All about politics, policy, society and how those things relate to culture and art.
Sponsorship repels audiences. That could be a conclusion of the research carried out at Oerol by Inholland's Media, Culture and Citizenship and Media and Entertainment lectorates. With the central question "How can Oerol survive without government funding?", they are exploring the audience's reaction to commercial expressions. "The question is how to apply marketing strategies without...
The Utrecht Games (DUS), with its successful production August Oklahoma, immediately wins three nominations for the theatre awards to be handed out in September: Ria Eimers for best female lead, and Peter Bolhuis and Tjitsjke Reidinga compete for the prizes for best supporting actress. Percentage-wise, however, much more successful than DUS is De Kus, a production by Hummelinck Stuurman, because there the...
We are not big on copying press releases directly, but this one accidentally slipped in. For those who didn't know it yet, but tout art is going loopy on Sunday and Monday for the preservation of sanity in the Netherlands. Although that will have no effect on the architect of the cut, PVV member Martin Bosma. Even the cultural sector in Limburg (Geert...
Gerard Marlet is becoming a veritable numbers guru for the Dutch arts sector. His latest publication concerns the "Podiumpeiler". We have embedded it for you. Worth reading, not only for number and art freaks. After all, many discussions about whether or not money goes to art, whether or not full theatres, they can now all be equally well based on the facts. Useful,...
Actually, there was only one compliment for the cabinet, which is in the process of cutting an average 30% from a sector that employs tens of thousands of Dutch people. At the hearing convened by the second chamber on Monday 20 June, only cultural sociologist Arjo Klamer was positive about the decisiveness shown by State Secretary Zijlstra. That he did subsequently think that...
Stronger than ever in recent years, the influence of spin doctors on politics has been noticeable. While at first it was only the PVV, in the person of Martin Bosma, who introduced the American methods of 'framing', it is now also standing Cabinet policy. We all know the Henk and Ingrids, the hardworking Dutch and the head rag tax. And now there is the...
In the Netherlands, the view of opera is mainly guided by concert practice. As such, the Dutch approach to this genre differs considerably from what is common in the rest of Euroa. This is evident from the fact that over the past century, investments have been made in concert halls that are among the best in the world: the Amsterdam...
Deze week barst het Holland Festival los en wij zijn erbij. We maken met een flink team professionele journalisten een Dodo Festivaldagkrant, zoals we dat eerder ook deden voor bijvoorbeeld Springdance en De Internationale Keuze van de Rotterdamse Schouwburg. We volgen het festival op de voet om nieuws te brengen wanneer het zich voordoet. We gaan voorstellingen zien waar anderen…
When even André Rieu gets involved, the asparagus is cooked. In Maastricht, but also in The Hague. Because André Rieu, that's Limburg, that's popular culture, that's, according to the ministry, the country's most important export product and if it says you have to keep your hands off the Limburg Symphony Orchestra, then you keep your hands...
There is no such thing as the perfect human being. We are all crooks. Or is there a way to get it right? Ilay den Boer and the actors of De Utrechtse Spelen / De Warme Winkel each explore in their own way at the 26th edition of Festival aan de Werf. Wasn't my grandfather just an asshole? That...
Case in point: more people are against cuts than the ministry would have us believe. On page 32 of the now heavily controversial brochure 'Cultuur in Beeld', the ministry writes: "In the CDE, carried out at the end of 2010, citizens were asked to indicate from 17 policy fields whether they think the central government should spend (much) less or (much) more money on...
The opening images are striking: Joop van den Ende among men in togas, behind a real Pedel (the man with the bells), apathetic. And rightly so, of course. Because the once head man of cultural-entrepreneurial Holland, who started out in a party goods shop, achieved academic status without ever studying. For the man who always felt somewhat disadvantaged by the cultural and intellectual...
How bad is it really? A few lied lines in a Ministry of Education, Culture and Science booklet? Pretty bad. Because it's an outright lie, and a government that lies is not to be had. Because: how can you trust them anymore?
Of course, you were all lining up for that legendary Richard III by Orkater with music by Tom Waits. Or you had locked yourself in for Oostpool's small-room gem 'Till the fat lady sings', or you just didn't want to miss an episode of O O Cherso and The Voice of Holland. Anyway: now you know what you...
Russian conductor Valeri Gergjev was back in Rotterdam for a while, for one concert. He conducted his own orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), in de Doelen. The famous orchestra played repertoire that we in our country know inside out: Gustav Mahler's 1st symphony and Dmitri Shostakowich's 1st piano concerto. A now historic combination: because the Netherlands has become fused...
There is an interesting 'drone' underneath, and that may strike someone as menacing. In any case, the video at the end of this article has more meaning than many culture lovers might think. The fact is that the sweeping cuts made by the UK government through their 'Arts Council' have met with hardly any protests in retrospect, while the disproportionality in the cut...
[View the story "Theatre sector versus Council for Culture" on Storify]
Je fietst er als Utrechter makkelijk aan voorbij, de Basis voor Actuele Kunst (BAK) in de Lange Nieuwstraat, maar internationaal kunnen maar weinig mensen eromheen. BAK is big. Het centrum is onder leiding van de even onuitsprekelijke als sympatieke artistiek directeur Maria Hlavajova uitgegroeid tot een toonaangevend centrum in de wereld van de actuele kunst. Een paar jaar geleden mocht…
Although the announcement of 'sonic tapestry: Shoes, part V' by Tomoko Mukaiyama can be read as a variant of Sex and the City on classical music, Sarah Jessica Parker would forever look at her Manolo Blahniks differently after seeing Mukaiyama's performance. This very special piano recital was Saturday 7 May at LP2 (Room 2 of the Rotterdam...
Ongeveer tien jaar geleden stond er op het grote podium van de Rotterdamse concertzaal De Doelen een frêle en nog zoekende jonge vrouw, een singer-songwriter in een andere taal dan Engels. Soms in het Portugees maar meestal in het criollo van de Kaapverdische eilanden presenteerde deze Sara Tavares met minimale begeleiding haar cd ‘Mi ma bô’ die haar later internationale…
It was predictable. Now that the Culture Council has given the secretary of state a go-ahead for massive and very deep cuts in dance, the first press releases are appearing with the outraged reactions. The National Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater are aggrieved: 'How
We at culture press did not use the word cheese slicer, so it is not about us, but still. Today, the Council for Culture is reacting rather furiously to the many negative reactions to its advice issued last week. Of course, it is also kind of unfortunate that the Council has to issue an opinion that it itself does not support at all, and then the...
State Secretary Halbe Zijlstra does not like whining. Don't come to him with email bombardments, Twitter campaigns, angry letters and abusive language. He is not only insensitive to it, it even backfires on him. At least that is what he told
Our overview of Twitter responses to the Council for Culture's advice, released on 29 April. [View the story "Twitter reacts to Council for Culture advice" on Storify]
Opnieuw maken we gebruik van een nieuwe webservice. Om eens te kijken hoe dat werkt. Laat het ons gerust (in de comments) weten als je ons te geeky vindt. Gaan we er wat aan doen. [View the story “Springdance 2011” on Storify]
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