Culture under control: how subsidies shape creativity in the Balearic Islands

PalmThere was a time when one of the most common criticisms in the cultural sector was that many people "lived off subsidies." Having moved beyond that debate and once it was understood and accepted that the cultural sector, like agriculture or industry, needs public investment, numerous grants from various institutions have been consolidated in the Balearic Islands over the last decade. And while these have contributed to the professionalization of the sector, the debates surrounding their operation and the resulting cultural fabric are quite diverse: from the transformation of many creators into managers, to the design of cultural programs and activities based on grant requirements, among others. Broadly speaking, Balearic institutions offer two types of cultural grants: competitive grants, where receiving the aid depends on meeting a series of requirements and which several cultural agents can apply for, and designated grants, which are awarded to specific agents based on their merits. In both cases there have been significant changes in recent years, especially noticeable with regard to the latter, the designated grants.

More designated grants

In total, the Balearic Government's Department of Culture allocates approximately €11.6 million to subsidies: over €5.5 million through the Balearic Institute of Culture (IEB) –mostly awarded through competitive bidding–, around €4 million through the Department of Culture itself –almost all of which are designated grants–, and approximately €2 million in competitive grants through the Balearic Institute of Culture (ICIB). Furthermore, the Council of Mallorca has maintained most of its designated cultural subsidies for 2026, with the exceptions of the grants previously awarded to Jóvenes por la Llengua (Youth for Language) and Obra Cultural Balear (Balearic Cultural Foundation). Designated subsidies have been maintained, for example, for the Diocese of Mallorca for the conservation of cultural assets –amounting to €1 million.

Regarding Palma City Council, at the beginning of the current legislative term, these types of subsidies were reduced to a maximum of five, which meant eliminating those that existed for the Teatre Sans, the Enderrock awards, and the Teresetes Festival, among others, although the budget for grants was simultaneously increased. The objective, as explained by Deputy Mayor Javier Bonet at the time, was to limit and minimize earmarked subsidies in favor of those obtained through a public competition. When asked about the criteria for distinguishing which grants were still earmarked at that time, Bonet stated that "there are many criteria provided by the legal department, but if we had to make the assessment ourselves, they would be those that only a specific company or entity can provide."

Three years later, by 2026, nine earmarked grants for cultural activities are planned by the Palma City Council (Cort), including those for the Paco de Lucía Festival (€30,000), Casa Planas (€20,000), and the Evolution Mallorca Film Festival (€15,000). Also included are the Booksellers' Guild (€15,000), the Art Palma Contemporani association (€30,000), and the Atlántida Mallorca Film Fest (€35,000), entities that have also received other earmarked grants from other institutions. In the case of the Booksellers' Guild and Art Palma Contemporani, both receive this type of funding from the Consell de Mallorca (Island Council of Mallorca), €130,000 for the former and €70,000 for the latter. In the case of Atlántida, in 2025 it received one of the earmarked grants awarded by the Balearic Institute of Studies, worth €350,000, almost five times the maximum amount available to applicants for the same institution's grant for fairs and festivals (€42,000 for associations and non-profit entities). Among the reasons given for awarding this grant, it is stated that "the case of Atlántida is justified by its unique and unrepeatable nature, as it is the largest hybrid festival in the world, with a consolidated structure" and that "it enjoys proven public and cultural interest because it promotes free access to culture and fosters Balearic talent."

Grants pave the way

The IEB's grant for fairs and festivals has a maximum budget of €950,000 for 2026, although there have been budget increases in previous years – in 2025 it went from the initial €1,150,000 to €1,750,000. In the case of aid for the creation of the organization itself, the amounts are much lower: €490,000 to be distributed between the 2026 and 2027 calls for proposals.

In addition to grants for fairs and festivals and for creative projects, the Institut d'Estudis Baleàrics currently offers other competitive funding opportunities, such as those for promoting various disciplines internationally, local studies conferences, and creative centers. The latter, in its 2025 call for proposals, awarded five points out of a possible 100 for projects related to the Llompart Year, commemorating the book I leave you, my love, the sea as a pledge or with the centenary of Antoni Maura's death. This same criterion appeared in the 2025 call for fairs and festivals, although for 2026, obtaining these five points is contingent upon the event including activities related to the Alcover year, while only three points will be added if they promote "the use of Catalan and employ the Catalan language during the development of the activities," and three more if they issue press releases, announcements, and social media posts."

"This is how we arrive at programmers who design their events according to the requirements of official bodies: a complete anomaly of the system. And this not only calls into question the independence of cultural programming, but it also leads to absurdities such as last year having roundtables on Llompart or on Carme's stories; more speakers than attendees. This year we will have the same with Alcover." This is the view expressed by a programmer who requested anonymity, as do most professionals when consulted on the matter: many managers and creators hold a critical perspective but prefer not to share it publicly. They all agree that grant evaluation criteria have become the foundation upon which certain actions and even creations in the cultural sphere are planned; more than one refers to the existence of "grant professionals" who repeatedly apply for various forms of funding to sustain their work, especially in the audiovisual field.

The ungovernability of culture

In any case, the fundamental question is whether the current system of subsidies truly enables and improves the conditions of cultural creators and whether it respects their independence. This issue is, in fact, one of the central themes of the book. Ungovernable culture (Ariel) by Jazmin Beirak. The author, who is currently the Director General of Cultural Rights for the Spanish government, presented it in Palma just a few weeks ago. When asked about it by ARA Baleares, Beirak pointed out the "paradox of public management in culture." "The more it escapes the institutional sphere, the richer the culture is, even though it needs public support," Beirak responded, "this is where the paradox of public management in culture appears: the more what is promoted overflows, the more successful the management will have been. The idea is that governing culture is about creating the conditions for its proliferation and escape. This doesn't mean not intervening, on the contrary, but intervention shouldn't be in content, but rather in strategies that allow for its proliferation and redistribution."

"I wish I didn't have to ask for any funding to perform," explains dancer Gaspar Morey of the Baal company, "because that would mean theaters have enough money to put on good programs and that there are discerning people at the helm who want to take to the stage, as long as they understand that the works are committed and critical. The function of public theaters is to put on spectacle and pretty, easy things—what alternative do we have? Since we started in 2013, the situation has remained more or less the same. What is the function of art, if not to stir consciences, to challenge, and to generate a critical fabric?"