Brucknerhaus affair

“The entire cultural sector is damaged by this”

Thomas Diesenreiter has been Managing Director of the KUPF Cultural Platform Upper Austria since 2016, an umbrella organization for around 135 cultural associations - the "independent scene" - throughout the province.

(Bild: Petra Moser)

After the Brucknerhaus scandal, now the lying affair of the now resigned mayor of Linz: these unpleasant incidents are now casting the entire cultural scene in a bad light, criticizes Thomas Diesenreiter from the Upper Austrian Cultural Platform. He calls for the LIVA to be rethought.

He is an intimate connoisseur of the cultural scene: Thomas Diesenreiter, Managing Director of the KUPF Cultural Platform Upper Austria, not only represents around 135 cultural associations, but is not afraid to point out grievances. The latest developments in the Brucknerhaus affair are now the straw that breaks the camel's back. The lack of transparency of "collective constructs" such as the LIVA must stop, he demands in the "Krone".

"Krone": Following the Brucknerhaus and chat affair involving the Mayor of Linz, you are calling for a transparency offensive in Linz's cultural institutions. What do you find particularly annoying?
Thomas Diesenreiter: There are people who know about the LIVA's budgets, but that's only a small circle. The public is excluded from a lot of information, even though it is public money.

What is the difference between a museum and LIVA?
At Ars Electronica, you know how much money goes in, and that goes to Ars Electronica. The LIVA is a collective construct that includes various cultural institutions. Several million go to the LIVA. Nobody knows which house will receive what.

The Brucknerhaus in Linz is also being cast in a bad light as a place of culture

(Bild: Dieter Kühl)

Do you have an example?
I've looked at the Control Office report again and again over the last few years and noticed that more and more money has been shifted from the Posthof to the Brucknerhaus within the LIVA. The Posthof had to generate more and more income of its own in order to cover the deficit in the Brucknerhaus. This also means that more and more money has been shifted from the popular sector to the classical sector. You can do that too! The problem is that no cultural policy discourse is possible because the figures are not publicly known.

The cultural institutions of the City of Linz should be obliged to submit comprehensive transparency reports. If you receive public funding, the public should be able to see where the money goes.

Thomas Diesenreiter, KUPF

What are your specific demands?
The city's cultural institutions should be obliged to submit comprehensive transparency reports and allow the public to look at their books. Linz AG presents a thick report once a year with the most important key figures, projects and information. The museums do this in a slimmed-down version, but LIVA does not do this at all.

How can a closed body like a supervisory board gain control?
The chairpersons of the City Cultural Advisory Board should be appointed to the supervisory boards of the city's cultural institutions. How else would the City Cultural Advisory Board be able to discuss issues that affect these institutions?

But how do you justify this demand?
I think that if you get public money, the public should have the opportunity to discuss it. They should be able to see where the money is going.

Is the entire cultural scene in Linz being damaged by these scandals?
Yes, it casts a bad light on the entire cultural sector. It is then quickly said in the forums: "Yes, the artists, the money is being shoved down their throats." That's not true, of course. In my opinion, there is a two-tier society. On the one hand, there are the cultural workers in the independent scene who really have to survive on low wages. On the other hand, you can see how a Kerschbaum has had every performance in his own house paid for. That's simply a slap in the face. No, that's not possible.

On the other hand, you can see how a Kerschbaum has had every appearance in his own house gilded. That is simply a slap in the face. No, that's not possible.

Thomas Diesenreiter

Can the small cultural association hide something?
If a cultural association receives cultural funding, it has to disclose all its books and invoices. A cultural association is extremely transparent towards the funding body. That's why it's important that we position ourselves as KUPF and criticize the conditions that prevailed at the Brucknerhaus.