The Norwegian government has announced a NOK 59 million stimulus package for the struggling arts and cultural sector. The Norwegian Cultural Fund will receive almost half of the money with a particular focus on music and performing arts.
Financial help for struggling arts and cultural sector
The struggling arts and cultural sector have been granted a financial lifeline from the government with a NOK 59 million stimulus package announced. This sector has been particularly hit as Norway reopens and reemerges from two years of pandemic related restrictions.
Anette Trettebergstuen, Minister of Culture and Gender Equality (AP), said in a press release that the government wanted the stimulus to “strengthen the entire value chain from organizers to artists and subcontractors.” The package will see the Norwegian Cultural Fund receive NOK 25 million with Music Norway (11 million), the Fund for Sound and Vision (10 million), the Fund for Performing Artists (5 million), and the Dance and Theater Center (3 million) also receiving financial help.
Trettebergstuen also made special mention of the struggles of music and performing arts during the past two pandemic affected years. Explaining the government’s vision to help, she noted that “the field of music and performing arts has had the largest drop in turnover as a result of the pandemic, and the field of popular music, in particular, has been hit hard” and wanted the funds to be distributed “to take special care of the popular music field.”
NOK 30 million for film, part of NOK 1.2 billion set aside for cultural sector in 2022
The government has also announced, as part of this stimulus package, a NOK 30 million grant to the Norwegian Film Institute. The money will be used to strengthen film production in Norway and to encourage consumers to flock back to the cinemas, something almost impossible to do throughout much of the pandemic.
This latest financial stimulus package is part of more than NOK 1.2 billion that the government has put aside, this year, to prop up the arts and cultural sector which is experiencing sluggish consumer demand.
Source : © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayTravel
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