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ACTUAL

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

Hope for the Metropole Orchestra. Thanks to News Hour.

Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven will 'do something' for the Metropole Orchestra this autumn. She made this known in a letter to the House of Representatives today. Literally it says: 'I will include the solution to the Metropole Orchestra's problem in my consideration around the deployment of the 2019 coalition agreement funds tranche. My consideration in this regard is that in the coalition agreement,... 

Theatre boards want more money for 'difficult' offerings.

More operas and classical concerts are offered in Dutch theatres and concert halls. More theatre was also offered for young people. Nice developments, but the increase in supply (3 per cent) did not directly lead to a proportionate increase in audiences. That increased by only 1 per cent. The number of spectators for theatre and cabaret even fell. Therefore. 

Rainer Hofmann (SPRING): 'After the populist attack from the right, the performing arts now face an attack from the left.'

Thursday 17 May opens SPRING Performing Arts Festival in Utrecht with, among others, Sic Transit Gloria Mundi by Dries Verhoeven and to come (extended) by Mette Ingvartsen. Over ten days, more than twenty-five international dance and theatre productions, installations and performance works will be on show in public spaces and urban environments. A week earlier, festival director Rainer Hofmann looks relaxed. 'Until now... 

René Ten Bos vertelt op SPOT-Live waarom we toneelspelen: ‘Op vier poten zien we er niet uit.’

‘Ik heb laatst een dag gewerkt met gemeentebestuurders. Het ging over bureaucratie. Nou, als er iets gaat over bureaucratie, dan is dat wel het werk van Samuel Beckett. Ik heb daarom ook theatermensen uitgenodigd om dat wat ik vertelde te illustreren met Becketiaanse teksten.’ Filosoof René ten Bosch, momenteel Denker des Vaderlands, is een van de drie curatoren van het… 

Resolved(?): Ombudsman Allegiance admits carelessness.

This was the email from the editor of Trouw, dated 9 May 2018: "Mr A. Bakx has had the phone number and email address we now have from him under this name since 2014. We therefore assume that he is A. Bakx." Was supported by an email to Erwin Roebroeks, which mentioned a telephone conversation with... 

Why Wierd Duk often does exactly what he fights himself.

Uproar. A widely recognised and by his own admission always attacked opinion maker with a slight preference for strong men in Russia and America has discovered that art is leftist and elitist. Indeed, Wierd Duk, Russia expert since he spent a few years running around Moscow for various media outlets, writes in the Telegraph that art is often left-wing kitsch[ref]N[ref][/ref]Wierd Duk has since revealed... 

Daria Bukvić holds up a mirror to theatres and companies on SPOT Live: 'I don't shy away from new forms of marketing.'

'With my performances, I always try to make people feel that they are really going to miss a happening. 'The first performance with personal stories of four Moroccan-Dutch actresses in the big theatres of the Netherlands, the newest this, the most surprising that.' Daria Bukvić is one of the most exciting creators to enter the theatre world in recent years. She is not only... 

Merlijn Twaalfhoven on SPOT-Live: 'Outside the Randstad lies a huge source of inspiration'

'I have knocked on the door of the Congres Podiumkunsten a few times in recent years on my own initiative, really from the idea that we can do much more as venues in the Netherlands. But then, every time I was there, people got enthusiastic, but does it stick?' Composer Merlijn Twaalfhoven is happy that he now serves as 'curator' of SPOT Live, the new... 

Even the rabble seem beautiful in Rome's 'flower power' era, and half of Europe wanted to experience it

If you went to Rome before the 17th century you were a pilgrim. If you went to Rome the century after that you were a searching artist. Did you go to Rome from the 19th century onwards then you were an honourable 'Tourist' on Grand Tour, seeking inspiration and moral uplift. Going to Rome anno 2018 you are a... 

Who pays the artist? Lower House hears about shocking reality in the arts in roundtable discussion

Whether the artists performing on DWDD got paid for their performance. Esther Ouwehand of the PvdD did not know. She was not the only one, at the roundtable session on Wednesday 25 April on the labour market in the cultural sector. None of the MPs, fund managers, trade unionists present knew. So we asked on facebook and twitter how it was even done.... 

A fertile repertoire landscape.

Performing arts policy greatly determines what can be seen and heard on Dutch stages. It underpins government funding of theatre and music. This policy pays a lot of attention to the quality of performances, but it hardly discusses the choice of pieces played, let alone what kind of repertoire landscape... 

Henri Swinkels deputy livability and culture province of North Brabant

Gedeputeerde Swinkels on opportunities for Brabant: 'Unlike in the national government, we already don't work in a 'disciplinary' way here. We don't put everything in boxes.'

The trigger for this story is that relatively recently, the Council for Culture published its sector foresight. The summary opens with the words that 'Culture moves'. A rather euphemistic statement in my view. In this case, it means that the making, spreading and experiencing of culture is constantly changing. The second very obvious observation of... 

