The Big Topic: Could Germany’s bold new idea save the arts?
This week, Germany announced their innovative Kulturpass, which will be rolled out to all 18-year-olds to drive them to be more invested in the arts and to keep them alive for future generations. It’s a precautionary move, which will hurt the nation’s pockets in the short term, but it could make a priceless difference to the country in the long run.
The two simple aims of the government-funded programme are to give all 18-year-olds $200, a fee which can be spent exclusively on supporting the arts, giving the sector an immediate boost. However, the secondary goal is to change the habits of a generation by getting them to attend concerts, to buy records, and see the theatre rather than living vicariously behind a screen.
The current generation had their life changed by the pandemic, a situation which took away two years they could have spent attending shows and consuming traditional culture. When live shows returned, the majority of those from this age category were not among those in attendance. The German authorities believe they need to experience performing arts, hoping the Kulturpass will hook them back in.
Attendances across the board have dropped since the pandemic, and if this trajectory continues, the future of the arts will be thrown into doubt. The country’s culture minister, Claudia Roth, said in a press conference: “We want to get young people excited about the diversity of culture in our country.”
Roth also described it as the “equivalent of a birthday present” for the 750,000 recipients in 2023, which is €150 million. However, if 10% of those continue to invest €200 per year for another 60 years, that’ll contribute €900 million to the arts economy and shows why the scheme makes sense.
Germany isn’t the first country to experiment with this line of methodology, given that it was first created by Italy in 2016. All Italians receive €500 the year after they turn 18, which can only be spent on cultural activities, including theatre, music, books and the cinema. Meanwhile, President Macron made it an election promise in 2017 and finally implemented the €300 culture pass last year in France. Spain also launched a similar scheme in 2021, following the success in Italy.
An interesting stipulation to the German Kulturpass is online platforms such as Amazon and Spotify have been banned from the scheme. Therefore, young culture fiends must get their kicks from local, independent cinemas, music stores or bookshops. Furthermore, purchases will be limited in value to stop them from spending all of the €200 on one concert from Taylor Swift or Harry Styles.
In Spain, it was somewhat of a success last year, and 57.6% of all those who turned 18 in 2022 registered for the €400 voucher scheme in its first year. It now remains to be seen how many of those continue to support their local independent cultural organisations, whether this is a music venue or a bookshop.
If the plans hadn’t boosted economies across Europe and helped improve the state of the homegrown arts scene, the Kulturpass wouldn’t have been rolled out across Germany.
In Britain, as much as the cultural scene needs growth, there’s very little point in dreaming about this current Tory government have even considered it. While it could potentially be hugely beneficial to the economy and embolden a generation’s minds, the arts are nothing more than an afterthought to those in power.
Despite costing a similar amount to the government’s unsavoury failed Rwanda experiment and having tangible benefits to the nation, the British version of the Kulturpass is a non-starter. It’s the most obvious answer to solving the inevitable problems which sadly may strip Britain from its greatest export, culture, which the Conservatives should try to conserve.
