Theaters and museums survived the pandemic without financial harm.
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The first glance at the finances of cultural institutions published by the Central Statistical Office (GUS) may indicate that they can easily do without the public. The pandemic year hardly affected their results at all. Even on energy, they spent almost the same amount. The only place where we can see the impact of the pandemic in cultural institutions is in the area of outsourced services. This accounting category includes actors with their own businesses.
The state budget flowed into the cultural institutions 1.75 billion zlotys of subsidies last year, and from local governments - 6 billion zlotys - according to the CSO report published on Tuesday. In a pandemic, it would seem that these funds will somehow be many times greater than before, but it turns out that the amounts have not gone up particularly much.
Sales revenues actually fell to 733 million PLN from 1.49 billion PLN a year earlier, but this loss, in addition to higher revenues from subsidies, was made up for by cost cutting. It is about the costs of external services, which can include e.g. salaries of those actors who offer their services as one-person companies. For outsourced services, cultural institutions spent PLN 1.56 billion, that is PLN 581 million less year-on-year.
Interestingly, they spent almost the same amount on energy and materials year on year. Is there a client or is there not, we still need the same amount of light? It is not exactly the point. We should remember that energy prices are growing. On the Polish Power Exchange last year in December the average monthly price was 258 PLN per megawatt hour, but the year before it was 184.80 PLN. Despite the reduction of consumption by almost half, the expense could remain unchanged at almost 860 million PLN.
State subsidies went mainly to museums - 0.62 of PLN 1.76 billion. Local authorities allocated the bulk of subsidies to cultural facilities, excluding those which give performances - 2.52 out of 6 billion PLN and to libraries - 1.46 out of 6 billion PLN.
