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Fair payment for self-employed in culture impossible without solid research on billable hours

A starting rate of €27 an hour without proper research into billable hours within the AV/Film sector is not Fair Pay. It leads to a net annual income below the minimum wage and is not sustainable, not fair and certainly not future-proof.
The creative sector has a right to a fee system based on the reality of freelance work: with varying assignments, unpaid time, and little economic security.
As long as we do not set a standard for realistic calculations in the Netherlands, Fair Pay in name can be unfair in practice. Serious steps are needed for a sustainable creative sector: independent research on billable hours, clear enforcement and real involvement of freelancers in policy making.

The ball is in the court: the VAT increase on culture, art and reading will definitely not happen!

Today is a day of joy and relief. A burden increase of over €900 million on our sector is permanently off the table. Raising the VAT rate would not only make culture, art and reading more inaccessible; it would also hit the earning capacity of thousands of creators. This result really did not happen by itself. Over the past year, an awful lot of hard work has gone into the... 

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An actor, a text, a conviction. That's all you need, shows Alum

Er is niks mis met gewoon heel erg goed zijn in wat je doet. Niets mooier dan een enkele artiest op een lege vloer met niets anders dan diens muziek, lijf en stem. De top drie van mijn legendarische kunstmomenten:  Allemaal dingen uit de oude doos, dat geef ik toe, maar dat is het met topmomenten: eenmaal gevestigd is het… 

Read More "An actor, a text, a conviction. That's all you need, shows Alum

Queering Puppets' bus still has room

When your evening starts with a stripping festival director and ends with pole dancing, you know you are not in a regular theatre. True, I was at the opening of the Queering Puppets Festival at Amsterdam's Plein Theater and it was a party. The Plein Theatre largely owes that to that stripping director Berith Danse, who was in... 

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Spread is only half the story about the region. There is also embedding.

That the Dutch performing arts, especially in relation to our neighbouring countries, are in a spread, may seem like a lame pun, but it is true nonetheless. Yesterday we presented a rather alarming calculation example on the consequences of the emphasis on spreading in the assessment of grant applications by the Performing Arts Fund. Today, a follow-up response from the same fund reveals that... 

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More performing arts to the region? Then possibly less performing arts to the region.

There has been quite a fuss about subsidies in recent months, especially for the performing arts. A few beloved middle groups with a fine track record were no longer getting subsidies, in favour of newcomers. The reasons for the shift were many. The anger over it was mainly about the emphasis on Diversity and Inclusion and regional distribution in the assessment by Fonds Podiumkunsten ... 

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Stage grant award: €26.8 million for programming and audience connection

Fonds Podiumkunsten awards a total of €26.8 million in grants to 136 venues for the period 2025-2029. With the podium scheme, the Fund supports the presentation of professional performing arts offerings across the country. The production grant enables 51 stages to (co)produce and invest in talent development. Stages in the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom The stages that from 1... 

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"Nowadays, animation can react very quickly." - Kaboom 2025 brings rebellious women and provocation

From 21 to 30 March, the Kaboom Animation Festival takes place in Utrecht, Amsterdam and online. Provocation is the main theme this year, with films about rebellious women and work in free-spirited animation styles. There are competitions for long and short films, Japanese animator Masaaki Yuasa is artist in focus, and there is a special focus on Belgian animation.

TivoliVredenburg during construction. Photo: Wijbrand Schaap

Jazz venues make U-turn. Jazzenzo may write what it wants again.

Het is verrukkeluk wanneer grote kranten kleine media klakkeloos overschrijven, en dat ze dat gratis doen? Ach, ze hebben het ook moeilijk. Zo is het kleine niche-weblog Jazzenzo na ruim een jaar gerehabiliteerd dankzij een artikel dat de chef kunst van de Volkskrant vorig jaar had overgenomen van deze site. Waar het om ging? De recensent en columnist van het… 

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The Chekhov moment you hadn't counted on.

The picture was a bit Da Vinci. At a long table they sat in beautiful light and it was about melancholy and menace. This was the scene of Last Supper at Amsterdam's De Balie debate centre on 1 February 2025. To crucify: some theatre groups I grew up with. 't Barre Land fraternally next to De Warme Winkel, Orkater next to... 

Read More "The Chekhov moment you hadn't counted on.

