Is Parisa Liljestrand Afraid of Us?

In Parisa Liljestrand's investigation into cultural funding, the practitioners are missing. Gertrud Larsson urges the minister to reconsider.

CULTURE DEBATE. Recently, my comedy "The Return of the Patron" was performed with great success at Teater Brunnsgatan Fyra. The idea came to me thanks to Roland Utbult's (Christian Democrats) confident statement about how he and his party believe in "the return of patrons." The play's characters, three cultural workers, set out in search of a patron, but the only one willing to finance them is a culture-loving Russian gangster who unfortunately demands certain favors in return...

The performance is a satirical debate piece that sharply questions: who can you accept money from, and what conditions are acceptable?

When Culture Minister Parisa Liljestrand launched her new investigation into broadening cultural funding, she took the opportunity in a debate article in Dagens Industri to assert that the "claim" of the return of patrons is historically ignorant. Historically ignorant. Such bold statements. But okay, Parisa Liljestrand. The gauntlet is thrown. I accept the challenge. I counter with the assertion that your new investigation suffers from a fear of engagement.

To avoid being dismissed as some kind of red wine leftist cultural elitist, I hereby declare that I have been, to borrow your own vocabulary, a "free cultural entrepreneur" for over 20 years. (Feel free to tip Elisabeth Svantesson to lower employer contributions for small businesses instead of yet another job tax deduction!)

And I really have nothing against super-rich people sharing their surplus, or as my alter ego says in the play: "Sweden has over 500 billionaires, we just need to find one who is interested!" Yes. Imagine what a billionaire could do for, for example, the performing arts scene. Cover the local costs of all of Sweden's free theater groups for the next ten years? No problem!

Your investigator Karin Forseke has a "renowned" expert group at her disposal. There is enough competence and experience here to spare. Men and women who know everything worth knowing about philanthropy, fundraising, business economics, asset management, development strategies, and law.

Slimmed organization is our middle name.

But wait. Aren't there a number of expertises missing? Where did the practitioners go? The creators? The free cultural life?

Nothing against Lars Strannegård, Lovisa Hamrin, Stephan Tolstoy, and the gang – but I think it's been a while since they ran a zero-budget project. Besides possessing practical artistic knowledge, we freelancers are specialists in conducting cultural activities extremely cost-effectively. Slimmed organization is our middle name.

You hope that your new investigation will give Sweden "a stronger, more fun, and freer cultural life." We really hope so. A first step would be to invite the free cultural life to Forseke's expert group. We don't bite. We just bark – which I know you appreciate in the name of freedom of expression. Right?

By Gertrud Larsson

Gertrud Larsson is a playwright and director. 'The Return of the Patron' has a new premiere on October 1 at Teater Brunnsgatan Fyra.