Germany offers €1 billion aid package to the culture sector
Germany has released a new bailout package of €130 billion, including €1 billion set aside for the culture industry, Artner news reports.
The funds, which will be made available this year and next year, will be widely distributed across cinemas, music clubs, memorials, museums, theaters, and festivals. €250 million will go to help cultural institutions reopen with new hygiene protocols, such as updated ventilation systems and new socially-distanced visitation arrangements. Some €30 million has been earmarked for galleries, cultural centers, and publishing. The package, called New Start, also decreases the tax rate on art by 3 percent.
“We are supporting the new start of cultural life in Germany and setting the course for the future,” said culture minister Monika Grütters in a statement on friday. “For us, the preservation and safeguarding of Germany’s cultural infrastructure is the key to creating work opportunities for artists and creative people throughout the country again.”