The city of Salzburg will become a modern city of culture
The city of Salzburg is pursuing a new cultural strategy that goes far beyond the “high culture” and emphasizes diversity and modernity. Great emphasis is placed, for example, on improved framework conditions and development opportunities for cultural workers, better networking with knowledge and business, a revitalization of the old town or more culture in the districts. The culture committee of the municipal council approved the 86-page paper on Thursday.
With the new marching plan, the somewhat outdated cultural image of Salzburg around Mozart, festivals and world cultural heritage should be put in order. They want to present themselves as “a culturally modern and creative city” because this diversity “is not emphasized enough, both in public perception and external representation as well as in the self-image of the city”, as the preamble says. This campaign was launched in autumn 2018 on the initiative of the culture department head Vbgm. Bernhard Auinger (SPÖ), the “Salzburg 2024” initiative (originally for Salzburg’s application to be the European Capital of Culture) and the urban culture department. From the beginning of 2020, the strategy was rushed to with broad involvement of the cultural scene.
Five large screws are now to be turned. The first names framework conditions and possibilities for development. This is about the targeted promotion of creative young people as well as supporting the facilities in adapting to new requirements. A very central area are fair goals for cultural workers and employees in cultural institutions (“Away from the poverty line”). The proposals of the umbrella organization for cultural sites in Salzburg are taken as a guide, and public funding is to be increased in line with the state. We are also aiming for a “culture euro”, i.e. a surcharge on top of the local tax of one euro per night. This money is to be used to maintain the cultural infrastructure and to promote new projects. However, this culture euro is by no means on track: the ÖVP and FPÖ are against it, and this can only be decided by the state anyway.
A special task – still part of the first “screw” – is seen in new formats and concepts in the field of art production, art mediation and cultural work, for example in the anchoring of digitality. The space available, from rehearsal rooms to new performance opportunities, is also to be expanded.
The second major area is better networking of art with science and business. Third one wants to reuse and revitalize the old town. The future World Heritage Visitor Center is to play a central role here. A stronger anchoring of contemporary art and culture is also suggested, for which a cross-genre festival format is to be developed. The fourth control wheel strives for better cultural participation in the districts. For example, rooms for clubs or cultural workers are to be found and made available. In addition, free spaces are to be defined where the urban infrastructure (light, electricity, sanitary facilities, waste disposal) is made available for low-threshold cultural use. And the fifth area is made up of future topics for the city and the central area.
All suggestions can be found in a “timetable” that contains an overview of when which authority is to be implemented and who is responsible for it.
The strategy was approved with a broad majority of votes from the ÖVP, SPÖ and Bürgerliste (Greens), the People’s Party without the Culture Euro. Formally, the municipal council has the last word.
Only the FPÖ spoke out against it today, speaking of “missing themes” and “zero number”. Instead of relying on “new innovative points”, they want to invent the “jack of all trades”. “Even if individual points are approved by the FPÖ, it is simply not enough overall,” said FPÖ councilor Renate Pleininger.