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VAT on underpaid artists benefits 'working middle income'

There are finer ways to wake up than with the finance minister. This Eelco Heinen was speaking to the Radio 1 News on Wednesday 18 September, and he really felt like it. Cheerful, perky, and full of good cheer, he told how they were going to energetically implement VVD policies in the Schoof Cabinet. And then followed the next... 

Important things happened in Utrecht during Gaudeamus Festival 2024 

On Saturday, I caught myself having a wonderfully sexist thought. Not surprising, probably, as sexist thoughts appear to be in the standard package of the product 'man'. But there I was, sitting in a not so very full auditorium during the Gaudeamus Festival at For Real by Andrea Voets. There, the idea struck me that it was pretty weird to see a woman concentrated... 

Calderon's truth is a dead cow

What is the similarity between a reggaeton band, two pizza delivery boys, a butcher, a talk show host with neanderthal DNA, the Vietnamese Red Army and a Chinese university? In Guillermo Calderon's imagination: a cow. The Chilean playwright and author is now a celebrity in international theatre and has been touring Europe since last Sunday. At least: whether he will be there himself, we know.... 

Liesbeth Zegveld, Summer Guest Full of Love, gave a lesson in ingenious storytelling

You tell the best story by putting your audience on the edge of their seats right from the start. Using well-chosen fragments, Liesbeth Zegveld managed to build a story in which the climax stunned everyone. Even the excellently prepared Margriet van der Linden sat at the moment suprême with eyes like saucers and chin on... 

"Musical De Tocht announces bankruptcy", but whose fault is it really? Or is it Elfsteden magic?

It's cucumber time and many journalists are on holiday, so Culture Press has to turn up to interpret something that doesn't smell quite right. This time it is the press statement the directors of De Tocht have put on their website. In it, they explain how it was possible that this musical company, Friesland's pride, could suddenly go bankrupt. In a nutshell: it was not... 

28 July 2024 brought us the best #Zomergasten in years, courtesy of Sana Valiulina. And Jelle. And Paris.

We had barely recovered from the rebirth of Celine Dion. The traditionally long-winded and kitschy 'Son et Lumière' with which France had this time made the opening of the Olympics a quintessentially French event had also unleashed a storm of protests with a tableau vivant after the sadly just short of famous painting 'The Feast... 

Dacia, realm of cosmic stardust

A room full of beautiful shiny gold and silver objects, from coins to swords. With so many shiny items, the magpie in me wakes up. But instead of gold, I take home knowledge: insight into a culture that has been 'forgotten'. Dacia - Realm of gold and silver at the Drents Museum is one such exhibition that I am happy to... 

Dutch Film Festival, BAK and Holland Opera among those duped: Utrecht advisory committee settles old scores

Utrecht was the first of the big cities to announce the opinions issued on cultural institutions' grant applications for the next four years. Large and well-known players like the Dutch Film Festival, visual arts institutions like BAK and IMPAKT and youth opera company Holland Opera saw their applications rejected, as did Het Huis Utrecht. At the same time, the advisory committee does recommend... 

advertisement against VAT increase. (This is placed by us for free, it was not paid for by the campaign organisation)

Unique cooperation against VAT intentions. And now move on. 

The far-right coalition Schoof 1 has - even before there is a cabinet - created a first. Never before has there been such a wide protest against a proposed tax measure. An advertisement against the plans to increase VAT on sports, culture, events and media from 9% to 21% appeared in all daily newspapers. So we take those here... 

PR image Margarida Constantino

At Delft Fringe, living rooms offer the lowest possible thresholds for up-and-coming talent 

Twenty years from now, I can say that I saw Daniëlle Deddens play once before she was a world star. It was on a somewhat chilly Saturday in June 2024 in the storage attic of an old mill in the centre of Delft. I was with about 20 other citizens of Delft, who had paid a few euros... 

Madety with MS Co-Pilot on the prompt: a fridge bursting at the seams

Bring in 953 million with a VAT increase on culture? Wilders' protocabinet certainly can't do maths.

The new far-right cabinet is not going to cut back on cultural subsidies, even though ending subsidies for art altogether was one of Wilders party's sacred points. That those subsidies are virtually untouched should really be the big news after the presentation of the agreement between PVV, VVD, BBB and NSC, on Thursday, 16 May. That was the news only... 

