatrical performance on a large stage or a game can entertain thousands. It is also a field full of ripple effects that are not always visible. Because it is not just the cultural institutions themselves that tremble when they look at the economic prospects. The music, dance and drama department at St. Hallvard upper secondary school in Lier can now be removed, because Buskerud county council has to save money. SLITER: Code in Bergen has been given several heavy tasks, and not enough money, since they chose to pass under municipal management in the nineties. In an article in Drammens Tidende, actor, director and dramatist Erlend Rødal Vikhagen points out how former students on this line as adults work in the local cultural life, and are behind popular offers and performances. He calls for greater understanding and respect for where the talents and zealots come from. Prioritization has never been easy. But the cultural storms this budget autumn can remind us that even though culture may seem like an easy field to save money on, it is a priority that can be costly in the long run. Published 04.10.2024, at 19.20
ttn-69
The culture’s problem is that there are schools and welfare in the other balance – Expression
