A small miracle did happen, in recent months. The result of that miracle can now be found in letter Jet Bussemaker, minister of OCW, sent to the chamber yesterday. And actually, it is not one miracle, but three. We list them for you.
1: The art world pulls together.
Artists often think of actors as just hysterical posers, while actors see painters as selfish self-flatterers. The filmmaker considers himself better than children's book author and the writer is waiting in the pub for a Nobel Prize, thinking himself better than everyone else. As much as all parties are right, it does not work pleasantly together. And in times of bleak austerity climate, that is exactly what is needed. That is why it is so wonderful that all those artists started talking to the minister together a few weeks ago, and also came up with a wish list that was mutually agreed upon. If that is a consequence of the sardonic attitude of the VVD in the previous cabinet: every disadvantage has its advantage. [Edit:]Just a pity that the Volkskrant on Saturday 25 October again speaks of an initiative by 300 actors, forgetting to mention that the Visual Arts Platform was prominent at the meeting with the minister. Before you know it, it will be another row in the tent.[/edit]
2: Minister admits her plans were flawed
Most of the time, politicians are right. Even when they are not. Bussemaker promised the art world 8 million euros, to be spent over three years on 'talent development'. Quite apart from the fact that that 8 million consists of 3 million 'cigars from their own box', because taken from the pot set aside to fund benefits and redundancy schemes created by the cuts, the ministry had turned it into a great bureaucratic thing. As scared as they are of fraud in The Hague, they easily spend most of the money on managers, consultants and extra layers of government to manage, regulate and control everything. So of that 8 million, only a few thousand euros was left to spend on art.
That was not right, and the united arts world told her so: there are plenty of existing organisations that have spent their entire lives doing nothing but watching the pennies and seeing who gets the dough: you don't need to appoint new managers to do that.
So the minister has listened, she now tells the chamber. This means that most of the available money will now be in the hands of artists who will turn it into beautiful or ugly things. The consultancies that previously thought they could fund their next winter sports holiday with yet another ministerial 'cut' will have to look elsewhere for money.
3: Talent development is no longer just about 'young'.
While the ageing of the population is already in full swing, every extra penny from The Hague threatened to disappear again into the greasy fists of newly graduated artists whose talent remains to be seen. There are also experienced artists of 50 who would like to explore another area of their talent. Indeed, there are probably more artists in their 50s who want to change their course than young graduates with developmental problems. In the letter, Bussemaker says exactly that: "The target group of these measures is new talent, i.e. not only talent taking their first steps after an arts education, but also talent making a switch. This could, for example, be a talent who is moving from a other field develops into a documentary filmmaker or to a dancer with a talent for choreography."
So nice, all these small miracles, but of course there are still bears on the road. That 5 million euros is and remains a pittance compared to the 700 million the art world has lost, and there is a problem with the self-employed in art education. In her letter, Bussemaker says it is essential that artists from professional practice teach at art colleges. But these are no longer allowed to work with freelancers because the government has opened the hunt for ZZP'ers. From now on, would-be artists will still be trained by dull civil servants who haven't sold a canvas for 20 years.
Case in point. Or did we forget a few more? Share them in the comments.
The letter can be found here.
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