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FAITS DIVERS

News stories from the big outside world. From our telex. Messages important enough to be briefly discussed here.

Mega pack of poop bags

Scheissegate II: Albert Verlinde finds Hannover poop incident 'kind of funny'

'We all shouldn't make it too big a deal.' Dixit musical producer Albert Verlinde, this afternoon (14 February) in the Max programme Villa VdB on Radio 1. He is referring to the commotion in Germany - and the Netherlands - over the mistreatment of a dance critic by star choreographer Marco Goecke. Verlinde: 'I actually liked it.' With this... 

Dog shit after negative review of NDT piece 'In The Dutch Mountains'. NDT: "acting is contrary to our values"

'In "In the Dutch Mountains", Marco Goecke's new ballet evening with the virtuoso Nederlands Dans Theater in The Hague, the audience is alternately driven mad and killed by boredom.' Dixit Wiebke Hüster, dance critic of the Frankfürter Algemeine, one of Germany's largest quality newspapers. The critic did not have a good word to say about the premiere, last Thursday, in The Hague. Marco Goecke,... 

Logo of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science

Culture budget for MBO students

MBO schools with a MBO culture card receive a culture budget from the central government. With this, their students can, for instance, go to museums, visit theatrical performances or go to a concert. This was announced by Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (Education) and State Secretary Gunay Uslu (Culture) during a tour of the Rijksmuseum with mbo students. A total of 5 million euros is available for the mbo culture budget. On each mbo culture card, 10.25... 

Nancy Jouwe - via Council for Culture

Nancy Jouwe appointed as member of Culture Council

Ms Nancy Jouwe is to be appointed as a member of the Culture Council. The Council of Ministers has agreed to this on the proposal of State Secretary Uslu of Culture and Media. The appointment will take effect on 15 February 2023 for a period of four years. Jouwe studied General Literature at Utrecht and York Universities and specialises in Women's Studies and Cultural History. She has... 

Unesco logo

UNESCO: Killings of journalists increased by 50% by 2022, half targeted outside working hours

Eighty-six journalists and media workers were murdered worldwide in 2022 - one every four days, according to UNESCO data, highlighting the serious risks and vulnerabilities journalists continue to face in the course of their work. "After several years of consecutive decreases, the sharp rise in the number of journalists killed in 2022 is alarming. Authorities must step up their efforts... 

Events at the Amsterdam Museum on the Amstel - December 2022

Besides a permanent collection presentation at Amstel 51 and in Huis Willet-Holthuysen and changing exhibitions, the Amsterdam Museum offers a public programme. At various locations and for a diverse audience. The following events are scheduled for December 2022. Visit www.amsterdammuseum.nl for the latest information. Female Gaze Tour: A guided tour from a female perspective 11 December 2022 On... 

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Millions for libraries

Millions of extra euros will go to public libraries in the coming years. State Secretary Uslu (Culture and Media) wants to use that money to ensure that every municipality has a future-oriented library facility. Specifically, that means filling gaps in the physical library network and expanding the online library. Linked to this, Uslu also wants to establish a duty of care for municipalities,... 

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The power of creativity - culture at the heart of society

Making culture more accessible, fairer remuneration for cultural and creative professionals, and making more use of creative brainpower in major social issues. These are key principles of cultural policy in the coming years. The Council of Ministers has approved the Long-term Letter on Culture by State Secretary Uslu (Culture and Media). In this letter, titled 'The power of creativity', the state secretary sets out how she will... 

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... 

Germany increases culture budget by 7 per cent. But still lags behind the Netherlands.

It is obviously good news: the German federal culture minister is increasing the budget for culture by 148 million euros to 2.3 billion. At a time when cultural funding, especially in the 'developed West', has been steadily declining (since 2010), such an increase is of course wonderful. For the Dutch, who point out with some regularity how well the arts are doing in Germany: per head of... 

Deirdre Carasso appointed as member of Culture Council

Ms Drs Deirdre Carasso is appointed as a member of the Council for Culture. The Council of Ministers has agreed to this on the proposal of State Secretary Uslu of Culture and Media. The appointment will take effect on 1 July 2022 for a period of four years. Deirdre Carasso studied Art History at the University of Amsterdam and Archivistics A at the Rijksarchiefschool. Since 2020, she has been... 

theatre group Amsterdam revives thanks to De Warme Winkel (so not an April fool after all)

Update April 2022: Turns out it's not an April fool's joke, so all the beats we were holding back at first turned out to be unnecessary. Since 2018, Toneelgroep Amsterdam no longer exists, as does the Capital's Stadsschouwburg. Together they have since formed 'Internationaal Theater Amsterdam', because that better suits the global ambitions of Ivo van Hove's Amsterdam city theatre. It was thus... 

