Government support for visual artists in Flanders between 1965 and 2015

Abstract

This study is a historical exploration of the relationship between cultural policy and visual arts production. Through an analysis of fifty-one years (1965–2015) of grant distributions, grant proposals, and policy documents from Flemish (Belgium) state archives, we probe how evolutions in cultural policy align with evolutions in (1) reputational characteristics of applying artists and (2) legitimations applicants use for grant money. We observe a shift in cultural policy from a social welfare-inspired, inclusive view to supporting artists toward a more selective approach, demanding social and/or entrepreneurial accountability from artists. We find that fewer artists with low institutional reputations and more with high institutional reputations apply for government support over time. Furthermore, artists’ proposals decreasingly rely on romantic justifications and increasingly use entrepreneurial, social, and academic justifications. Our results suggest that cultural policy's increasingly explicit expectation of professionalism and accountability from artists affects who applies and how they do so. Still, we suggest that the so-called instrumentalization of the arts has always been part and parcel of art subsidization. The question is not whether cultural policy instrumentalizes the arts, but rather in what ways and how much?