The Danish Arts Foundation is facing criticism after it was revealed that members of its Project Support Committee for Visual Arts have collectively received 6 million kroner in art funding for their own projects or institutions. This has led to accusations of nepotism and calls for reform.

Pia Kjærsgaard, culture spokesperson for the Danish People’s Party, is leading the charge, asserting that the foundation has been too inward-looking for years. She argues that it is inappropriate for committee members to allocate funds to themselves, calling it “pure nepotism.” The Danish People’s Party has long been critical of the foundation and has previously proposed its closure in favor of regional art foundations. They believe that art funding decisions should be made by art-interested citizens in the regions rather than artists themselves, arguing that the current system is too focused on a small elite and neglects the provinces.

While acknowledging the importance of artists making professional assessments, Jesper Olsen from Transparency International Denmark agrees that the final decision-making on support allocation should lie elsewhere. He suggests that it should be possible to separate the assessment of professional quality from the prioritization and final decision-making, especially in small professional environments.

Mogens Jensen, the Social Democrats’ spokesperson for culture, opposes this solution, arguing that it would increase bureaucracy. He believes the current system, despite its potential drawbacks, ensures the best professional assessments and highest quality. Jensen also points out that Denmark’s small size makes it difficult to find committee members without any prior involvement in the art scene. He is also not in favor of regionalizing the foundation’s work, suggesting it would simply shift the problems.

The Danish Arts Foundation defends its practices, stating that it places a strong emphasis on managing conflicts of interest. Jakob Fenger, committee chairman of the Project Support Committee for Visual Arts, explained that it’s vital to have industry professionals on the committee, and that in order to attract qualified candidates, they must be allowed to continue applying for funding. He also mentioned that the foundation spends a lot of time and energy to be correct and factual at every meeting.

Pia Kjærsgaard is urging the Minister of Culture, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, to address the problems within the foundation. While Mogens Jensen is open to a closer examination of the foundation’s work, he maintains that artists should be the ones assessing art. Jakob Engel-Schmidt declined to comment and referred inquiries to the Danish Arts Foundation.