It is quite an achievement to belong to the world top, while having the budget of a third division amateur club. The Holland Festival may get an enviably large subsidy by Dutch standards, but that few million is a fraction of the amount that fellow festivals in Vienna, Salzburg, Berlin and Avignon can make do with. That the Holland Festival has been admitted to that elite has to do with seniority (it was one of the first) and quality. It always opted for innovation and avant-garde, and knew how to find a large audience for it.
Heavyweights
In fact, Ruth Mackenzie was already a size too big for Holland. It was unattractive for her to stay longer in the part-time job at the Holland Festival. An offer from a theatre in Paris, which can put up top programming all year round with a multiple of the Holland Festival's programming budget, simply cannot be refused.
The Holland Festival's board and management had been feeling the pinch for some time. The chances of finding an unexpected big name from the circuit as Mackenzie's successor would be slim, and there was even less chance that this person would be willing to commit to the festival in a part-time job for more than four years. The alternative would have been a relatively unknown figure from the Dutch art world, as has been customary until now, but there is apparently no one of the calibre of Ivo van Hove or Pierre Audi at the moment: equipped with a large international network and with enough authority in that world to attract big names.
Fantastic staff
And meanwhile, of course, there is a fantastic staff at the festival, who have actually, of course, been defining the face of the most important performing arts event in the Netherlands for years: Annemieke Keurentjes and Jochem Valkenburg. These two programmers saw everything, and made the choices, of course often at the instigation of, and always in consultation with, the artistic director on duty. With a strong business leader in the person of Annet Lekkerkerker, the foundation of the festival stood like a house.
That Annet Lekkerkerker was appointed managing director in 2017 was a logical step in this development. I also suspect Ruth mackenzie had a hand in it: her ability to 'empower' and motivate those around her is famous. She may have given the push to the gentlemen's club that such a festival board usually is, to choose a strong woman at the head, over the artistic director.
Why it's good that the Holland Festival gets this general manager #HF17
Africa on the rise
The result of the futile search for an artistic director for four years is remarkable and insanely exciting. Africa is rising tremendously as a factor in the international art scene. Especially in countries like Kenya and South Africa, exciting things are happening. The continent is increasingly freeing itself culturally from the colonial yoke and its folklore. It has then long ceased to be about music, traditionally the continent's most influential trigger. It is also noticeable in literature, where African writers are increasingly coming into view.
Writers Unlimited showcases a new generation of African authors #wu12
William Kentridge is an internationally renowned artist whose work makes a deep impression all over the world. It is also work that is not only in demand by an elite: it appeals to everyone. His work can already be experienced regularly in the Netherlands. Here a overview.
Faustin Linyekula can be seen as one of the founding fathers of the crossover between Western and African dance traditions. His version of la Creation du Monde caused a stir at the 2012 Holland Festival.
Kentridge and Linyekula's appointment is for one year: 2019. A new pair of associate artists will be appointed the following year.
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