They are organized by the state’s culture department. The reorganization in the state government is to be decided as early as next Monday, announced governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) and cultural director Margot Nazzal in an outlook on the cultural year 2022 on Friday.
According to Stelzer, the aim is to break away from the concept of a state exhibition of “fixed location and planned events” extending over half a year. “The greatest possible flexibility and no fixed exhibition formats” should take its place, added Nazzal. This also includes the fact that there is no predetermined exhibition rhythm. Because “plannability and reliability no longer fit today’s cultural standards,” said Stelzer. He cited the corona pandemic as current evidence. The budget, on the other hand, remains the same as that for state exhibitions, although the “KulturEXPO” will need more money than the “communale”.
The center of the “communale” should be artistic projects at the interface between culture and society. In terms of content, the focus should be on the venue or the region. “Themes of the present and of the country’s history can be played on,” Nazzal gave as examples. Individuals can also be brought in front of the curtain. Stelzer doesn’t see the “communale” as competing with the “Festival of the Regions”. Even the festival that is “just repositioning itself” will remain in place.
The State Exhibition 2024 in Eferding/Peuerbach, which has already been promised, will be brought forward to 2022 and 2023: the Communale Eferding has the general theme “Utopia – Life/Space”, the Communale Peuerbach will be dedicated to the complex “Cosmos – New Worlds”. And the Attersee/Mondsee/Seewalchen state exhibition on the pile dwellings, which has already been fixed for 2027, will also change to the new format and take place between 2025 and 2027.
The themes of “KulturEXPO”, on the other hand, will have “national and international relevance”, according to the approach. Concrete example: The Anton Bruckner anniversary year 2024, on the occasion of the 200th birthday of the composer. For this first “Culture EXPO”, in which the St. Florian Monastery near Linz will certainly also play a role, the open “Project Call” is now starting, which will last until November. A jury will then make the selection.
Overall, the culture budget for 2022 was estimated at a good 207 million euros, which, according to Stelzer, represents an increase of five percentage points compared to 2021. The free funding amounts to 14.3 million euros. The Corona support measures such as the restart bonus or the investment package for Upper Austria. Clubs and institutions will continue to exist.
Source: Nachrichten