Culture Council: 'The roots of the literary sector are being gnawed at'

In the week when defenders of the Dutch language are flying into each other's hair over whether or not a schoolgirl should read Multatuli in the original language, the Council for Culture comes out with its advice for the literary sector. Already in the first chapter, it reads: 'those who start reading at a young age become more language literate, start liking reading more.... 

Number of film festivals down 20 per cent last year. Amsterdam still leading with 47 film festivals.

Where can you indulge as a film lover in the Netherlands? With 54 festival editions in 2017, North Holland appears to be the province where you can enjoy film festivals most often. Amsterdam takes the crown with a whopping 47 film festival editions, according to a study by the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA). Lecturer Harry van Vliet of the Crossmedia lectureship of the HvA faculty,... 

Money does make happy, and writers' block is an illusion. Many myths busted on Evening of Herding.

Rather listen than read? Listen to the podcast here! (With lots of extra quotes from Ab Dijksterhuis) Money makes horribly happy. And that doesn't stop at 1 tonne. Those who earn half a million are considerably happier than those who earn 2 tonnes. The ING boss who would get 60 per cent more salary would also have become very much happier as a result. This... 

SPOT-LIVE takes you into the minds of leading, original and exciting creators and thinkers. 15 May 2018, Stadsschouwburg De Harmonie Leeuwarden

What happens when original and exciting makers and thinkers shape the SPOT-LIVE programme? If a leading philosopher, theatre-maker or musician is allowed to fill the stage with debate, what would it be about? If they were allowed to inspire you with work that touches them, what would they showcase? Get inspired by three curators who will share with you their views on... 

Live art is much more exciting than video and motivated goalies dive right. Learn this at The Evening of Herd Behaviour in Utrecht

The separation between the Netherlands and Belgium was due to an opera at the Brussels Monnaie Theatre in 1830. During a certain song in the opera De Stomme van Portici, the flame flared and the opera-goers ran out of the hall like an angry mob to chase Den 'Ollander out of town. Such behaviour turns out to be more logical than you... 

We gaan een drukke tijd tegemoet. En jij wil van FB af. Mis niets. Abonneer je op onze gratis nieuwsbrief.

Abonneer je op onze gratis nieuwsbrief. Omdat het kan! Dit is waarom. Holland Festival, Poetry International, een zomer vol kunst. En ondertussen wordt een heel nieuw kunstbestel in elkaar gerommeld. Nederland staat te springen om naar buiten te gaan, muziek te beleven, kunst mee te maken en foodtrucks leeg te eten. En het subsidiestelsel om te gooien. Het is een… 

Martine Dekker (Cinedans): 'The new generation does not respect the demarcation between the arts at all. That's very fun and interesting for a festival like Cinedans.'

Cinedans has been around since 2003. Back then, it was a single evening, part of Amsterdam's Julidans festival. Pretty soon, it grew into something bigger. According to Martine Dekker, involved with the festival since the 2011 edition, this was due to the overwhelming supply of dance films: 'From the second edition, filmmakers were invited to submit films,... 

'Nothing to Hide' in Nijmegen. A dragnet festival to objectively inform citizens

Apart from a lot of confusion, the advisory referendum law has also created a new category of festivals. The 'Ukraine referendum' spawned at least one festival (at Amsterdam's De Balie debating centre) and the dragnet referendum on 21 March 2018 prompted the 'Niks te Verbergen' dragnet festival in Nijmegen. Prominent member of the organising team is Viola van Alphen. With her foundation Violavirus... 

'The current museum loan system leads to decisions based on prejudice rather than fact.'

Museums often manage more art objects than they can display. What they cannot display in the museum galleries they keep safely in the depot. Collections with motley collections of objects from different periods are a growing problem for museums. Marketers stress the need for focus, a clear story and strong branding. Objects that no longer fit the new vision... 

Minister at presentation of vision letter: 'number of arts productions may have to go down'

Culture minister van Engelshoven says it is inevitable that the number of productions in the arts sector will go down. This is necessary to make the labour market for the arts sector healthy. She stated this in an interview after the presentation of her vision letter at Rotterdam's Maaspodium. 'You see that a lot has been produced in recent years to... 

Flemish Press Award for Watou report Harri Theirlynck

De beste culturele blog van 2017 is volgens Toerisme Vlaanderen de reportage ‘Waarom in Watou alles een andere betekenis krijgt (en het is niet eens vanwege het bier), geschreven door Harri Theirlynck. Dat is natuurlijk een fantastische eer voor Harri, die sinds een klein jaar publiceert op deze site. Het is natuurlijk ook heel fijn voor Cultuurpers zelf. Zo’n bekroning… 

Between nappy and dishes - the (in)visibility of female composers

Amsterdam, 8 March 2018. Today is Women's Day, no one can fail to notice. The media are brimming with articles about women's unequal pay and their still limited representation in prestigious positions. Whether in politics, business, academia or the arts. Perhaps the most conservative is the classical music world. There, the female composer has yet to... 

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