Saxony's cultural scene is breathing a sigh of relief: an additional 30 million euros in sight!

Saxony's cultural scene is breathing a sigh of relief: an additional 30 million euros in sight!

There is a breath of fresh air for the cultural scene in Saxony: The Saxon Cabinet has approved the government's draft double budget for 2025/26 with a whopping plus of 30 million euros. This money is intended to reduce the deficit and support municipalities. Culture Minister Barbara Klepsch is satisfied with the budget negotiations and emphasizes the importance of maintaining the cultural infrastructure.

Despite the additional funds, the situation remains tense. Anne Gaschütz, the director of the Dresden Film Festival, expresses concerns about payment bottlenecks that affect both institutions and freelance artists. The lack of final funding notifications for months is causing liquidity problems and increasing the pressure on many actors in the cultural scene. Ingolf Huhn from the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht initiative also criticizes the budget planning, which is viewed as unrealistic for some cultural institutions.

Details about the new budget

In the new budget, the cultural spaces are provided with unchanged funds of around 104 million euros per year. The Cultural Promotion Act plays an important role here, which has ensured the promotion of rural cultural areas since 2008. Grants of 5.1 million euros are planned for theaters in the Free State for 2025, which will increase to 5.8 million euros the following year. The Saxon Memorials Foundation will also receive more funding, which is seen as positive. However, many other institutions must expect reductions in institutional funding.

• Kulturelle Bildung: 1,4 Millionen Euro.
• Sächsische Musikschulen: 7,87 Millionen Euro ohne Kürzung.
• Kulturpakt für neun kommunale Theater und Orchester: ca. 9 Millionen Euro.

Another focus is on the Saxon state theaters and art collections, which will receive a total of 149.6 million euros for 2025 and 157.1 million euros for 2026. Despite these resources, spending on other state-owned enterprise needs has been reduced, raising questions about financial stability.

Tourism as a complementary goal

The budget also offers prospects for tourism, where the government plans to continue the tourism development of the three world heritage sites. An annual budget of 4.7 million euros will be made available for destination management organizations (DMO) over the next two years. There will also be 6.2 million euros for location and tourism marketing in 2025 and 2026.

The challenges that are emerging in the area of ​​cultural education and mobility cannot be overlooked. There are considerations about integrating cultural education into the Cultural Areas Act in order to enable the broadest possible access to cultural offerings. If those in charge show a good hand here, not only the big ships of the cultural landscape, but also the finer ships of education could soon be sailing in calmer waters.

Despite all the positivity, there is plenty of work to be done to master the cultural diversity and the associated challenges in Saxony. However, with a solid financial foundation and forward-looking planning, there is hope for the cultural scene in the Free State.