City of Halle (Saale)

I am very pleased that the municipal guideline on exhibition remuneration is the first step towards adequate remuneration for artists.

(Jane Unger, Head of the Department of Culture of the City of Halle (Saale))

Since when have you been paying an exhibition fee?

In summer 2020, the City Council adopted a guideline on the payment of exhibition fees. It applies to all municipal cultural institutions, such as the city archives and the city library, as well as the Ratshof, where a large number of exhibitions are held every year. The guideline is available here: m.halle.de/Publications/9361/sr_428-0_richtlinie_zur_ausstellungsverg_tung_f_r_.pdf.

Do you/your company pay this exhibition fee from your own budget or from public or private funds, from subsidies?
For the payment of exhibition fees, an initial budget of EUR 10,000 per year was approved in the 2020 budget, which is managed by the Department of Culture. The institutions register their exhibitions and the Department of Culture checks the application of the guidelines and disburses the funds.

What form does your exhibition remuneration take?
The remuneration is paid to the artist as a fee. The Department of Culture will compile an annual overview of the exhibitions that have taken place and the fees paid. Due to the pandemic and the fact that no exhibitions took place in 2020 and restrictions were still in place in 2021, little experience is available to date.

Do you follow a certain pattern or is it always renegotiated or adapted?
The Exhibition Remuneration Guideline provides a good working basis, as a calculation can be made in relation to the duration of the exhibition before it begins. The guideline also provides a point of reference for calculating fees for artists in funded projects.

Do you also offer a participation fee for setting up the exhibition or for any transportation costs incurred?
Further expenses cannot be refinanced via the guideline. Separate arrangements must be made with the institution organizing the exhibition. In practice, the costs of the exhibition are usually borne by the institution.

Halle (Saale), May 2022

Thank you!

Thanks to Jane Unger, Head of the Department of Culture of the City of Halle (Saale), for the statement and the detailed interview! Further information: m.halle.de/de/Verwaltung/Verwaltungsorganisation/GB-Kultur-und-Sport/FB-Kultur, address: Department of Culture of the City of Halle (Saale), Hansering 15, 06108 Halle (Saale).

Thanks to Matthias Behne (lautwieleise.de) for the photos and the design! Thanks to Matthias Behne and André Kestel for designing and conducting the interviews!