All about politics, policy, society and how those things relate to culture and art.
'I work five nights a week and so I have to find out specifically when I can go to a concert. Sometimes I take time off for it. And then they do say, "hey, are you going to a concert again already?", and I say, "of course I'm going to a concert again". But I don't think it's extreme either.' Petra Gerritsen is process expert
The cinema industry presents its 2018 annual figures. Visits stable at 35.7 million, but Dutch film's market share dropped again, now to 11%. Half of the peak year of 2011.
Some people read Christmas stories over Christmas, others the interview supplements of newspapers, and a few do so with policy documents. So, quite a few people have read our Culture Minister's 'Advice Request' in the past few days. I, at least. Those who 'officially' cannot have done so are the members of the Culture Council, because the whole package came...
As part of "Hi, Figures!", Statistics Netherlands today released updated figures on the performing arts in the Netherlands. These show a cautious recovery, although the consequences of the 2011 interventions by the VVD and PVV are still painfully visible. The figures show that theatre in particular is struggling. There, the...
It took about a day for the PVV Enschede branch to discover the message. Quite fast for a club that is usually not very interested in art. Anyway, this one detail at the presentation of the regional culture index was of course grist to the mill of the far-right local party: Region Enschede has the biggest mismatch between amount of subsidy and...
Linda Huijsmans and Wijbrand Schaap catch you up in a good half hour on the backgrounds of the larger Culture Press News of the past few weeks. It's a bit more about the nude/nude situation in the arts, but of course it's also about money, that million that was drilled through the nose of performing artists by a row in the board of the Social...
'Indecent and rude,' is how Miep van Diggelen, former chairman of the board of the Performing Arts Social Fund (SFPK), calls the actions of the board of that same fund. That board, or at least about five members of the seven-member board, decided - outside the official meeting - to withdraw a subsidy application they had initiated earlier, without having read it. The promising...
The Utrecht Centre for the Arts is bankrupt after a long ordeal. It was axed. There is no more room in the Netherlands' fourth city for a large, centrally organised music and culture school. Nor for pottery, painting and video filming. The city council has found a solution. For the soon-to-be homeless UCK students, the municipality thinks...
Ik had nog zo beloofd er niets over te schrijven, die bijeenkomst van Kunsten 92 over de regioprofielen. Ik moet immers nog een paar sinterklaasgedichten schrijven voor goede vrienden, en die verdienen al mijn aandacht. Daarom nu maar even op rijm. Omdat iemand het moet doen. Er liggen nu zeventien regioprofielen van stedelijke regio’s tot dorpen met duizend zielen, Omdat…
The riveting, Golden Lion-winning Roma immerses you in the Mexico of filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón's youth. Are we going to see it on Netflix, or in the cinema? Viewers have a choice that Netflix did not offer in our country before. In addition, the exclusive cinema window is also in flux.
Eight cultural institutions started the first Zero Waste Expedition Culture this year. During this expedition, the first steps were taken in terms of waste separation and waste prevention. The Maaspoort in Venlo, Kunstlinie Almere Flevoland, Luxor Theatre Rotterdam, Museon, Paradiso, Tivoli/Vredenburg, the Zuiderzeemuseum and the Van Abbemuseum are the frontrunners in the expedition, setting an example for their...
A good selling book earns an author an average of 10 to 15 per cent of the selling price. Bestsellers go towards 20 per cent. But how much does it really yield? KVB Boekwerk, the research arm of the Royal Booksellers' Association wanted to find out. Jurriaan Rammeloo presented the first preliminary results of his research on 27 November. Not something to be very happy...
Paul Lightfoot, artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theater, announces his departure from 2020. A remarkable decision. Just recently, the energetic leader was on stage at Zuiderstrandtheater to properly wave off Gerald Tibbs, former artistic director of NDT2 to his retirement. But there are some questions. 1: Why the day after a departure of his own...
Zundert's flower parade, a piece of unique folk culture (since 1936!) in which the - non-native - Dahlia plays a leading role, had a tough time this year. Due to the drought, there were fewer flowers than other years and so improvisations had to be made by the hundreds of volunteers who, every year, make the village where the memory of Vincent van Gogh is alive and well again...
Sounding Alchemy, is the name of the chunky volume recently published by music publicist Maarten Brandt (1953). It has 715 pages, including illustrations and an extensive index. In 98 articles, Brandt unfolds his views on music and music programming. He dedicated the beautifully designed book to Marius Flothuis, whom he admired and who was programmer of the Concertgebouw Orchestra for many years. His heirs received a first copy during...
A little pity was in order during the debate on the culture budget in the Lower House. Thierry Aartsen, the VVD's brand-new culture spokesperson, still hadn't done his homework and therefore got terrible on his mitre from fellow culture spokesmen in the Lower House. And then also from the minister. Was he allowed to speak around 11...
The province of Utrecht has launched the community platform 'Werkplaats Waterlinies'. This initiative of the Pact of Ruigenhoek is open to anyone working on the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie, Stelling van Amsterdam and other waterlinies. It is a place where you can exchange inspiration, knowledge and ideas, as well as present projects, collaborate and experiment. In short, a place where new connections arise and collectively...
'Culture is about stimulating, fraternising, challenging. Then there is no difference between corso and ballet.' Says Thierry Aartsen on Friday 16 November in the Volkskrant. Thierry who? Thierry Aartsen, the one who will be speaking on culture at the VVD in the coming months. The next few months? Yes, because VVD culture spokespersons are usually appointed for one or two debates, after which...
There are quite a few petitions floating around these days. The most curious of all petitions was in the digital mailbox today. In it, the existing support institutes in the cultural sector urge the Lower House not to put money into new support institutes. In doing so, clubs such as the Landelijk Kennniscentrum Amateurkunst (LKCA), Cultuur+Ondernemen, and the Boekmanstichting put in a small but...
Searching for what I stand for and which way to go, time and again I come across facts that confuse and amaze me. I live in a country where only a single woman is in De Volkskrant top ten most influential people - in tenth place, that is. Only three out of 100 young Dutch millionaires...
Linda Huijsmans and yours truly catch you up in half an hour on what matters in the art world. From now on, biweekly on this channel, and of course you can listen via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, you name it. You can find the whole rundown here. And we also have a call at the end. For someone who will help us raise funds for...
Until now, film education has mostly been a grab bag of initiatives. But now that the minister mentions it in her policy plan and extra money has been allocated, new steps can be taken. Towards a permanent place in the classroom? We ask Florine Wiebenga, head of education Eye, and Jeroen Stultiens, Film Teacher of the Year.
The Netherlands suffers from a problematisation problem. In case you find that a problematic term, that is part of the problem. Indeed: we make something into a complicated problem and explain it complicated because there is actually no reason to make it a problem. Venue: our national assembly. Reason: not everyone benefits equally from...
One of the sources of inspiration for director Ingrid Kuijpers was a film about a certain kind of flatworm. It has also found a place in her performance WO-MAN. Flatworms are hermaphroditic animals. Mating amounts to a fight over which of the two gets fertilised. Kuijpers: ,,The one that manages to get the other pregnant has won. If you get pregnant...
A thousand schoolchildren a day in the House of Representatives. No less than that. That's what Culture Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven wants. Costs 4.8 million. Money that you will actually pay through your theatre ticket, the library book, the museum ticket. Because real art could have been made from that 4.8 million. It is a big question why the compulsory Second Chamber visit has to be paid for from...
English (UK) 
Nederlands 
Français
You must be logged in to post a comment.