Slogging through the mud: on lust, the body and imaging

The female body has been the subject of scrutiny and imaging for centuries. From art to Hollywood, from myths to modern feminist statements-how is the female body seen, and how does that influence our ideas about sexuality and self-determination? This essay explores how lust, imagination and social expectations come together in films, books and the real world. How much freedom does a woman really have over her own body-and her own story?

IN PERSPECTIVE #24: A MEN'S CHOIR IN THE BIM HOUSE

In the series In Perspective, Erik Akkermans looks back and ahead at developments in cultural policy and practice. Today: what is really needed for cultural dissemination? In the Glass City In one of the large rooms of the Naaldwijk auction complex, the Westlands Mannenkoor rehearsed under the direction of conductor Piet Struijk. The choir, consisting of more than a hundred market gardeners, drivers, middlemen and... 

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At the Bookfield's New Year party, it was about what not to say

The book industry, or should we say the book field, will have shrunk at least 2 per cent by 2024. You just don't read that in the press releases about the industry's annual figures, which the CPNB director ance now tells us to call 'field'. Something about flowers. The ability to present all the news, including the bad, as something beautiful, good and cheerful.... 

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A day of talking about impact mostly produces uncertainty.

VMBO-scholieren in de Flevopolder hebben vertrouwen gekregen van hun docenten. Ze mochten zelf bedenken hoe ze een rondleiding op werelderfgoedlocatie Schokland leuker en leerzamer konden maken. Dus gingen de derdejaars leerlingen aan de slag voor een project dat de tweedejaars iets moest bieden dat leuker was dan het voorgekauwde programma dat zij hadden gevolgd. Ze deden dat via de regels… 

Read More "A day of talking about impact mostly produces uncertainty.

VPRO Books, 10 years of Podium Klassiek and Groenteman in Amersfoort: cultural TV Sunday nights bravely hold their own

Floris Kortie has come of age. The classical-music industry's merriest curmudgeon has proved in 2024 that he can carry Podium Klassiek on his own. That he managed to get the continuation of Podium Witteman, where he was allowed to freewheel as the insightful nephew, through a deep crisis is to his credit. After the departure of Mike Boddé, who he says is more... 

Read More "VPRO Books, 10 years of Podium Klassiek and Groenteman in Amersfoort: cultural TV Sunday nights bravely hold their own

Dramaturges out the door at ITA. Trend or vulgar industrial dispute?

Is a dramaturge more valuable than a public relations officer? Not according to Eline Arbo, since this year artistic director of the badly battered Internationaal Theater Amsterdam. She talks about "the long lines of the company" just as readily with communications staff. After all, people who put their lives at the service of studying the repertoire, the psychology of the director and the zeitgeist know... 

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Rotterdam Theatre venue for dance innovation

Jan Zoet's leadership sets an example for generations

When the Rotterdam Theatre announced the programme for the year (2001) that the city would be European Capital of Culture, director Jan Zoet hosted it at Amsterdam's Stadsschouwburg. In the ongoing 010-020 struggle, quite a statement. Zoet knew that the national press sat in the capital and was rarely willing to look outside the city limits. He also knew that... 

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Final destination Groningen

Arrive in Groningen like a Van Gogh. Start at the monumental main train station and prepare for what awaits you at the Groninger Museum. A wonderful exhibition that is more than just Van Gogh and his art; it's a story about history, science and Groningen students' fascination with the tragic painter who changed the art culture... 

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Culture Council still dissatisfied with Reisopera and LKCA plans 

"LKCA only partially meets the first condition: providing insight into the activities to be undertaken for the 2025-2028 grant period. The requested planning and budget are missing. The addendum gives a picture of which activities will be divested, but only partly clarifies how these activities will be secured elsewhere and how the acquired knowledge will be safeguarded." The... 

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IN PERSPECTIVE #23: The artist as shareholder

The meeting room in the attic of the building on Brouwersgracht began to fill. Prior to the meeting, Director Geert Dales of the Fonds Beeldende Kunst, Vormgeving en Bouwkunst (BKVB) retreated with the chairman of the Fund Council. He wanted clarity on the role of that Fund Council by now. Where did the representatives of... 

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Something is shining in the north thanks to Explore The North

In the first version of Explore The North's new website, the builders had forgotten to mention in which city the festival would take place. This has since been remedied with a beautiful 'about us' page, so that even non-Leeuwaars know where to go. The production house cum festival is in the Basic Cultural Infrastructure from the next edition. That means that... 

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