The cultural sector can and must emerge stronger from this crisis. And that starts with political vision and ambition.

The Dutch cultural sector is in distress. Halbe Zijlstra's spending cuts ten years ago started a free fall that has still not stopped. The Social and Economic Council (SER) calculated that these cuts of 200 million not only caused impoverishment in cultural supply, but also wreaked havoc on the labour market. Twenty thousand permanent jobs disappeared and the position of the increased number of self-employed and flex workers has been weakening ever since. The problems piled up more and more in the following years. Subsequent cabinets promised recovery, but so far it has come only sparsely. The cultural sector has been in survival mode for a decade and has too little room to strengthen its social position.

Another sledgehammer blow followed last year. The corona crisis struck deep financial wounds in the cultural sector, which turned out to be one of the hardest hit. The crisis laid bare the vulnerability of the system. The survival of small and large institutions was threatened.

Other work

Nevertheless, things remained quiet in the Binnenhof for a long time. After many actions, especially by the sector itself, the government finally came up with a decent support package. This proved sufficient to keep most cultural institutions afloat for the time being, but the many self-employed and flex workers, in particular, often fell between the cracks. As a result, many of them are forced to look for work in other sectors. As a result, valuable knowledge and experience is increasingly flowing away from the cultural sector.

The lack of budgetary priority for culture is problematic, but even more shocking is the lack of political vision and ambition when it comes to the cultural sector. Culture is not a cost but an investment in our country on many levels. The intrinsic value and social impact of culture should be at the forefront of politics. And in addition, the economic value of this sector should not be forgotten. According to CBS, culture and media account for 3.7% of the gross domestic product and also provide 4.5 % of total employment in the Netherlands.

Civilisation

Without culture, we are a country without civilisation. The fundamental debate on the future of the cultural sector, long avoided in the Binnenhof, must now be held. What choices will politicians make to secure a vital cultural sector in the longer term? What is the position of culture makers in society and how can this position be strengthened? How do we ensure that the sector does not just survive each time but can thrive and grow? And how can the two worlds, politics and culture sector, understand each other better and start a constructive dialogue?

Recovery is important, but a return to the old normal is a missed opportunity. What is needed now is not another patchwork of separate measures, but a transformation plan.

Ambition

Invest in a fair and sustainable cultural labour market. Promote innovation and forward-looking experimentation. And stop seeing the cultural sector as a stand-alone ecosystem. Instead, involve the cultural sector in other sectors to help tackle major social issues. The Netherlands needs the creative thinking capacity, intrinsic value and social impact of the cultural sector now and in the future.

The cultural sector can and must emerge stronger from this crisis. And that starts with political vision and ambition.

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This article, written in collaboration with Jon Heemsbergen, appeared on March 16 as opinion article in newspaper Trouw.