Spielberg, #metoo and corona: Ivo van Hove's West Side Story does not survive crisis

It was supposed to be Ivo van Hove's big break on Broadway. And it was meant to be, but fate decided otherwise. It was announced today via US show news Variety that West Side Story, in Ivo van Hove's modern, raucous version, will not be revived. Despite a jubilant reception and virtually sold-out theatres,... 

'Jett Rebel, we heard you and the money for the cultural sector you are asking for is ready. In Brussels!'

Young artists, filmmakers, musicians, writers and other new thinkers are drowning in the effects of the Corona crisis, as a cry for help from Jett Rebel in de Volkskrant again showed. Assignments are falling away and there is little room for new initiatives. A whole generation of creative talents seems to be lost in jobs in the hospitality industry or at the GGD. The European Recovery Fund... 

Many employers in culture may have to repay emergency NOW aid in full

Many employers (37 per cent) do not know that they have to apply for the final calculation of their NOW allowance themselves. In the cultural sector, it even threatens to go completely wrong. The UWV says it is still waiting for more than half of the applications for final calculations from the cultural sector. This is according to the implementing body's own research. One is worried there... 

Joint committee considers plans national museum of slavery history

A joint committee of the Amsterdam Arts Council and the Council for Culture will examine plans for a national museum of slavery history in Amsterdam in the coming months. Amsterdam's Municipal Executive and outgoing minister Van Engelshoven (OCW) have asked the advisory councils for a joint opinion. The advice, expected this autumn, will, among other things, address... 

Utrecht literature festival ILFU opens ticket sales for festival week in late September, Featuring Roxane Gay, Angie Thomas, Édouard Louis and Max Porter, among others

Despite persistent corona uncertainty in the cultural sector, International Literature Festival Utrecht (ILFU) today announces a large part of its programme. The largest literary festival in the Netherlands will take place from 23 September to 2 October 2021 and will programme a host of international writers, poets, musicians and theatre-makers in TivoliVredenburg. On 25 September, the festival theme #WhyFictionMatters will include the French... 

Marjolijn Vencken new chair of supervisory board Culture+Enterprise

Marjolijn Vencken will become the new chair of the supervisory board of Cultuur+Ondernemen, the knowledge platform for entrepreneurship in the cultural sector, from 1 July. She succeeds Steven de Waal, who is stepping down from his chairmanship after the full eight-year term. Marjolijn Vencken has been a member of the supervisory board since 2015. An experienced public affairs adviser, she... 

warning

Arts '92: 'Give the public access to museums immediately.'

Arts '92 means business. The umbrella of all umbrella organisations in the arts sector, which kept on poldering when everyone had long since gone into business for themselves, is angry. And rightly so. Enough has happened this week to break down the last shred of trust between the art world and the government. To the point where there was even note-busting over whether the opening up of sex work and... 

'This new law means even more obstacles and restrictions for visiting culture.'

Honourable members of the House of Representatives, It is with great concern that we look at the Temporary Test Act that will be voted on in your House on Tuesday 11 May. This new law means even more hurdles and restrictions for visiting culture. Restrictions that will be introduced but where the end date is not given. This new testing law could be a godsend for... 

Support for rapid test society pilots proves extremely shaky

'The task force is critical of the costs and the course of events surrounding the assignment to the Open Netherlands Foundation. Parliamentary questions have now been asked about this; we await the minister's answers to these.' So it is somewhere at the bottom of Kunsten'92's weekly update, but it is clear. That whole pilot with quick tests evokes rather mixed feelings. The interest group... 

Follow The Money confirms suspicion: VNO-NCW oversteps boundaries in setting up cultural sector pilots

Last Friday, we reported on the rather mysterious and lacking in transparency surrounding the pilots to reopen theatres and museums. The questions we asked in that article have now been partly answered thanks to the efforts of 3 contributors to Follow The Money (FTM), and the answers they found are not reassuring. Just a recap:... 

Jeffrey Meulman from Theatre Festival to Verkadefabriek: 'We need to develop an alternative circuit again'

When Jeffrey Meulman (52) took office as director of the Theatre Festival in 2005, it needed to become more audience-friendly. Instead of a presentation of 'the most important theatre', the board that appointed him wanted to make a celebration of the most beautiful theatre. Meulman went to work, successfully, but the most important thing he did was to establish a 'fringe': an alternative... 

Godfried Bomans: respectively loved, vilified, misunderstood and forgotten

Godfried Bomans died half a century ago. Almost immediately afterwards, the Netherlands' best-loved writer sank into oblivion. It is time for a reappraisal of Bomans' literary work and even his political views. I delved into the archives, also looking for the few traces of Bomans in Amersfoort. First some round figures. Seventy years ago, he delivered a lecture... 

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