All about politics, policy, society and how those things relate to culture and art.
Good news from Friesland. The five larger theatres in the Netherlands' most independent province are going to cooperate intensively to tackle the corona crisis together.
Due to the corona pandemic, 2020 was also a crisis year for the cinema industry. Attendance fell by 56% compared to 2019. But the failure of US blockbusters allowed the Dutch market share to rise.
Planning in 2021 can only be done in the very short term, or with so many fits and starts that it is actually impossible to deal with. Therefore, at Lowlands - if it goes ahead at all - we will have a lot of offerings from our own country and the very close neighbouring countries.
Germany has 80 million people, the Netherlands 17 million, so we can multiply the Dutch aid by five if we want to test the German claim. Still, we arrive at an amount three times higher.
In this podcast, I talk to Marjolein Verhallen and Paul Adriaanse from Public Administration, Nanna Verhoef from Media and Iris van der Tuin from Philosophy, and artistic directors Lars Ebert and Jente Hoogeveen about what that is: leadership. And we talk about how you can learn it.
Earlier this year, Cinekid was in danger of dropping out of the basic cultural infrastructure due to a 'no, unless' advice from the Culture Council. An updated application has now changed the Council's mind. If the minister adopts it, Cinekid can go full steam ahead for four years. An interview with Cinekid director Heleen Rouw.
When it talks about 'some adjustments', of course, you have to be careful. They know that at the province, so they don't mention details. And those details include a cut of 1.3 million from previously promised amounts.
With the saving of Frascati and at least a Chamber that does understand the importance of the sector, the most depressing event of the year - the culture budget debate - still ended with a few bright spots.
On Thursday morning 12 November, the culture spokespersons of Christen Unie, VVD, D'66 and Groen Links entered into a debate on culture. However, the debate organised by LACK (Landelijk Kennisinstituut Cultuureducatie en Amateurkunst) Kunsten '92, the Fund for Cultural Participation and the Boekman Foundation did not become scintillating for a moment.
The support cultural organisations receive from the government seems generous, but we can add some nuance to this. This is because if a local authority gives emergency support to a museum, support is then set off against the National Enterprise Scheme (NOW).
Due to the latest covid measures, November Music 2020 will be cancelled at the very last minute. The organisers had prepared some 70 different concerts with 9 of their own commissions corona-proof.
Nederland is niet groot genoeg voor twee grote musicalproducenten. Dat is de enige conclusie die getrokken kan worden uit het vertrek van Albert Verlinde bij Stage Entertainment.
On Tuesday 3 November 2020, America will go to the polls. TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht presents a live programme around this exciting election. Current measures allow a maximum of 30 visitors in a room. Therefore, a live stream will be set up in four halls, so that as many people as possible can still enjoy it live.
Strictly speaking, prioritisation is another word for wielding a saw line, but it feels different. 'Prioritisation within the applicable criteria', as stated on the site, smacks of possible arbitrariness, as nowhere is it indicated which criteria were weighted how heavily.
Titled "Keep the theatre on the square!", PLEIN THEATER has launched a petition! And calls on culture lovers, visitors, local residents and anyone with a heart for PLEIN THEATER to sign for the survival of the theatre
Under the leadership of Viktorien van Hulst, Boulevard Theatre Festival has grown into a regionally rooted festival of national importance. Every year, Boulevard manages to strike a smart balance between entertainment with substance and joyful innovation, with a keen eye on inclusivity.
The total of eight festivals that were given a place in the Basic Cultural Infrastructure thanks to vigorous political lobbying are in the clear. They do not benefit from the extra millions released by the Cabinet on Budget Day to rescue the Performing Arts Fund, because they are not (or no longer) covered by it.
Verder uitstel en verkleining van commerciële theaterproducties betekent een zware dreun voor de talloze zelfstandigen die werk hebben in de kleinere rollen en begeleiding.
The hybrid German-English model combines the best of three worlds. But it also involves major changes. Artists will no longer all live in Amsterdam, but in one of eight or 10 urban cultural regions.
As this is D66 culture minister Van Engelshoven's presumably last budget year, the press release once again emphasises that a total of 95 million extra has now come into the culture budget during her tenure. It is too early to draw far-reaching conclusions.
For Mark Rutte, this must be a defeat, or else a U-turn of sorts. Although, there are indications that he is taking a milder view. In 2016, his speechwriter actually managed to cycle the K-word into the speech from the throne
How nice it would not be if the Culture Council really 'got its hands on' supporting freelancers and self-employed people! There is a possibility.
The cultural centre of gravity in Limburg has been in the south for years. However, to encourage southern institutions to programme outside the region, only 1 extra point is available. Examples of the problem of geographical spread also exist at the Council of Culture and the Performing Arts Fund.
The VVD will not give away Mark Rutte's latest crown jewel, the arts subsidy cut, for free. The latest argument: suction effect.
A fire letter from the United Performing Arts Festivals. One of more than a hundred lobbying organisations in the arts, but a very important one. After all, the festivals are the place where audiences were introduced to arts and entertainment in its full breadth. That doesn't happen anywhere else. And beautiful: they stand up for all performing arts, because, as loyal readers of this site know: they are quite the hare, and become even more the hare with every half-hearted rescue.
English (UK) 
Nederlands 
Français