By Tobias Lauritzen
The new government highlights art and culture as a cornerstone of Danish society. That is positive, but if the government seriously I think thatunstone is democratic infrastructure, there is a need for better conditions for the country's artists. Visual arts must therefore have a clear place in 2040.ion for Danish cultural life.
BKF today welcomes Zenia Stampe as the new Minister of Culture in Denmark.
She has been the culture spokesperson for the Danish Social Liberal Party since 2019 and has had art and culture as political issues for a number of years. However, BKF notes that she has not been given a seat on the government's coordination or economic committees, something that has been a great advantage for her predecessor Jakob Engel-Schmidt.
“We look forward to working with Zenia Stampe to secure the conditions for visual artists. The new government framework rightly recognizes art as crucial for Danish society. But it requires concrete political initiatives to secure not only the Danish cultural heritage, but also the future,” says Marie Thams, representative of the Danish Association of Visual Artists (BKF) and continues:
“When art is mentioned as such an important part of society, we miss the fact that artists play a greater role in the government’s foundation. Artists must not only be considered as someone who must solve society’s problems. Art is also to a large extent what defines and shows society’s problems. Therefore, artists must be recognized as central players in the development of our common democratic and cultural space. And it is not enough to do this with words, it requires political and economic investments.”
One of the notable initiatives in the government framework is the need to prepare a “cultural policy vision 2040”. The government framework states that “the vision must shape the overall objectives for Danish cultural policy towards 2040 and contain objectives and benchmarks for the individual cultural sectors and art forms.”
Marie Thams emphasizes that we at BKF are pleased that the vision will be developed in collaboration with the cultural sector. The government also emphasizes the need to ensure democratic dialogue, which is currently challenged by increasingly fragmented spaces on social media and a need for regulation of artificial intelligence (AI).
"We would like to commend the government for listening to us artists by wanting to address the negative consequences of artificial intelligence in relation to copyright and profit. But we still lack a special focus on visual arts in primary schools, a strengthened art circular and the inclusion of visual arts in construction projects,” says Marie Thams.
This is something the new Minister of Culture, Zenia Stampe, should address.
1. Improve the economic conditions for visual artists
The average income is DKK 297.420 per year – less than half from artistic work. The performance fee has not been regulated since 2013. Regulate the fee, adjust the tax rules for combiners and equalize maternity rights.
2. Protect artists' copyright in an AI era
Artists’ works are used to train generative AI without consent, credit or payment. Introduce regulation and transparency, ensure real consent and establish licensing models that pay artists.
3. Integrate art into buildings and infrastructure
Every year, large amounts of public construction are built without systematic integration of art. Expand the government art circular to apply to construction projects and extend it to municipalities and regions.
4. Give all children and young people an encounter with art
All children should be exposed to professional visual arts – regardless of zip code. Establish cultural and visual arts schools throughout the country and build a strong BGK system in line with music, where MGK is already anchored in the municipalities.
5. Consider art in the green transition
Art and culture must be systematically included in the green transition. Actively involve artists in design processes and climate communication, and allocate funds for artistic projects that support the transition locally and nationally.
You can read the entire government document here..