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ACTUAL

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

Dance & theatre collective Movementalist, in collaboration with Plein Theater, presents the Movement Expo Aceleratio at the NDSM Fuse from 27 May (premiere) to 30 May.

The art of slowing down in times of pandemic. Aceleratio is an interdisciplinary performance installation that aims to confront online and offline audiences with struggle, freedom, courage and comfort, from the need to embody these times. Artistic directors Dayna Martinez Morales & Vincent Verburg are the initiators of Movement Expo Aceleratio. Ten experienced and very different performers in... 

Read More "Dance & theatre collective Movementalist, in collaboration with Plein Theater, presents the Movement Expo Aceleratio at the NDSM Fuse from 27 May (premiere) to 30 May.

'I can finally have real fun again.' How "devil child" Angélique (51) survived 25 years of abuse and mistreatment

A devil child she was called, and that is how her parents treated her. Angélique van Deursen (51) was mistreated and abused for 25 years. It marked her for life, but did not completely destroy her. Although it would have been too close. Two fathers As a child, I felt I had two fathers. During the day, my father was an angry man, who... 

Read More "'I can finally have real fun again.' How "devil child" Angélique (51) survived 25 years of abuse and mistreatment

1 year of Corona in the City - Outdoor exhibition and online relay broadcast

Saturday 15 May 2021 marks exactly one year since Mayor Femke Halsema opened the Amsterdam Museum's digital exhibition Corona in de Stad. A digital exhibition about the effects of the corona virus on the city of Amsterdam and its inhabitants. To commemorate 1 year of Corona in the City, the Amsterdam Museum will be showing from 15... 

Read More "1 year of Corona in the City - Outdoor exhibition and online relay broadcast

'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... 

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Problems in Utrecht housing market take centre stage in free livestream 

Those looking for a reasonably priced house to buy in Utrecht often come home with a cold shoulder. Prices of houses for sale are rising to record highs (in Utrecht by 9.4% in the past year) and houses are more often sold far above the asking price. Tenants are also having a lot of trouble finding affordable housing, facing usurious rents, shadowy contracts and... 

Read More "Problems in Utrecht housing market take centre stage in free livestream 

New stage for Dutch thriller at Utrecht Library

Under the title 'The Dutch thriller awards 2021', the four most important thriller awards (Gouden Strop, Hebban Thrillerprijs, Schaduwprijs and Zilveren Strop) will be presented from the Utrecht Library on Saturday 5 June. The ceremony will mark the start of 'The Week of the Exciting Book', which begins on Monday 7 June. With 'The Dutch thriller awards 2021', the Utrecht Library, readers' platform Hebban.nl and the... 

Read More "New stage for Dutch thriller at Utrecht Library

Support among the test society is falling away.

Today, both Koninklijke Horeca Nederland and the Cultural and Creative Sector Taskforce announced that testing to enter somewhere is controversial as far as they are concerned. The Taskforce wants to enforce testing for entry only in extreme cases, and not for cultural attractions that are already demonstrably safe. In fact, the hospitality industry finds testing completely unmentionable,... 

Read More "Support among the test society is falling away.

Artist earns as much as zero euros during Fieldlab event

It was Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven of OC&W who, under pressure from the unions, called for the Fair Practice Code in the cultural sector. One of its components is fair and market-based payment of artists. And what is the first thing that happens, now that society opens up somewhat during the Fieldlab Events? The artists are doing this for free, pro... 

Read More "Artist earns as much as zero euros during Fieldlab event

Live music brightens up vaccination venue Jaarbeurs 

From 5 May, the XL vaccination venue at the Jaarbeurs Utrecht will be brightened up several times a week by performances by Utrecht music ensembles. Utrecht has a very diverse musical life that is eager to serve the city. The Netherlands Bach Society kicks off on Wednesday 5 May. Utrechters receiving vaccinations must wait 15 minutes after the jab. GGD region of Utrecht... 

Read More "Live music brightens up vaccination venue Jaarbeurs 

Museum directors: is their role as figureheads and media artists becoming more important than as art history experts?

Dutch museums, partly due to the recent digital Museum Week, have been able to retain a large part of their audience. There is - reports the Museum Association on its website - a slight turnover though. And the hitherto loyal public will not find their way to museums automatically and to the same extent. But the picture is that the... 

Read More "Museum directors: is their role as figureheads and media artists becoming more important than as art history experts?

Writers writing. That's what Moped at Sea is about, and that's ok. 

Many avid readers will dream of their favourite author sitting at their table one day, talking about her work. Perhaps just as many avid readers will take their dream author on a stroll, want to drink lamb on a café terrace or take them to a darkroom. Or to a classical concert at the Concertgebouw. All can be done. Some will even just... 

Read More "Writers writing. That's what Moped at Sea is about, and that's ok. 

The first year of the corona crisis is described, and it makes for a wonderful book.

