Cutting back on culture
The Flemish government is once again cutting subsidies. In total, the savings amount to half a billion euros by 2029. For Welfare the cuts come to roughly €90 million. Minister of Cultur Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) announced she will cut €47 million from culture in the new budget.
Jubilee expresses its shock and deep concern. We stand in solidarity with the organisations affected. We emphasise that the arts field, like society at large, consists of mutually dependent actors. Cutting the budgets of museums and other institutions has implications for everyone, from artists to small institutions to the larger public.
Join us with the Culture Bloc during the protest on 9 October about federal policy, such as the art worker’s allocations.
Here follows an overview of the plans as published by 2 October, compiled by Jubilee, as well as a press release issued by De Federatie, Overleg Kunstenorganisaties (oko) and Overleg Cultureel Erfgoedorganisaties (OCE)
Supra-local museums lose a third of their Flemish funding (€2.3 million). Museum directors are already warning that some museums could be threatened with closure. National and supra-local archive institutions lose 50% (€6.5 million), including KADOC, Letterenhuis and the Archive and Museum of Flemish Life in Brussels (AMVB). Heritage libraries lose all their subsidies (€1 million), as do the provincial archaeological museums (€3.9 million). Socio-cultural adult education loses 7.3% (€6.1 million). Gennez wants to cut a further €5 million by “rationalising” the umbrella and support structures, €4.5 million on infrastructure and €5 million on stimulation funds.
€4.7 million will be cut from the supra-local culture decree, and €2.6 million from heritage cells (-30%).
Brussels is directly affected. Bozar loses all Flemish subsidies from 2027, more than €700,000 a year, and its director says he doesn’t know how they can keep up the quality. Gennez argues Bozar is a federal institution and not a core Flemish responsibility. AMVB is hit as well. Youth work in Brussels is reportedly spared.
Gennez wants to reform the many consultation structures, support bodies and umbrella organisations, and says “we will continue to phase out ad hoc subsidies by name.” The coverage doesn’t say which organisations this will hit, or what the €5 million in stimulation funds covers. That would affect services the arts sector relies on
The Arts Decree is spared. Gennez says the cuts don’t touch artists, writers, filmmakers or the Arts Decree. The big museums and large funds like Literatuur Vlaanderen are also spared. The hit lands on heritage, local and supra-local initiatives, and the “bovenbouw” (the layer of umbrella and support bodies).
Sources:
Focus WTV ‘Vlaanderen bespaart ook op cultuur’
Bruzz, ‘Vlaanderen bespaart fors op cultuur, jeugdwerk blijft gespaard’
Short overview in Dutch:
Bovenlokale musea -30%: €2,3 miljoen
Landelijke dienstverlenende organisaties in Cultureel-erfgoeddecreet -30%: €1,8 miljoen
Landelijke en bovenlokale archiefinstellingen -50%: €6,5 miljoen
Landelijke (ingedeelde) erfgoedbibliotheken -100%: €1 miljoen
Erfgoedcellen -30%: €2,6 miljoen
Hervorming Bovenlokaal Cultuurdecreet: €4,7 miljoen
Sociaal-Cultureel Volwassenenwerk -7,3%: €6,1 miljoen
Provinciale archeologische musea (subsidies op naam) — stopzetting — €3,9 miljoen
Collectie Bulskampveld (subsidie op naam) — uitdoving — €101.000
Bozar (subsidie op naam) — stopzetting — €762.000
Administratieve diensten (DAB) Masereel en Alden Biesen — uitkanteling — €680.000
Innovatieve partnerprojecten — stopzetting — €380.000
Organisaties met een bijzondere opdracht — €1,8 miljoen
Rationalisatie en hervorming tussenstructuren (culturele bovenbouw) — €5 miljoen
Stimuleringsmiddelen — €5 miljoen
Infrastructuur — €4,5 miljoen
TOTAAL: €47 miljoen
In the weeks before, oKo, De Federatie and OCE warned that an extra 10% cut would mean fewer people at work, less activity and less reach. They noted culture receives only 0.72% of the Flemish budget in subsidies. Opposition parties have called the budget an “afbraakverklaring” (demolition statement):
Reports have appeared in the press about a possible 10% cut to culture. The Flemish Government has not yet made a decision on this, but negotiations are well underway. Jubilee expressed its concern about this possibility. A press release has been issued by De Federatie, Overleg Kunstenorganisaties (oko) and Overleg Cultureel Erfgoedorganisaties (OCE)
The proposed cuts concern the budgets allocated through the various cultural funding decrees. Any cuts would therefore affect not only the subsidised arts sector, but also cultural heritage, socio-cultural work, amateur arts, circus and other cultural fields.
With just 0.72% of the entire Flemish budget, the Flemish Government currently makes an enormous amount possible: internationally renowned institutions such as AB, Brussels Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Brugge and Rosas; a unified library system that allows every Flemish resident, even in the smallest corners of the country, to borrow any book they wish; food and drink for our brass bands, so they don’t go hungry or thirsty; opportunities to take creations by trailblazers such as Otobong Nkanga, Alain Platel and Miet Warlop to audiences abroad; care and protection for Flemish cultural treasures such as works by Rubens, Van Ostaijen and Elsschot; thousands of inspiring school performances for children and young people across the country… all while ensuring safety, accessibility, affordable prices and attention to the needs of every Flemish resident.
That is why cutting culture means cutting from each and every one of us.
Behind the numbers are people. Many people. An additional 10% cut means fewer people at work, fewer activities, less on offer and less reach. Culture is not simply a cost limited to the resources invested in it by the government. Culture generates economic activity, employment, international visibility and revenue, but above all, it creates social value. That value cannot easily be expressed in euros. Anyone who looks only at government spending therefore sees just part of the story. We trust that the Flemish Government will value the broad value of culture at its true worth.
Read the full press release on the website of oKo (in Dutch)
National Demonstration in Brussels: Friday 09/10/2026, 10h
On 9 October, the Bloc Culture is meeting again, in a very tense social “rentrée” for all non-profit sectors, and in particular for culture, which once again sees the status of arts workers threatened by the Arizona government’s measures.
The draft royal decree on the access thresholds for the Arts Workers Attest Plus is under pressure: it was approved on Friday 25 October 2026 by the Council of Ministers. The aim of the decree is to make access much more restrictive for holders of the Starter or Ordinary Attests. For the retirements, a collective legal action is also being prepared.
We hope to see you there in large numbers on 9 October! Feel free to share the flyer and spread the word!
9 October 2026 at 10:00
Kunstberg/Mont des Arts, Brussels
Dress code: survival blanket.
Sign-making workshop
Monday 5 October at 6 pm
Maison de la Création – Gare site – 2, rue du Chant de l’Église, 1020 Laeken
Registration required at least 24 hours in advance
Email: fantasticollectif@gmail.com