November Music 2020 cancelled at last minute
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.
ACTUAL
All about politics, policy, society and how those things relate to culture and art.
Surprising outcome Musicalgate? Albert Verlinde suddenly leaves Stage Entertainment
The Netherlands is not big enough for two major musical producers. That is the only conclusion that can be drawn from Albert Verlinde's departure from Stage Entertainment.
TivoliVredenburg hosts US election night in four venues
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.
The Mondrian Fund made no bones about its own saw line. That is unfortunate for those who fall by it.
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.
PLEIN THEATER starts petition due to threat to survival.
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
Prize of Criticism 2020 for Theatre Festival Boulevard
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.
Everyone saved? Only a few festivals suffered heavy damage.
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.
Free producers minimise programmes until next autumn Heavy blow for self-employed performers in the performing arts.
Further postponement and downsizing of commercial theatre productions means a severe blow to the countless self-employed who have work in the smaller roles and accompaniment.
Radio Futura: Why the subsidy system needs the most radical overhaul possible.
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.
It's official: 15 million extra for Performing Arts Fund
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.
1 time art, 2 times culture. The Throne Speech makes up for years of silence on arts and culture in 4 sentences.
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
'Think carefully about the future' - Culture Council comes up with most unnecessary advice in years.
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.
There are also problems with the region in Limburg (and people suspect the advisers of being arbitrary and pre-emptive)
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.
On the myth of the 'attractiveness' of arts funding. (And What Now with debating theatre makers?!)
The VVD will not give away Mark Rutte's latest crown jewel, the arts subsidy cut, for free. The latest argument: suction effect.
Burn letter from festivals: 'It's going wrong with the performing arts in the Netherlands'
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.
Milo Rau at opening Theatre Festival: 'Maybe we should deliver a little less and listen a little more'
Things need time and distance to become a story. Good, then, that in his 'State of Theatre,' the traditional opening of the theatre season, Rau did not take the floor himself, but handed it over to people who are now in the midst of the confusing time of austerity, coronasteun and political turmoil. Because the 100 international makers he asked for a book entitled "Why Theatre?" could not come because of the pandemic, six Dutch makers were invited.
Aid schemes authors: counter opened
Writers and translators hit by the corona crisis can now apply for three support schemes set up especially for them. They can apply for up to €5,000 for a project grant or income support. The first submission deadline closes on 30 September 2020. Membership of the Authors' Association or affiliation to Lira is not compulsory.
Cabinet comes up with 700 million for culture (and solves - temporarily - the problem for the Performing Arts Fund)
On top of the general support measures, the cabinet is allocating an additional 482 million euros for the cultural sector. The cultural and creative sector can also draw on the general support measures, so over 700 million is expected to be available for culture.
Update: 'When in doubt: mainly catch up' - Mojo shoots itself in the foot with research that deems deaths after Mysteryland acceptable.
Research firm Crisis Lab found on behalf of event organiser MOJO that events are quite safe in times of Corona. however, they are basing their findings on misrepresented facts.
Where did things go wrong between culture decision-makers and the region?
It could have been so beautiful. In a not so grey past, the Council for Culture, then under a different management, initiated a movement that would give more authority to the region outside the Randstad. That was three years ago. Now there is an (entirely justified) angry letter in the newspaper from the culture deputies of 9...
The city as we knew it is doomed. Long live rural art?
Disturbing reports, over the past few days, in various media. First there was Patrick van IJzendoorn in De Volkskrant, who observed that life had drained away from London's business heart. I saw a few confusedly delighted reactions come along from friends on my cultural timeline. After all, the article made a clear connection between the closure of museums and theatres and the...
Subsidy crisis: if the House comes up with a fix for region and saw line soon, we will be even further home.
That 8.6 million the fund is now minimally short of will probably be found somewhere, so the saw line will be shifted again. Then the sector can - virtually - continue for another four years. Another one and a half million may be added to shape the spread. Pleasing the art world is not that expensive, The Hague will notice.
And what about those codes of conduct? 'The Fund sees the tick marks as a baseline measurement.'
According to the minister, when applying for your grant this year, the Fair Practice Code, the Diversity and Inclusion Code and the Governance Code of Culture would be decisive. In several reviews by the Culture Council in the BIS and also locally, artists have been rejected on the basis of poor substantiation of their following the code of conduct. If not at...
'It's important for Shai to make something again.' Ka Yan Tang and Shailesh Bahoran on Illusionary Rockaz Company in times of Corona
Illusionary Rockaz Company was due to release a new work by Shailesh Bahoran this spring. A new production for the first time in two years, after a time in which the Utrecht-based choreographer was constantly winning awards. And then Corona broke out. For Shai, reason to pause for a while: 'For Shakti, the performance that is coming up now, we have to...
Culture Council marginally updates advice, but sticks to controversial decisions
The National Opera had made a mistake in preparing its application. According to the Culture Council, the multi-million-dollar national institution had failed to break down performance data between dance and music. As a result, the company had to submit an entirely new application before 1 November. Now it turns out that was not so bad. As it turns out, the data...
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