The cultural sector has been severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak, as museums, musical venues and theatres have had to close. There are concerns in the cultural sector that there will be a loss of turnover of up to one billion euros by the first of June.
Thankfully, the Government has made a support package worth 300 million euros, reports NOS.
For cultural institutions of vital interest
The package is intended to support cultural institutions for the next couple of months, but they can also use the money to prepare for next season.
The Minister of Culture, Van Engelshoven, has expressed his satisfaction with the package, saying: “Culture matters. It is precisely in this time of crisis that it is clear how important art is: to offer comfort, distraction, and hope.”
Nevertheless, the package is not intended for all the cultural institutions in the Netherlands: just for those which are of vital interest.
This support package will subsidise festivals and cultural institutions that have already been supported for the past couple of years by the six national culture funds in the Netherlands. Examples of such institutions that will benefit include the Rijkmuseum in Amsterdam, the Open Air Museum, the Theater Group in Maastricht and Oerolfestival.
Some of the money will also go to the National Restoration Fund, making it easier for other cultural institutions to borrow money from there. Smaller provincial museums, theaters and musical venues may also qualify for the money in the National Restoration Fund.
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Image: Roman Boed/Wikimedia Commons
