Museums, heritage libraries and archives in Flanders will receive an additional 18 million euros annually over the next five years. This brings the total amount of support to 51.5 million euros per year for the period 2024-2028. Antwerp‘s museums and heritage institutions will also benefit from this measure. 

“A much-needed extra injection to ensure the future of our Flemish cultural heritage organizations”, Flemish Minister-President and Minister for Culture Jan Jambon (N-VA) says in a press release. 

“A justified catch-up”, Antwerp Alderman for Culture Nabilla Ait Daoud (N-VA) reacts in Het Nieuwsblad and Gazet van Antwerpen. Both are from the same political party. 

The Museum Aan de Stroom (Museum At the Stream) or MAS receives 112% extra next year. The FOMU photography museum 75% extra. The Red Star Line Museum 82%. The Vleeshuis folklore museum will for the the first time receive funding from the Flemish Community. 

“This budget increase is desperately needed to ensure the future of cultural heritage organizations. This is the culmination of the many efforts we have made during this period of government to enable the necessary catching up of our cultural heritage sector”, Jan Jambon says.

50% increase

“We are increasing the annual budget of this heritage round by more than 50 percent in one fell swoop, for the next five years. Following on from what was previously achieved for the arts sector during this government period, the cultural heritage sector in Flanders will also receive significant financial reinforcement to realize its ambitions.”

Second catch-up

During the previous government term, then-Minister for Culture Sven Gatz (Open Vld) increased the budget by 9.6 million euros in the previous subsidy round five years ago.

Increased expectations

Alderman Nabilla Ait Daoud says the financial injection is very much needed as (potentional) visitors expect more. Keeping with expectations and international trends inevitably costs money. 

DIVA misses out

Antwerp’s diamond and silverware museum DIVA does not get additional Flemish funds.

“This is because the city of Antwerp has reduced the ambition level of DIVA from ‘national’ museum to ‘supra-local’ museum”, Ait Daoud says. “In our view, the fact that Flemish financing for DIVA remains status quo shows that Flanders continues to have confidence in the DIVA story.”

The Antwerp alderman also promises the Flemish increase will not result in a decrease of Antwerp municipal support for the museums and other cultural heritage institutions. 

Museums that are only funded by Flanders and not by the city are funded separately. “It will be their turn soon. In Antwerp this concerns the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp (KMSKA) and the modern arts museum M HKA. I sincerely hope that Flanders will also honor their level of ambition and that they will also receive additional resources” Ait Daoud concludes.

Heritage over people

The N-VA or New Flemish Alliance is Flemish nationalist (or should I say regionalist?) party which is economically liberal and conservative. Which means it likes smaller governmental interference and prefers individual endeavours and financial commitments. 

Socially and ethically N-VA is sometimes progressive, sometimes conservatives. Over the years conservative powers within the party have become more dominant and N-VA more and more loves raging against what they call “woke madness” (in Dutch it’s a nice alliteration “woke waanzin“) and anything leftist / progressive / liberal or however you want to call it.

So while N-VA loves subsidizing big heritage initiatives, it also loves defunding performing arts, (self-declared) critical voices, anything “woke”. 

N-VA prefers funding risk-free and perhaps a little bland crowdpleasers over experimental. 

While in arts and culture a good mix of risk-free, crowd-pleasing, all-public and nice, experimental, quirky is best. A mix between low-brow and high-brow, between old and new, between traditional and re-imagined.