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ACTUAL

All about politics, policy, society and how those things relate to culture and art.

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Scenario industry awards presented: Silver Curly Tails for The Year of Fortuyn and El Houb

The Zilveren Krulstaarten were awarded on Saturday afternoon 25 March in Amsterdam to the writers of the best film and television scripts of 2022. Once started as a giants' prize due to the lack of a Golden Calf for screenplay, the Zilveren Krulstaarten have now become the Dutch professional awards for screenwriters. The winners are chosen annually by members of the Authors' Association's Screenwriters Network.... 

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Source: Rijksmuseum. CCO

'Drawing lots for subsidy might be fairer': listen to podcast with Renée Steenbergen and Ellen Hardy

'We have had the Top Income Standardisation Act since 2013. That means that in the semi-public sector, the highest in an organisation are not allowed to earn above a certain standard. There are conductors who earn as much in the evening as the entire orchestra costs. That, of course, is bizarre. Then I always wonder how it is that they can escape the dance.' This... 

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Culture Council deploys design power for renewal of cultural system

The Culture Council will be given room to elaborate on the renewal of the cultural system from 2029. State Secretary Uslu of Culture and Media has asked the council to issue its advice on this before the end of this year. "As a council, we cannot wait to take up this question together with the sector. To that end, we have now launched an innovative... 

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Debate point during the Authors' Union's symposium on diversity. flnr: Gustaaf Peek, shariff Nasr, Canan Marasligil and Chris Kelemand

Dare to ask. 4 lessons in diversity&inclusion for the Authors' Association

Diversity is a fact, inclusion an act. Simple statement, if you come upon it, and Jenny Mijnhijmer, actress and writer, came upon it. She was asked during the pandemic to chair a committee for the Authors' Union to figure out how that advocacy group for writers could become more inclusive and diverse. She didn't really feel like doing that at all. After all, we already talk... 

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Amare, the home of NDT and others in The Hague

Nederlands Dans Theater confesses colour in dog poop case. Why only after exceptional pressure from the dance press?

Whether I was on champagne. Just a question from an acquaintance in the dance world. The occasion was Nederlands Dans Theater's announcement that it does not want to continue with top choreographer Marco Goecke until he really apologises for his assault on dance critic Wiebke Hüster of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. After all, the company had previously taken up the mantle of... 

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3 dachshunds

Scheissegate #5: Contract with assailant and choreographer Goecke in Hanover dissolved. Nederlands Danstheater continues with him.

It was announced at a press conference at the Hanover State Opera this afternoon that the contract with choreographer Marco Goecke has been 'permanently terminated'. In addition, he has been denied access to the Opera's premises. This sanction follows a serious incident last Saturday at the premiere of a choreography by Goecke in Hanover, where he is ballet director. Because he behaved ... 

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screenshot instagram account Goecke

'Marco Goecke fired from State Opera Hannover'

The Hannoversche Allgemeine, a local Hanover newspaper, has just announced that Marco Goecke, the dog-eared top choreographer, has probably already been fired by the prestigious Hannover Staatsoper company. An announcement on website T-Online reads: 'The dismissal of Hannover's ballet director Marco Goecke at the Hannover State Theatre may already be a done deal. According to the newspaper "Hannoversche Allgemeine... 

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Dog poo ban

Scheissegate III: Poopsmith Goecke says no sorry, but NDT thinks it's best

'If an NDT dancer had done this, they would have been thrown out on the street immediately.' Much anger and incomprehension on the Instagram account of leading Nederlands Dans Theater, after the company announced it was continuing its collaboration with Marco Goecke. Goecke, an associate choreographer with the The Hague company for many years, was discredited for leaving a reviewer from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung... 

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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... 

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Created with midjourney ai at the prompt "handlebar bicycle museum willink style"

The art of just a little bit different - comment on essay Renée Steenbergen

Renée Steenbergen has made a name for herself through her expertise of private cultural finance and art collections1 . She recently received a lot of space in the NRC and attention from Culture Press for her latest publication The Art of Different. It made me curious. In her booklet, she makes some good proposals and offers useful suggestions for a healthier art business. For example: that both... 

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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,... 

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Authors' Union: 'Sign statement of support for Pim Lammers'

Dear members, dear colleagues, The Authors' Union is standing behind our endangered colleague Pim Lammers and signing a broad statement of support from the book trade. You can also join this individually. The sign-up address info@algemene-uitgevers.nl is open until Thursday 9 February, 10am. This is what it's about Full of horror, we followed the news surrounding our colleague Pim Lammers. Pim received death threats following a... 

