50 percent is the new sold out. That’s the sarcastic tenor in the off-theater scene. Some, like Komödie am Kai, are already playing fewer performances. Michael Auernig from the Theater am Alsergrund is more and more faced with the difficult decision, namely “that you have to consider canceling the performance.
Expensive energy is added to the low utilization. In the Drachengasse theater it is estimated that the price of gas will double in the near future. Therefore, an association of 15 small theaters called “Pact – Platform of the Houses of Performing Arts” is turning to politics. It is time to leave the selective subsidy adjustments behind and finally implement sustainable, value-secured and plannable financing.
Existence-threatening devaluation of subsidies
The scene was badly hit by the CoV pandemic. In view of high inflation and the energy crisis, people are now looking to the year 2023 with concern. Pakt is thus joining the demands of the Austrian Cultural Council, Upper Austrian Culture Platform (Kupf OÖ), IG Kultur and the Austrian Film Festival Forum. Politicians and corporations must intervene quickly.
There was a relieved reaction to the efforts of the sponsors to “tackle the problem of fair payment, which has become so virulent as a result of the corona pandemic (…) for the first time.” However, it is now to be feared that inflation and the energy crisis will eat up the funding increases. That might make fair pay unfeasible, “because already in the current year individual houses of Pakt are faced with the situation of having to react to rising prices by laying off employees and rejecting artists”.
The commitment of the City of Vienna and the federal government towards fair pay was an essential step forward. But without an annual cost-of-living adjustment, this alone would not be feasible in the long term. Pakt therefore calls for an increase in the funding budget for 2023 by 15 percent to compensate for inflation in 2022 and 2023, an annual, index-linked valorization of funding and further efforts to enable fair payment and to be able to guarantee it in the longer term.
City of Vienna: “Working on a solution for everyone”
From the office of City Councilor for Culture Kaup-Hasler it was said that a solution to the problem was being worked on. With regard to energy costs, a spokeswoman for the City Councilor for Culture referred to the possibility of subsidies for companies from the federal government. The city of Vienna is aware of the problem and is in exchange with the pact. It is regarding the expected additional effort. The city is working on a solution to this problem, which not only affects small theaters, but all cultural institutions.
15 theaters act together
PAKT – Platform of Houses of Performing Arts is an association of publicly funded, non-profit event companies in the field of contemporary performing arts in Vienna. Brunnenpassage, brut Vienna, DAS OFF THEATER, Jungle Vienna, Kosmos Theater, Schauspielhaus Vienna, TAG – Theater on Gumpendorfer Straße, Tanzquartier Wien, Theater Drachengasse, Theater Nestroyhof / Hamakom, Theater Rabenhof, Theater SPIELRAUM, Plant X, Plant X Petersplatz, WUK performing arts and WUK children’s culture.