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Erik Akkermans

Director, consultant and publicist.

IN PERSPECTIVE 5 - From order and power to student and power - On mergers and discomfort in arts education

"Miss, please give me the minister!". Henk Vonhoff's voice sounded as commanding as it was eloquent as he addressed his secretary over the intercom. Vonhoff was commissioner of the Queen in Groningen, but also chairman of the supervisory committee of the Groningen State University of Applied Sciences, the only college still directly under the minister. We, faculty directors, were at... for the umpteenth time. 

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IN PERSPECTIVE #4: International solidarity.

In the series In Perspective, Erik Akkermans looks back and ahead at developments in cultural policy and practice. Today: international solidarity. When Hans van Manen does want to receive Russians Scene 1. White House lawn On the lawn in front of the White House, first lady Pat Nixon1 walks past the assembled choirs singing to her. Suddenly, during a silent moment, the... 

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In Perspectief #2 – Centra voor de kunsten, bedreigd en kansrijk, deel 2: voorbij de A7

(Wat vooraf ging. In het vorige hoofdstuk dacht ik terug aan mijn vader. Die zocht steun bij een voorloper van het huidige Cultuurconnectie om een creativiteitscentrum te kunnen opzetten. En hoe hij zelf later een kunstencentrum juist afbouwde. De meeste gemeenten focussen nu op cultuureducatie in het onderwijs, niet op individuele amateurs. Wat is het beste model? En kun je… 

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In Perspectief #2: Centra voor de kunsten: bedreigd en kansrijk – stedelijke voorzieningen

Mijn vader had bezoek uit Amsterdam gekregen. Het was een meneer van de Vereniging voor Creativiteits Ontwikkeling VCO. Hij kwam adviseren over hoe je een creativiteitscentrum moest oprichten en hoe je daar subsidie voor kon aanvragen bij de gemeente. Edelsmeden was mijn vaders hobby – stiekem was dat het beroep waarop hij als jongen had gehoopt – en in onze… 

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In Perspective - A good council for Rotterdam?

The Turfsteker rejected The mayor was angry. The councillor was angry. Everyone was angry because the A municipality wanted to put up a work of art by a locally highly esteemed sculptor as a tribute to the peat cutter, but was denied a grant by the province. The Cultural Council had advised negatively. The relevant advisory committee lamented the artist's figurative work; it left nothing to... 

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In Perspective #1: Art lending, new opportunities for old ideals

In the beautiful but overcrowded office of the director of Kunstuitleen SBK Amsterdam, on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, paintings, etchings, gouaches, photographs were everywhere against the wall. And ceramics too. At the meeting table, the entire board of the Federatie Kunst Uitleen (FKU) with whom I had come to meet as intended external chairman. I walked, enthusiastically shaking everyone's hand, around the... 

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For future municipal councils: take a look at how Drachten found its strengths

The House of Representatives elections are less than a year behind us. The start of the new cabinet a month. Local council elections are coming up. And in the meantime: the clash between municipalities and the state, as witnessed, for instance, in January 2022, sharp statements by VNG chairman Jan van Zanen. If nothing changes, freshly elected municipal councillors are going to have a tough time with the... 

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De les die we moeten leren van de verkoop van Primephonic – en wat de Raad voor Cultuur daarmee te maken heeft

The Every (Het Alles) is de naam van een succesvol en alom geliefd bedrijf, de grootste combinatie ter wereld van een tech-reus en een commerciële gigant. Dave Eggers beschrijft dit in zijn nieuwste roman “The Every”, opvolger van bestseller The Circle. Vanaf half november 2021 te koop bij de Amazons en de Bol.Coms, maar wie het eerder wilde kon al… 

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The 'weird life' of all-rounder Jef Last is not over

Better to die standing than to live kneeling. The statement is fresh in memory after the murder in the Lange Leidse Dwarsstraat, as a mantra in praise of Peter R de Vries, his fearlessness, non-conformism, straightforwardness and honesty. This same statement jumps out even from the first paragraphs of the introduction to the biography of poet Jef Last, written by Rudi Wester.1.... 

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Museum directors: is their role as figureheads and media artists becoming more important than as art history experts?

Dutch museums, partly due to the recent digital Museum Week, have been able to retain a large part of their audience. There is - reports the Museum Association on its website - a slight turnover though. And the hitherto loyal public will not find their way to museums automatically and to the same extent. But the picture is that the... 

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'Monument to BKR' shows how well an income scheme for artists can work

With 'A monument to the BKR', Fransje Kuyvenhoven has indeed written a tribute in her "history of a high-profile artists' scheme (1949-1987 )". If only because the first hundred pages contain no text, but a chronological showcase of artworks from the BKR. By Karel Appel, Corneille, Constant, Lucebert, Jan Wolkers, Kees van Bohemen, Ger Lataster, Armando, among others. And because there are... 

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Reintroducing an old support measure would provide a new incentive for creatives.

Het Kabinet trekt driehonderd miljoen euro extra uit om de schade van de coronacrisis in de culturele en creatieve sector te dempen. Dat is een belangrijke stap in de goede richting en zal een aantal instellingen ook echt over de brug helpen. Het kabinet geeft daarmee bovendien een signaal af: dat cultuur er toe doet. Bovendien onderkennen Rutte en zijn… 

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