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still from the vpro series our man with the taliban, with Thoams erdbrink talking to a taliban fighter in an orchard

How much diabolical power does the artist have?

What would the world be like if art had had the power that book burners and iconoclasts have attributed to it over the centuries? In the fascinating documentary series 'Our Man with the Taliban', Thomas Erdbrink takes a rather perilous journey through an Afghanistan abandoned by the 'civilised' West. We see a world where book burners and iconoclasts... 

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Stage photo by Jan Versweyveld

My dear Gunsteling you don't want to see and must have seen

Assault and finally rape of a 14-year-old girl by a bonkers vet. An enjoyable evening at the theatre is different, until the applause of this arguably (once again) best Dutch theatre production of the year relieves you of the harsh struggle. Author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld and director Ivo van Hove emphasise that both 49-year-old vet Kurt and his minion, the farmer's daughter, are heavily traumatised... 

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Dick Oostinga deputy chairman Restitutions Committee

Dick Oostinga, member of the Restitutions Committee, will temporarily lead the Restitutions Committee on Nazi looted art as deputy chairman. Last week, chairman Jacob Kohnstamm and deputy chairman Els Swaab submitted their resignations. State Secretary Uslu (Culture and Media) appointed Oostinga as deputy chairman from 1 February. The position is vacant because chairman Jacob Kohnstamm and deputy chairman Els Swaab resigned last... 

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Asko Schönberg, Photographer Milagro Elstak

Treasury György Kurtág on 16 February - the perfect prelude to the Kurtág Festival

In the Schatkamer series, Asko|Schönberg takes you on a journey to the pearls of 20th-century music through live-played music, captivating guest speakers and visual and sound clips. The edition of Treasure Room on Thursday 16 February highlights the extraordinary world of György Kurtág (1926), the Hungarian composer known as the master of miniatures. His pieces consist of short,... 

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Brand new award for translated children's and youth books

Together with the CPNB and the ILFU, the translation magazine Filter will introduce a brand new prize in 2023: the Filter Translation Prize for children's and youth books. With this, all parties underline the great importance of good translations and good children's book translators. The prize money is the same as for the existing Filter Translation Prize: 10,000 euros. The nominations will be announced in June 2023. The... 

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museum our dear lord on solder by rebekka mell

Positive opinion Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder for European Heritage Label

The Culture Council is positive about Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder's candidacy for a European Heritage Label (EEL). This is stated in an opinion sent today to state secretary Uslu (Culture and Media). She had asked the council for advice on the application within the theme of 'tolerance and justice'. It is up to the state secretary to decide on the basis of... 

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Dramatic decline in self-employed in cultural sector - Culture Monitor shows growth among architects and designers

Of the 1910 self-employed people still working behind the scenes of the performing arts in 2019, only 1090 will be left in 2022. So what we suspected turns out to be true: technicians have gone up onto the roof to install solar panels and heat pumps, audience workers found a destination in healthcare. Although the Culture Monitor does not capture this migration, it is clear 

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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... 

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New results of in-depth marketing research by Boekwerk KVB

CPNB annual figures: in search of the S10 of Dutch-language literature

'Dutch-language music has been unabatedly popular for years in a variety of genres; from pop to hip-hop, competing with English-language music. That's where you see what you can achieve with attention. The same can happen with books.' This quote by author Gustaaf Peek, recorded in a press release from the Authors' Union, is quite inspiring. The press release, in which the advocate of 1,750 Dutch writers... 

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'Dutch-language books need attention' - Authors' Association responds to CPNB figures

Stop the declining sales of Dutch-language books, ensure more attention to literature. That is the only way to reverse the trend of the CPNB figures presented on Thursday, thinks the Authors' Union, the interest group for writers and translators with 1,750 members. By 2022, 10% less Dutch-language fiction has been sold. One in five books will now be published in a language other than... 

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Abstract Book cover - Masso, The river is a wound full of fish

Powerful literary debut by Colombian Lorena Salazar Masso

With The river is a wound full of fish, Colombian Lorena Salazar Masso makes a powerful literary debut. What does it mean to be a mother, when do you actually BE a mother? Can you be a mother even if you did not give birth to your child yourself? As a mother without a child, are you still a mother? That is the theme of the... 

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Maasdamme Collection at Amsterdam Museum, photo provided by museum.

Events at the Amsterdam Museum - February 2023

Besides a permanent collection presentation at Amstel 51 and at 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 October 2022. Visit www.amsterdammuseum.nl for the latest information. ---------------- Female Gaze Tour 12 February 2023 The returning Female Gaze Tour... 

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