In April, the Arts Council received SEK 70 million from the Ministry of Culture to distribute in the form of crisis scholarships to individual artists in image and form, music, theater, dance, contemporary circus and film. 

A new report from the Swedish Arts Council shows a total of 3327 applications received.

Of these, 1955 were approved.

Most applications came from the music field and then from image and form.

Those who fit the criteria and who could report lost income, documented in writing, usually received support.

Nevertheless, the total loss of income for all applicants amounted to almost SEK 300 million.

- This puts the finger on a number of problems that exist in the industry, including the fact that there are often oral agreements and short lead times, says Emma Bergmark, investigator at the Swedish Arts Council, in a press release.

Self-employment is missed

Small companies with low turnover or companies in sole proprietorships are the most common form of organization among artists, but also those who have had the most difficulty in receiving crisis support.

Something that Kulturnyheterna has reported on before.

- The areas that we see are long-term important to pay attention to in order to strengthen artists' conditions are, among other things, the lack of written agreements, the need to review rules for sole and small business owners in the security systems, says Emma Bergmark.

On average, each person received SEK 35,000 in crisis scholarship and the loss of income they stated in the application was on average SEK 90,000.

The total loss of income for all applicants was close to SEK 300 million.