Hungary/ 6. Financing of culture  

6.3 Trends and indicators for private cultural financing

The huge twin investment in the new National Theatre and the Palace of Arts on the river banks in the south of Pest was erected as a Public Private Partnership scheme. The Palace of Arts (MÜPA) is a large compound housing, among others, a 1 700 seat concert hall, the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Arts, receiving a HUF 14.1 billion subsidy from the government in 2010.

A similar PPP project between the Capital City of Budapest and private investors addressing the revitalisation of the former public warehouses on the bank of the Danube, including a unique architectural extension, ran into various legal complications. The plans include important cultural functions. Late in 2012 the building still stood empty.

The matching grant co-operation set up in 2007 between the culture minister and the Kogart Contemporary Arts Foundation, established by a private banker, evoked criticism. According to the scheme, the ministry topped up the 50% private investment in acquiring contemporary art pieces for the foundation: 100 items each year, of which 25 were auctioned for good causes, the rest remaining in the possession of the foundation.

Your Comments on this Chapter?