TivoliVredenburg is a building like a festival. countless stages, bars, a café and a restaurant, hundreds of people at work, thousands inside on a night. I always came there too little. But when I did get there, it was a party. A building run by and attended by super-motivated people with only one goal: as much music as possible for as many people as possible. Until... 

Read More "The first year of the corona crisis is described, and it makes for a wonderful book.

It is not too late to make a European Cultural New Deal central to recovery funds

Recently, US geopolitician Joseph Nye1 drew attention once again to the fact that transnational culture is one of the great forces of the European project. For those looking at the European Union from the outside, this common culture is evident, but we, citizens of the Union, are less and less aware of it. Moreover, we tend to... 

Read More "It is not too late to make a European Cultural New Deal central to recovery funds

Concordia still continues to show theatre performances

In the coming weeks, you can enjoy the following livestreams at Concordia: Storyteller, Shaffy, Next Generation, Most Beautiful Songs and Cameretten finalists. More information about the performances below. BOI AKIH - Storyteller Theatre programmer Ellen saw this band at Podium Witteman a while back and thought it was so cool that she immediately booked them. Especially for this evening, there will be a... 

Read More "Concordia still continues to show theatre performances

Nerd podcast #11: Samora Bergtop on white criticism with white critics Marijn Lems and Wijbrand Schaap

'We think we can think diversely, but ultimately there has to be an exchange in that thinking. Then you also have to let other perspectives come in. So you don't have to come up with it all by yourself.' Samora Bergtop has views on theatre criticism and how it could come out of its white bubble. Marijn lems and yours truly enter the conversation 

Read More "Nerd podcast #11: Samora Bergtop on white criticism with white critics Marijn Lems and Wijbrand Schaap

Holland Festival presents scalable programme: It's about time.  

A night walk where, for once, it is not about talking to each other, or exercising the muscles, but about being very aware of where you are. Mindfulness as a theatre experience, then, and if all the coronagraph remains against us, the only part of the Holland Festival that can go on live because of sufficient distance and outside. It needs to be that bad... 

Read More "Holland Festival presents scalable programme: It's about time.  

HOLLAND FESTIVAL 2021 with associate artists Ryuichi Sakamoto and Gisèle Vienne

From 3 to 27 June 2021, the 74th edition of the Holland Festival will take place in and around Amsterdam. This year's associate artists are American-Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and French-Austrian theatre maker Gisèle Vienne - notable artists with wide-ranging interests, as evidenced by their collaborations with Hollywood directors, techno artists, visual artists and rock bands. During the... 

Read More "HOLLAND FESTIVAL 2021 with associate artists Ryuichi Sakamoto and Gisèle Vienne

Free producers have been saved, but some more than others; self-employed people seem especially solidary.

Is the government generous and generous for once, it's no good again. You could say that after I received questions from various quarters about the corona grant for free productions announced by the Performing Arts Fund last week. The amount in question is €27 million, for a total of 251 producers, so an average of a tonne per application. With that... 

Read More "Free producers have been saved, but some more than others; self-employed people seem especially solidary.
logo council for culture

Invest in culture for all

A strong cultural sector has an important economic and social driving function. Culture not only contributes positively to mental health and well-being, but is also an important building block in the recovery from the current corona crisis. To maximise this booster function, almost 500 million extra per year is needed. This is the conclusion of the Council for Culture in a letter to informateur Tjeenk... 

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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... 

Read More "Support for rapid test society pilots proves extremely shaky

Janice Deul on 'translationgate': 'Surely you can expect people in the literary world to be able to read?' Nerd podcast #10

Stage poetry is usually held in lower esteem than written poetry. While stage poets can touch so powerfully. Only during the Night of Poetry, every year in Utrecht, do we honour the performers among the poets. Then it's back to the 'jokers' who can rhyme, as was recently written about Ingmar Heytze in a podcast announcement. Spoken Word, the... 

Read More "Janice Deul on 'translationgate': 'Surely you can expect people in the literary world to be able to read?' Nerd podcast #10

Platform BK: Deferred work means deferred money. The artist cannot buy food from that.

What we feared at the beginning of the coronasteun appears to have become reality. The generous support money for culture should also reach the small self-employed in the arts via the institutions, but that is now happening too little. Of course, there are fine examples, such as the large subsidised arts institutions in Groningen and festivals like Boulevard and Holland Festival that support self-employed... 

Read More "Platform BK: Deferred work means deferred money. The artist cannot buy food from that.

'Cherish this!': test festival in Biddinghuizen is purging fever dream for small crowd

Hundreds of people hosted, boozed and flirted in the Flevopolder this weekend. As of old, in fact. Were we witnessing a cautious advance for what awaits us later this year, or was the Back to Live experiment an ultra-short flare-up of a life that is far from within reach? Either way, some 3,000 people experienced a... 

Read More "'Cherish this!': test festival in Biddinghuizen is purging fever dream for small crowd

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