All about politics, policy, society and how those things relate to culture and art.
Yoga and mindfulness at work are popular, but there is a new trend in 'workplace wellness': dancing at work! On 17 May, Dance to the People is organising the Dance@Work conference in Utrecht. During this event, dance professionals will show business how dance contributes to the well-being of managers and their teams. With this initiative,...
The Culture Council wants it. Everyone wants it. And Utrecht wants it too, of course. A physical sector institute, where an old PC is humming in a corner containing the total digital archive of Dutch theatre, and music, of course. Plus a library. With real books, scripts, photos. In 2012, the building was divested and the memory could...
Today, the Culture Council comes out with one of the weaker advices in its existence. The Netherlands' highest cultural advisory body showed vision, leadership and boldness earlier this season with the 'Verkenning' and the 'Sectoradvies Muziek'. The exploration called for a reversal of subsidy flows, with urban regions taking the initiative. In the advice for the music sector, it broke...
On 25 January 2018, the Musical Awards were presented with, as we are used to, many translated reruns and calibrated repertoire. Also notable was the appreciation for new Dutch work. Many a writer will have been cheering on the sofa when 'Was Getekend, Annie M.G. Schmidt' won the awards. Does that bode well for the future? Can today's (small)...
The neat couple next to me, in the front row at the Holland Festival press conference, hadn't counted on it for a moment. Four members of the Nederlands Kamerkoor starting to undress one by one down to their pecker-sized nakie. A giggle, a small cough, but hey, this is the Holland Festival, they said to each other. So too...
Bouke Oldenhof. Where was he all this time? Writing, but mostly in Frisian (which also meant he had no time to work on his website). And so you can't get through to the rest of the Netherlands. The man who won countless hearts with the unique gem 'Rolbrug'. Mine too, and...
The previous cultural exploration among playwrights gives cause for further exploration. From the earlier article, we take away that further privatisation only partially captures public money and objectives. See also from elevation ideals to efficiency thinking. We also take away that a public as all-important leads to one-sided popular culture, entertainment and false competition with the free circuit. It all has very little...
Toneelgroep Amsterdam and Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam will continue together as 'Internationa(a)l Theater Amsterdam' (ITA). Not to be confused with the just-removed Internationaal Danstheater Amsterdam. I find the name 'ITA' rather chilly. Maybe as cold as Toneelgroep, but at least that still contained the word 'group'. That has something cosy about it. ITA is something like ING. Great ambition and no roots. For a moment...
In my work, I entice people to come into contact with art. And especially art with a big K. The art that is often marketed as 'difficult' or, in an attempt to get rid of its negative image, as 'vulnerable'. Liberal politicians would perhaps say art that 'doesn't act normal'. It is the kind of...
William Kentridge and Faustin Linyekula. Remember those names, if you didn't already know them, because they are going to help shape the face of Holland in the coming year. They have been appointed by the Holland Festival as 'associate artist'. In doing so, the festival puts the phenomenon of 'artistic director' out of business. A necessary choice at a time when the price for that kind of figure is faster...
Opinions differ on the size of the pot of money waiting for them, but 'urban' makers in particular do not yet know how to find their way to our art subsidy system. That is why the three cultural funds that deal mainly with performing arts have appointed ambassadors in a number of Dutch cities. These 'Matchmakers' should narrow the gap between The Hague and 'the region'....
'Good literacy is a prerequisite for functioning - now and in the future - in our information society and knowledge economy.' This was stated in the press release sent out by KVB Boekwerk last week. The occasion was a SCP study which showed that we in the Netherlands are again spending less time reading than a decade ago. It listed impressive percentages. 'Over...
Leïla Slimani, de Marokkaans-Franse auteur die met haar roman Een Zachte Hand de prestigieuze Prix Goncourt in de wacht sleepte, heeft ter elfder ure afgezegd voor Winternachten. De reden was niet de storm van donderdag. DE reden was persoonlijk. Maar zou ook te maken kunnen hebben met iets anders. De hoofdgast van het Internationale Literaire Festival in Den Haag, Alain Mabanckou,…
'Writing and reading, like sex, are a form of fusion. Literature is the practice of impurity'. Pakistani-American author Mohsin Hamid can formulate. In his Free the Word speech at the opening of Winternachten in The Hague, the man, who wrote an international bestseller with The Fall of a Fundamentalist, made a case for impurity. 'Purity,' he told the...
A hopeful experiment has begun in Finland. The Netherlands is also trying to get something off the ground, although the government is thwarting the plans for now. Why is unclear. Because even big-capitalists like Elon Musk (Tesla) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) are now saying it: a Universal Basic Income (UBI) is the only way we can advance our society, and with it our civilisation...
Good news! The hashtag #metoo has finally led to action. There will be a hotline. The press release came today. 'The performing arts, film and television sectors have joined forces to launch an independent and umbrella hotline for sexual harassment.' This is more unique than you might think. In the performing arts, and certainly in the film and television sector, the situation is disastrous with the...
Next Thursday, at Utrecht's TivoliVredenburg music palace, it will not be about music for once, but about work. During the event The Future of Work, internationally renowned professor Paul Boselie will throw a big punch. According to the author of the international handbook 'Strategic Human Resource Management', employees and employers lack the much-needed sense of urgency about...
The growth of the Dutch cinema sector continued in 2017, but Dutch cinema remains a problem child. Despicable Me 3 was the most visited. Soof 2 was, as in 2016, the most successful Dutch title. How is the Netherlands doing internationally? And what are we looking forward to in 2018?
We are going to live smaller. It is not only in the popularity of the TinyHouse movement that young people and seniors can shake hands. We want to de-clutter, but we also want to have less to do with the big bad outside world. This applies to older people, but certainly to those in their twenties as well. This movement has been going on in the arts for a while. Small ...
Meer dan een miljoen Nederlanders voelt zich zeer eenzaam, aldus de Gezondheidsmonitor 2012. Hieronder zijn steeds meer jongeren – alle sociale media ten spijt. Misschien zouden we deze ‘eenzaamheidsepidemie’ een halt toe kunnen roepen als we ons realiseerden dat geen van ons werkelijk alleen is. Wat we zo vaak vergeten, is dat we direct verbonden zijn met duizenden anderen: de mensen…
Well, we're not big on hypes and traditions here, but still. The dark days around Christmas are very dark this year, so why not something with lists. This year, no list of toppers from the editors, but random entries from random readers, in random, if slightly alphabetical order. Motto of the reader question was: which things...
An ancient melody floats, crackles and drones through the town hall of Aarhus, Denmark. The city is close to being European Capital of Culture. That is why we hear the same song at the handover ceremony as when it was launched on 21 January. Then Aarhus celebrated the start of Aarhus, European Capital of Culture and 'Jeg drømte mig en drøm i nat' thundered through the Aarhus streets....
When I write job postings in the cultural sector, I receive wonderful letters. Candidates are usually graduates in an arts-related subject from a college or university and have internships or work experience at cultural institutions of repute. They are usually female, white and have completed their studies with fine grades. Yet I struggle with a problem: I live and...
One of the great things about France is that it is not raked. On any bike ride, or walk along that overgrown path that started out so beautifully, you might just bump into a ruin. Such a ruin that we here in the Netherlands would soon turn into an attraction, if we hadn't long since demolished the piece of unattended real estate to make way for...
A Saudi prince is paying $450 million for a mediocre painting by Leonardo da Vinci; a Dutch politician is pledging a crate of beer for a new composition. In a nutshell, these two extremes capture our current dealings with culture. Total contempt on the one hand and unimaginable overvaluation on the other are two sides of the same coin. We do not judge art for its...
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