PhD student: Mrs E.M.J. Hardy

Promotors: Prof T. Hartlief, Mrs Prof J.E. van den Brink

Duration: 1/9/2017 - 31/8/2021

PhD defence: Maastricht, 2/3/2023

Abstract:

The government has traditionally been an important financier of the arts sector. Until 1998, this usually was done by agreement; then the subsidy instrument was given primacy for the provision of public money. Financing this sector is interesting from a legal perspective, because the role of the government is twofold: it considers (a certain degree of) financial support important, but the so-called Thorbecke adage requires an appropriate distance. In addition, interest in the distribution of public funds is increasing. Subsidies can be scarce public rights, with the transparency requirement increasingly manifesting itself. What does all this mean for the provision of money in the arts sector? This research focuses on the extent to which the General Administrative Law Act provides the appropriate legal framework to regulate government financing of this sector. It is explained on the basis of four themes: the preparation of cultural subsidy decisions, the legal protection of applicants in the allocation of a scarce subsidy budget, the legal design of national art prizes involving the government and the influence of the transparency requirement on the granting of four-year subsidies in the cultural sector.