Public funding cuts are increasing the reliance of the arts on sponsors, but this can lead to pressure to be less critical or political. Ultimately, culture, education and journalism should not have to rely solely on corporate generosity, writes Anabel Roque Rodriguez.
Everyone who has ever done a project has had to answer the question “Where does the money come from?” and it seems pretty obvious that whoever contributes cash flow has a certain interest attached to the provided financial means. The funding of causes like education and culture, often desperately in search for strong partners, is complicated as institutions easily end up in fragile positions where it seems an expensive luxury to measure corporate interests of a sponsor against the future of a project.
For many institutions the relationship to their sponsors is benevolent and productive, for others however, the pleasing of sponsors becomes a delicate management of compromises. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you, right? Keep reading on Anabel Roque Rodriguez' blog