On Wednesday, the Riksdag’s Culture Committee visited the National Property Board of Sweden (SFV) to learn about rents for state-owned cultural properties, including the threatened closure of the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities and the Museum of East Asian Antiquities in Stockholm.
Closing the museums would mean a deterioration in their operations, according to Mattias Karlsson (SD), chair of the Culture Committee.
The Sweden Democrats and I believe that we, on the political side, need to meet their demands in the upcoming budget process so that this situation can be avoided, he tells TT.
Committee meeting
SD also wants the Culture Committee to urge the government to “urgently” appoint an inquiry into changing the rental model, which charges market rents for state-owned cultural properties.
Denmark and the UK were mentioned today as positive examples for Sweden’s museums to look at and draw inspiration from, Mattias Karlsson says.
“Going far”
Sweden is going quite far compared with many similar countries in having such a market-oriented model, where the aim is actually to charge the highest possible rents, even to our own institutions.
According to Mattias Karlsson, the committee will discuss the issue at a meeting next week.
The Swedish National Museums of World Culture has announced a 57 percent rent increase next year for the two museums. If the museums are to remain in their current premises, at least an additional SEK 35 million a year will be needed, according to the authority’s calculations.
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