Updated: Monika Grütters has not replied to the open letter from its artists  

The German Minister of Culture Monika Grütters has announced a plan to help artists who lost jobs during the coronavirus crisis. 

In order to to preserve cultural institutions, the Minister of Culture has proposed that solo self-employed persons, individual artists, and micro-enterprises with up to five employees will receive up to 9,000 euros in one-off payments for three months. For those with up to ten employees will receive up to 15,000 euros in a one-off payment for three months.

In addition, some federal states will provide subsidies for larger companies with more than ten employees. The Federal state will process the stimulus electronically.

The news comes after a number of German artists wrote an open letter to the Minister of Culture and German government to show support for artists who were left unemployed due to the crisis.

Grütters has not replied to the statement although she said earlier this month, “I have intensively sensitized key federal ministers, especially the economy, finance and labor ministers, to the situation in cultural and media sectors and pleaded vehemently for proper consideration of artists’ interests.”

Germany recently extended its lockdown until May 3 and announced that concerts and large gatherings would not be able to begin until after August 31, 2020.

Germany currently has 148,766 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,102 confirmed deaths. The country recently announced its will begin human trials on a potential vaccine.