Berlin Cultural Workers Demand Stronger Safeguards with New Funding Law
Berlin, February 10 – Berlin’s cultural workers are intensifying pressure on politicians to establish a new culture funding law. The “Berliner Kulturkonferenz” alliance, representing 120 actors from the cultural sector, presented a 150-page publication on February 9, outlining concrete goals for future cultural funding legislation. The cultural scene demands binding rules for transparent, fair, and long-term secure cultural funding, clearly positioning culture as a public duty of the state.
Increased Budget and New Venues Proposed
A central point of the dossier is financial provision. The alliance calls for an increase in the cultural budget, advocating for three percent of Berlin’s total budget to be allocated to culture, up from the current 2.1 percent. This increase is deemed necessary to cover rising costs and the immense demand for infrastructure.
Specifically, the expert groups propose the construction or dedication of new venues, including a “House for the independent music scene” and a “House for dance.” The proposed law also aims to enshrine binding minimum fees and improved social security for cultural workers. The ultimate goal is to legally anchor cultural funding as a mandatory task of the city.
Political Support and Calls for Action
“Culture is vital, culture is essential for our coexistence. I assume that a culture funding law can visibly strengthen the importance of the cultural sector compared to other policy areas,” emphasized independent Senator for Culture, Sarah Wedl-Wilson. Olaf Zimmermann of the German Cultural Council also expressed a combative stance. “Berlin needs a culture funding law. Especially in these times, reliable and transparent cultural funding structures are important. The Berlin cultural scene has now thankfully presented a concrete proposal,” said Zimmermann. “The ball is now in the court of the cultural administration, namely the Senator for Culture and the Governing Mayor, and the members of the Berlin House of Representatives.”
Dossier as a Foundation for Political Work
The dossier is the result of a participation process initiated by the Berliner Kulturkonferenz in April 2025. The document is not a finished draft law but serves as a professional and cultural-political basis for further political elaboration. “We now have the basis for continuing our constructive dialogue with politics and administration. The goal must be to pass a law promptly that corresponds to the importance of culture for this city,” stated the board of the Berliner Kulturkonferenz e.V.
The largest alliance of Berlin’s cultural associations with its own legal form was established at the end of 2023, emerging from the Initiative for a Berlin Culture Funding Law. Its aim is to represent the entire breadth and diversity of the organized Berlin cultural landscape to politicians and the public.
Source: groove.de
