And what is the position of wpZimmer?

The Flemish arts field has a special architecture. It grew from the bottom up and draws its strength and innovation from a close collaboration between large and small players. As a small structure that is close to the individual artists, we would like to be clear about where we stand in relation to the announced cuts. And that is why we would like to share our thoughts, in analogy with the statement of Vooruit and other organizations in the arts field.

We want to share the following:

• that saving on culture is just the opposite of what Flanders needs today if it wants to be generous, hospitable and innovative;
• that a cut of 60% on project resources is detrimental to the cultural future of Flanders;
• that an almost empty project pot for individual artists, literally and figuratively touches the heart of wpZimmer;
• that it will force us to radically re-evaluate our way of working together with the artists;
• that, despite the cuts, we will save our artistic budget and will do it with one less employee;
• that we ask ourselves why it would be more valuable to invest in companies and in economy;
• that small organisations with a focus on development are extra fragile because their flexible, tailor-made operation is often invisible and closely linked to that of the individual artists;
• that we ask the cultural world to show what solidarity really is, and to go further than a new profile photo on Facebook;
• that we will contribute to solidarity actions for the arts and beyond and that we will commit ourselves to the social struggle for a socially and ecologically just society;

The team of wpZimmer