On the day that in the House of Representatives, minister Bussemaker passes up a chance for extra money for culture, young artists further down the street win prizes.
On Monday 21 November, the Education, Culture and Science Committee spoke to Minister Bussemaker about the Culture budget. Something that has far-reaching implications for the cultural sector. Later in the evening, the presentation of the Piket Art Prizes took place. A coincidental contrast: the government slashing the culture budget and, on the other hand, a patron who reached into his pockets to support young artists.
No reason to cheer
There is therefore no reason to rejoice, gloated the 'Best Theatre Director in the Netherlands' Cees Debets prior to the presentation of the Piket Art Prizes. For the arts system has been badly affected by budget cuts and, with a certain political unwillingness, it does not seem to be getting much better. Indeed, the minister is showing reluctance and letting slip an open opportunity for goal to increase the culture budget.
Private initiative to be welcomed though
Frederik 'Freek' Hendrik Piket would see it differently. The former senator, who died in 2011, had a love of art and could always be found in the front row of theatre performances. An impressive art collection he built up had to be sorted by Pulchri and was auctioned off. The result: a foundation set up immediately after his death with EUR 3 million in cash.
Three million euros.
Hence the fancy brochure, the slick promo videos of nominees, the hiring of a theatre, the hiring of a cabaret performer as ringmaster. And the cash prizes: three artists each receiving €8,000 without producing conditions. Behind the Piket Prizes and the Mr F.H. Piket Foundation there is dough. And passion.
Patronage and Maker's Climate
But apart from giving out cash prizes, there is also thinking about opportunities in the arts sector and what to do with money. This was already highlighted in the first Picket Lecture which took place last month. The theme: patronage and Makersklimaat in The Hague. And tonight at the awards ceremony, there was a panel Makersklimaat. Leo Spreksel (Korzo), Joris Wijsmuller (alderman SWDC The Hague), Marieke Schoenmakers (KABK) and Cees Debets, director of Theater aan het Spui, raised the temperature of that climate. A hint: people need to get rid of disciplinary thinking, get out of the pigeonholes and seek each other out.
And another hint, from the audience's point of view. It could all be more diverse. For one thing, Jort Kelder could be for the programme How it should be dropping by on such an evening of old money for young artists. And besides the case did look very white. Only in the dance category did you see two non-white nominees. That is thanks to the jury of that discipline: although they resolved not to select on skin colour, they forced themselves to look outside the box.
Future
At least with the current budgeting, the Piket Art Prizes can continue for another 40 years or so. An extremely valuable programme for an extremely valuable field.
Yes, Minister.
The winners are
PAINTING ART: Debbie Young (1990, Glasgow, Scotland)
"Debbie Young's works have both literal and figurative layering, each layer putting the previous one in perspective or partially hiding it from view. Sometimes the works merge into a transformed space, sometimes they are individual objects on a white wall. In doing so, Debbie urges the viewer to keep looking in a different way. The result is explosive, but also vulnerable and personal," the jury said.
DANS: Alice Godfrey (1994, Windhoek, Namibia, South Africa)
"Alice is a magnetic stage presence. She is an absolute eye-catcher with an intriguing, intense charisma that is at once playful and enigmatic. Her talent is evident, she has the body and a healthy dose of craziness. She always manages to give the choreography something extra with her interpretation," the jury said.
TONEY: Kaatje Kooij (1990, Rotterdam)
"Kaatje Kooij is authentic, serious and also modest, poetic and sensitive. In addition, she is headstrong and sometimes cross. She also seeks experimentation by going off the beaten track, incorporating a touch of solitude. For instance, she worked on themes that turned out to be very delicate for her, which shows strength. In the past year, she has grown hard to become a mature actress," the jury said.
PIKET JURY PRIZE: Leo Spreksel (1950)
"Leo Spreksel is the epitome of what one individual can do for the development of dance in a city. This starts back in 1988 after his appointment as the first dance programmer of the Korzo theatre in The Hague. He understands that young talent can only be linked to a city's arts climate through support. He also takes talent development to the next level through collaborations with others. Partly thanks to him, The Hague can rightly profile itself as a dance city of international stature," the jury said.
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