After the city councillors discussed changes to the draft budget for 2026 in special meetings last week, the Cultural Advisory Board met on Tuesday. The committee met at the Kulturpalast in Saalgasse and was welcomed by host Daniel Eckert, Chairman of the Kultur im Palast e.V. association. According to Eckert, the association is currently on the right track after the initial difficulties caused by the fire protection renovation of the Tattersall at the beginning of the year. This is also thanks to the constructive approach of the main office, the cultural office and the social work office. For the time being, it seems as if the knot has been untied.

Meanwhile, the Cultural Advisory Board's agenda focused primarily on issues relating to the city's cultural budget and discussed the results of the budget deliberations. Some of the cultural scene's fears were allayed, for example, with the free project funding being increased to 200,000 euros and the cuts to other project funding from the Department of Culture being reversed. "The fact that institutional funding will also be increased again for 2026 is certainly a positive development," says Dorothée Rhiemeier, Deputy Chair of the Cultural Advisory Board. "However, the Cultural Advisory Board's assessment remains that we are still a long way from adequate funding for culture."

The study presented at the meeting by Sebastian Schäfer, former member of the Advisory Board, comparing cultural expenditure in major Hessian cities also fits into this picture. In this study, Wiesbaden recorded the second-highest increase in the cultural budget in the comparative years 2016 and 2023, but still ranks second to last in terms of expenditure per inhabitant in 2023. "We have achieved a lot together in recent years, but it is still not enough," said Rhiemeier. During the discussion in the committee, it became clear that, beyond the 235,000 euro increase in funding for institutional funding (around a third of the jury's recommendations), it was regrettable that no decision was made to increase the subsidies in line with the price index.

The kuenstlerhaus43, whose increased subsidy requirements were not taken into account in the budget discussions, also remains a burning issue. A new location in Goldgasse, which according to theater operator Susanne Müller is very suitable, cannot be rented under these conditions. "We would like to urge the city councillors once again to do some soul-searching," warns Dr. Helmut Müller, Chairman of the Cultural Advisory Board. "Do you really want to let the future of a recognized theater in the city centre, which the city has promised to support, fail?" Just six years ago, when the Pariser Hof was allocated, the city council determined that the theater needed a suitable home and decided to support the kuenstlerhaus43 in its search for an alternative location. The seriousness of this decision was underlined by the fact that funds amounting to 1,000,000 euros were allocated to the budget for planning costs alone.

For the final resolution on the budget statutes on November 27, the Cultural Advisory Board therefore recommends that the city councillors increase the theater's subsidy by the required amount. In addition, the GWW's special right of termination for the current venue in the Palast Hotel should be canceled now. "This would put completely pointless pressure on the theater's situation," concluded Dr. Müller.