WIPES FOR THE BLOOD? - Municipal choice stress; the case of Leeuwarden (IN PERSPECTIVE #21)

In the series In Perspective, Erik Akkermans looks back and ahead at developments in cultural policy and practice. Today: how can the municipality deal with culture in a businesslike way? The alderman was delayed. It gave me a brief opportunity to visit the toilet. But in the beautiful historic building where Leeuwarden still housed the mayors and aldermen at the time, the guest toilet was cramped.... 

Kinan Abuakel at Podium Mozaïek photo by author

Boundless Roma pride makes opening Explorez Festival something not soon to be forgotten. 

Kinan Abuakel took his Syrian classical music with him when he fled the country. With his Saz, a Syrian stringed instrument similar to the Greek bouzouki, which in turn is derived from the Turkish Buzuk, he plays a mixture of new and classical Syrian music. I heard it by surprise at Amsterdam's Podium Mozaïek. That's how I discovered live what I... 

Scenefoto The Stone in my Mouth by Karin Jonkers

'The Stone in my Mouth' offers perfect combo of talents in staggering war story

Riet, Peer Wittenbols' mother, has been dead for a few years. She took a lot of stories with her in her grave from the time she was called Marietje. Playwright Peer Wittenbols sought out those stories, actress Juul Vrijdag tells them. And so for an hour and a half I witnessed a small miracle, because Marietje was alive again. And so did Riet. It... 

Feminism, fluid relationships and CabaRap: in conversation with three Delft Fringe Festival creators

The talents preparing for the Delft Fringe Festival on the second 'Makersday' at the end of April are not navel-gazing. They are more interested in social issues such as feminism, cancel culture and the influence of social media. They explore this through music, dance, theatre or cabaret. The atmosphere is relaxed at Theatre de Veste in Delft. Here... 

Independent but highly enjoyable: Gabriel García Márquez's latest novel

Ten years after the death of world-famous writer Gabriel García Márquez, the novel he was working on when he left life is published. Seeing Each Other in August is unfinished but highly enjoyable. Died in harness He died in harness, Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez. The concise novel In August We See Each Other was the book he was working on when he... 

Italian writer Matteo B. Bianchi ©Claudio Sforza

'Those left behind' reaches out to bereaved families of suicide

After the self-inflicted death of his beloved, writer Matteo Bianchi struggles with his grief, his anger and guilt. With Those Who Are Left Behind, he reaches out to others who went through the same thing. Conflicting feelings 'I hate him. I hate him so much for what he did.' Sometimes Matteo screams at the walls that his beloved S. is an asshole. And an egotist. But... 

No more free tickets for journalists after personal attack. Rightful action or unwanted harassment?

 "Jazzenzo no longer welcome at venues and festivals," claims online jazz magazine Jazzenzo. The reason is a letter the medium received from the BIM House on 24 April. In that letter, co-signed by an impressive number of prestigious venues and festivals such as TivoliVredenburg and North Sea Jazz, the BIM house announces that it will no longer grant free tickets to the unpaid reporters of... 

'Down in the valley' is another real Cognetti

Mountains, trees, solitary inhabitants... Down in the valley is another 'real' Paolo Cognetti. You could call him the chronicler of mountains and mountain life. Few writers narrate life at altitude, in the middle of nature, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, as beautifully as Italian author Paolo Cognetti. With his filmed bestseller The Eight Mountains, he conquered the... 

Italian author Nadia Terranova ©Sandro Messina

The poetic phrases in 'The night trembles' contrast beautifully with the pain described

A sensitive, moving novel about natural and human violence: The Night Trembles by Nadia Terranova is highly recommended. The major earthquakes in Umbria in 2016 are probably still on many people's minds. But who remembers that over a hundred years ago, the south of Italy was hit by a devastating earthquake, the most destructive even in Europe in the 20th... 

Utrecht arts education embroiled in fighting divorce (Part 2)

The Utrecht School of Music, also known as DUMS, has decided not to apply for a subsidy from the municipality. In a letter the school sent at the beginning of April to consultation partners in the Utrecht amateur arts field, the management states: "Our teachers indicated at its foundation that they did not want to be subsidised in order to guarantee independence from the municipality. However, Cultural Affairs gave... 

Hidden past and new insights in 'Groninger Museum 150 years - Behind the Scenes'

Hidden treasures. Like other museums, the Groninger Museum houses many objects that deserve to be exhibited. Interesting paintings, sculptures or archaeological splendour of which visitors are unaware. Happy birthday is a treat. The Groninger Museum celebrates its hundred and fifty-year anniversary with - among other things - an exhibition in which you get a look behind the scenes. Objects... 

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