All about politics, policy, society and how those things relate to culture and art.
The new year often starts with new insights and resolutions. A critical reflection can then help. We were therefore delighted to read the Volkskrant of 2 January, in which columnist and theatre critic Merlijn Kerkhof concludes that in 2020, he wants to enjoy all that the Netherlands has to offer in terms of culture a bit more often outside 020. And that is only right,...
Last December, we had no internet and no TV/netflix for a week. The Customer Disconnection Department of KPN, formerly XS4All, had not understood that a broken cable in our neighbourhood could have had anything to do with it. One of the funny effects of these fibre-less days was that I finished reading four books. Something I normally do only on...
I am sitting at the dinner table at my parents' house. We are celebrating my mother's birthday with the whole family. I am there, but I am not quite there. In fact, I am so incredibly tired at the moment. As I jokingly tell my friends, "I can't say boo or boo anymore and am running on my gums". Suddenly, the conversation turns to...
We got some confusing messages last weekend. The reason was the festive announcement of the organisation of the Eurovision Song Contest that a special symphonic happening would take place at the finals in Rotterdam. Third year and master students of the Rotterdam Conservatoire, part of Codarts, as well as young professional musicians were invited. A 'fee' would be available for...
Where is the Metropole Orchestra? A unique orchestra, the only one in the world that can pull off the complete repertoire from classical to pop and jazz? The orchestra that used to accompany the Dutch acts at the Song Festival when everything was still live? The orchestra, which as recently as December was on tour with our new Song Contest candidate,...
[update: they get even less, see post below] We received confusing news last weekend. The occasion was the festive announcement by the organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest that a special symphonic happening would take place at the final in Rotterdam. Invited were third-year and master students from Rotterdam Conservatoire, part of Codarts, as well as young professional musicians. For the performances...
In the first version of this post, we assumed 100 euros for 8 days. We turned out to be misinformed. The application of the remplaçants' collective agreement, mentioned in the explanation by the Song Festival, gives a bit more leeway, although its hourly and daily rates are still controversial. But 1,000 euros for eight days is now apparently the going rate....
With over 38 million visitors, 6.5% more than in 2018, 2019 was a good cinema year. Unfortunately, the recovery of Dutch cinema is still minimal.
A week before the end of 2019, Culture Press' membership stands at nearly 150, up from 40 exactly a year ago. A growth of more than 300 per cent is quite extraordinary. So we have demonstrated that we matter to a rapidly growing group of decision-makers in the cultural sector. So good that they are happy to contribute to...
A man walks down the theatre corridor with his daughter in a wheelchair. Stops at an usher. Hesitates, then says: 'I don't want to nag, but she can't go on the disabled toilet. I'm looking for a place to change her.' So this usher, he helps search. Moments later, they are behind a rack in the pantry. Sugar sachets, coffee, speculoos, tins....
They have learned something at Boekman. The foundation, which since this year has had the honour of managing the culture index, understands that trend graphs say precious little. We have observed this several times on this site, and the researchers now confirm this wholeheartedly. So this year the club is doing things differently. For the past few months, sixty wise men and women have been...
Art has always needed explanation. Even 'easy' art, even 'art that sells itself'. Art has needed that explanation ever since the first caveman found out that her sooty smudges on the cave wall looked very much like a bison. Actually, this is why it is wrong to speak of 'explanation' and 'need'. Art and story are one, since the...
'I didn't know you could also be digitised away in this sector, but so you can.' Susanne Visser and Annemiek Lely sounded the alarm on Saturday 7 December. Their jobs as ushers at theatre performances are in jeopardy. Companies would rather keep people engaged through podcasts, and such an usher only costs money. On Monday, December 9, we obtained...
Over the past year, we, Annemiek Lely and Susanne Visser, heard various noises about boring introductions and useless fringe programmes that would add nothing. Such comments pass the revue in the artist foyer, at the bar or find their way onto social media. 'I want after-shows led by a local presentation talent instead of a drawling dramaturge,' wrote an already established director
I spoke to Peter Pluymaekers, artistic director of Theatre Group Zep, about what it is like to make theatre for vmbo students. The occasion was the not-so-jubilant performance of Cleopatra. Listen to the podcast on anchor: 'I'm always a bit reluctant to do Shakespeare. I find him difficult, and young people often find him corny. I felt the same about the...
In the ongoing series of interviews with leading figures from Amersfoort's cultural sector, I interviewed D66 alderman Fatma Koser Kaya. It turned into an animated conversation. Strangely enough, De Stadsbron, Amersfoort's local journalism site, is not allowed to promote the interview from Facebook, the editors announced yesterday. It is unclear why. Here is an excerpt, the whole story of course on De Stadsbron: 'I believe...
With red cheeks, I hang up the phone a little bewildered. Just now I had a telephone appointment that took a completely different turn. I had a brief conversation with a theatre programmer who is still unknown to me. She unfortunately told me not to programme anything with our impresario, because there was really no need for artistic performances in her city. This lady stated that her...
For De Stadsbron, Amersfoort's journalistic background site, I chart the cultural sector of the Keistad. On that site now, an interview with Friederike Weisner, director of Theatre De Lieve Vrouw. 'According to Weisner, the lack of a university or college ensures that the need for knowledge is visible: 'You will always have to be innovative as a city. There ...
'How many more talented creators do we have to lose to other sectors because they cannot reconcile the undervaluation with the quality of their product? People choose eggs for their money in the long run, when children need to be fed or mortgages paid. The sector is hollowing itself out if we don't take better care of our talent.' Thirty leaders in the cultural sector speak out
Modest cheers in the performing arts world. A motion tabled on 18 November by Corinne Ellemeet (GroenLinks), together with PvdA, CDA and D66, forces minister Van Engelshoven to investigate the consequences of the cuts to the Performing Arts Fund before the subsidy is distributed. The House approved this on 26 November. Wonderful, you might say, because if clear...
For De Stadsbron, I interviewed Patrick Nederkoorn, comedian but in a previous life also politician, about his city, Amersfoort: You had a decisive role in politics here for eight years. In your programme, you reckon with that a bit. You argue that you were very much on form, and sometimes sold content where later you didn't... at all.
The culture sector will have to be patient for a while yet. Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven had no intention of changing any of her policies on Monday 18 November, during the discussion of the culture budget in the Standing Parliamentary Committee on Culture. Despite a fairly widely supported desire, especially from the opposition, to do something about the 8.6 million cut in the...
This weekend, gallery owner Henk Logman discovered to his horror that artworks from the Amersfoort Art Loan were being offered for sale on a Belgian auction site. On his facebook page, he reports: 'The extraordinary thing about the whole thing is that the now still living artists were not informed of this. I would at least have expected that to have happened....
Holland Animation Film Festival and the Amsterdam animation festival Klik! have joined forces. The new festival is called KABOOM.
The myth just had to end. Nan van Houte, former director of Amsterdam's small theatre Frascati, has buried Action Tomato. During Requiem for Tomato, on 4 November 2019, she made it crystal clear that this legendary event has been measured too big by our theatre historians. In 1969, when a few tomatoes were sent to the al...
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