Skip to content
logo authors' union

ILFU and Authors' Union: In prose and poetry, every word and comma is translated, but it is different in theatre and stage adaptations.

What is the difference between a translation and an adaptation? In prose and poetry, every word and comma is translated, but it is different in theatre and stage adaptations. What freedoms do director and translator dare to take when adapting Shakespeare, for instance? These questions are at the heart of the latest edition of the illustrious programme on translation and all things... 

For me, the Bijlmer disaster is a grim memory that comes back every year.

It is not an everyday topic: where were you when the Bijlmer disaster occurred? But this disaster, of 4 October 1992, is discussed every year, especially by eyewitnesses. For me, it is a grim memory that comes back every year. And now for the 30th time. 'The Bijlmer disaster is the name given to the air disaster that took place on Sunday evening, 4 October 1992. A... 

Don't confuse autonomous arts with creative industries

Since the budget cuts from 2011 onwards, policymakers have been setting the so-called 'creative industries' as a model for the arts. Industrial design, architecture, graphic design and the gaming industry: the creatives have been nuked as a 'top sector'. This, I believe, is the deeper cause of the unease expressed in this newspaper's Cultural Supplement: the increasing instrumentalisation of the arts by policymakers. The piece 'Why the... 

KMSKA

KMSKA: Antwerp's 'new' museum: 'a muscle-white spaceship descended through the roof, after which the old building closed again like an oyster.'

Two museums for the price of one. With a Mona Lisa in the making. 20 km from the Dutch border. Which is more beautiful? The building or the collection? Last weekend, Antwerp's Royal Museum of Fine Arts reopened after no less than 11 years. And that resonates far beyond the port city. I walk inside with a Danish art historian,... 

Festive unveiling of Monika Dahlberg's sculptures by councillor Touria Meliani at Framer Framed

Artist Monika Dahlberg has been commissioned by Framer Framed to create two sculptures that will have a permanent place at the entrance of the Framer Framed building. On Thursday 29 September, at 15:45, the work, titled Gatekeepers will be unveiled by Arts and Culture alderman Touria Meliani and district councilor Oost and art and culture portfolio holder Jan-Bert Vroege. During the opening... 

Writers on Ukraine, sexism, colonialism and opportunity inequality at ILFU Exploring Stories

Exploring Stories is the big festival day of the International Literature Festival Utrecht (ILFU), featuring more than 30 international writers and thinkers on the current and urgent themes of our time. Exploring Stories shows that literature belongs at the heart of social debate. After all, literature begins where the news ends. Anyone who wants to understand the world better cannot do without... 

'Sprouting dance on a bed of grass and sedum' - Carefull Art puts Utrecht artists on a very special map

"Over the past two-and-a-half years, I have started making choices. Where ten years ago I thought of going into life as a dance teacher, now the question is: do I really want to? What makes me happy, what do I want to share with the people around me?" For Lotte Willemsma, the first two years of the Corona pandemic were... 

Vrouwkje Tuinman receives C.C.S. Crone prize from the municipality of Utrecht  

Poet, writer and columnist Vrouwkje Tuinman will receive this year's C.C.S. Crone Prize. This will add her name to an honourable list of Utrecht authors who received this literature prize before her, including Manon Uphoff, Arthur Japin and Maxim Februari. "The C.C.S. Crone Prize is a special appreciation for a talented writer," said culture councillor Eva Oosters. "Utrecht is known worldwide as a city of literature.... 

I was in Sander Schimmelpenninck's country and didn't just see fascists

Almelo has been on the map for a few years now thanks to theatre. I went to see Van Katoen en Water on Thursday, an open-air spectacle with well-timed downpour and a full-moon rise like you can only experience in the almost gentrified old-industrial heart of Twente's poorest city. Mashed potatoes were served beforehand, with a johmas salad. Wine flowed profusely. In... 

Gold from the Golden Coach originating in Suriname; Unknown provenance investigated by Amsterdam Museum, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and NICAS

The Amsterdam Museum, together with VU University Amsterdam, Netherlands Institute for Conservation+Art+Science+ (NICAS) and Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, has conducted research into the origin of the gold of the Golden Coach. For a long time, it was unknown where the gold leaf used to gild the carriage came from. An extensive study compared the composition of the gold with samples from Suriname and South Africa.... 

In Perspective #9 - An IJ jump (About Production Houses Dance)

Next to the industrial complex was another large hoisting plant. Inside were some reminiscences of past activity. The factory hall in Amsterdam-North where Stork made its machines was now completely deserted, cold, bare and quite dirty. Here we stood, director and chairman of Dansmakers Amsterdam, Ger Jager and me. Was this going to be the new home for Dansmakers? And was much scepticism among our... 

'I wanted to be like Jesus'.' 6 life insights from Ellen ten Damme

Her life has become what Ellen ten Damme (54) once dreamed of: free, exciting and she can make a living from her music. Like a troubadour, she is touring the country in the coming months with her new show Barock. 'Only in my French home do I do normal things.' 1. I can take myself seriously 'As a 3-year-old, I was already hanging from the highest lamppost. I... 

This bizarre labour dispute in Zeeland is just the tip of the iceberg

Alex Mallems, the artistic director who put Zeeland on the map in this century (since 2001), has left both the Zeeland Nazomer festival and its associated production house Zeelandia. This is the outcome of a protracted conflict with the business director appointed since last year, Sylvie Dees. According to a report in Theaterkrant, according to Dees, he would 'without permission make commitments... 

logo council for culture

Digital transformation cultural sector big opportunity for the Netherlands

Further digitalisation of the cultural and creative sector offers opportunities for creative innovation and to reach more people and inspire them culturally. It also contributes to the social relevance and economic strengthening of the sector. But there is also a great opportunity for the Netherlands to be a leader in Europe as a creative hub. This is the right time 

Disgusting image or boomer panic? Amsterdam Fringe Festival causes a stir with campaign image

Some things that used to be fun cannot be done now. Things like smoking in class, posters of David Hamilton in the dorm room, underpaying women, driving a car with a bottle of gin behind it, you name it. This week, an interesting riot was added. The Amsterdam Fringe Festival, the naughty sister of the Dutch Theatre Festival, chose a campaign image that, to... 

'I say sorry anyway' theatre production by Theatre Group Alum and Raymi Sambo Makes about Keti Koti and slavery past on tour from the end of September

Ik zeg toch sorry a theatre production by Theatre Group Aluin and Raymi Sambo Makes about Keti Koti, the day celebrating the (official) abolition of slavery, will be shown in Dutch theatres from the end of September. At a time when more and more municipalities and organisations are openly apologising for the slavery past or letting their own role in this period be... 

What I learned from Alida Dors and the Dutch Playwriting Prize

Of the 122 stage texts read by the jury of the Dutch Toneelschrijfprijs, just under 30 were written by female authors. In a field where the number of female workers is huge, this is striking. Because, the jury rightly stated, in written Dutch theatre, the male gaze is still dominant. While the theatre audience percentage-wise more women... 

Lessons from Weimar (2): how in Germany politics and art celebrate an uneasy marriage.

"The government is demanding that we only show artists from our own region. That would be a huge loss for us, as we are an international art space. But we have found a way around it. We now invite top international artists who live here, or we offer them a residency, so they live in the city temporarily. That way, ... 

A climate code for the arts? Ticks have a hard enough time as it is!

"We firmly believe that a well-developed and widely implemented Culture, Climate & Environment Code helps the worlds of art, culture and creation to take up their role within the most pressing issue of our time. That role is one of social innovation and creativity in the service of the arts, but also in the service of society and a liveable... 

Artwork 10,000 illuminated books in Minrebroederstraat, Utrecht city centre: 23 September 2022 Opening ILFU festival and presentation Woord900

On 23 September, ILFU, in collaboration with Spanish art collective Luzinterruptus, will open the festival with a river of books that will fill the Minrebroederstraat in the centre of Utrecht for one day. On the same day, the 10 writers scattered across 10 districts of Utrecht in recent months for Woord900 and organisation Mooie Woorden will present their stories. Literature vs.... 

Square Theatre loses facebook page over nipple in poster image

Social media censors on woman's nipple and Plein Theatre loses facebook page over nipple in poster image of Cat Smits Company's performance Nouveau Fuck. This digital prudishness and sexist inequality goes way too far, Berith Danse and Cat Smits think. Facebook is known for a strict 'no nudity' policy, at least not for men, as naked male torsos are no problem at all. Photos that... 

Kunstfest Weimar opens with commemoration of Buchenwald concentration camp. Why this is important for us too

"That we find today's culture of memory uncomfortable finds its cause already in the concept of 'remembering'. After all, in the strict sense of the word, we can only remember something we have experienced ourselves. But what should 16-year-old schoolchildren remember when they visit the Buchenwald memorial site? Upon them comes the call to remember something that even... 

Small Membership
175 / 12 Months
Especially for organisations with a turnover or grant of less than 250,000 per year.
No annoying banners
A premium newsletter
5 trial newsletter subscriptions
All our podcasts
Have your say on our policies
Insight into finances
Exclusive archives
Posting press releases yourself
Own mastodon account on our instance
Cultural Membership
360 / Year
For cultural organisations
No annoying banners
A premium newsletter
10 trial newsletter subscriptions
All our podcasts
Participate
Insight into finances
Exclusive archives
Posting press releases yourself
Own mastodon account on our instance
Collaboration
Private Membership
50 / Year
For natural persons and self-employed persons.
No annoying banners
A premium newsletter
All our podcasts
Have your say on our policies
Insight into finances
Exclusive archives
Own mastodon account on our instance
en_GBEnglish (UK)