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ACTUAL

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

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Podcast! Louis Janssens on 'Desire': 'It's nice to be personal, but I don't want to make a diary play, so I also lie quite often.' #TFBOULEVARD

Louis Janssens is a young, ambitious theatre-maker from Flanders. With a string of rave reviews behind his name, he seems to have effortlessly found his place in the theatre world. This year, he is a prominent guest at Theatre Festival Boulevard in Den Bosch. His latest play, 'Desire', will premiere at the Verkadefabriek on 3 August. The play highlights the delicate... 

Read More "Podcast! Louis Janssens on 'Desire': 'It's nice to be personal, but I don't want to make a diary play, so I also lie quite often.' #TFBOULEVARD
Fisherman's friend

'Darkness with something of hope' - Second #Zomergasten under Theo Maassen delivers impressive Fishermansfriend moment

At a little before half past eleven, Sunday evening 30 July, cabaret performer and gifted interviewer Theo Maassen asked world-famous cameraman Hoyte van Hoytema: "What's the question you don't get answered?" Hoyte: "Shit, are you going to close with that?!" It was in the telling finale of an extraordinarily impressive second episode of Zomergasten 2023. An episode, too, in which we talked a lot about cinematography... 

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'Give municipalities their own culture budget'. Interest groups put pressure on new election manifestos (and sort for BBB)

The creative sector is pushing for a radical change in the arts subsidy system. This is evident from the lobbying documents (position papers and suggestions) sent to political parties' election programme writers. The largest and most important of them, the theatre boards (VSCD) and Kunsten 92, want the national government to give municipalities a clear and specific culture budget ('earmarked') from now on. By doing so, they want... 

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image from the trailer of The Utility's performance Good Keep Money

Theatre maker exposes inequality: performance raises €101,332.80 in surplus capital

Utrecht - With the performance Good Gold Money, theatre maker Greg Nottrot (artistic director of the NUT) managed to raise €101,332.80 from his audience this spring. This production was received with high praise by both the press and the audience and responds to that strong feeling that ''something has to change'' from both the creator and the audience... 

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Theatre Group Alum: BOUDICA - Iron Age Warrior Queen premiering on 29 September 2023

The latest Aluin production Boudica will premiere at Theatre Kikker in Utrecht on 29 September 2023. In this production, actor Jilles Flinterman tells the story of Boudica, the Celtic queen and Iron Age Warrior Queen, who to this day is seen as a symbol of female rage. If anything is written about women in... 

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Festival Circolo presents the free street theatre festival Porto Circolo during the Tilburg Fair!

Programme Several free performances can be visited at Porto Circolo every day. The programme includes performances by Close Act, Lapso Cirk, Zinzi and Evertjan, EAEO, Skypunch Collective, Fabuloka, Hendrick Jan meets Merel Kamp and House of Circus. Want to know more about the programme and performance times? Check out the website! Locations Porto Circolo takes place in and around Piushaven. Both... 

Read More "Festival Circolo presents the free street theatre festival Porto Circolo during the Tilburg Fair!

The Silence: A festival, premiere, dernière and summer

During the 7th edition of the Brabants International Children's Festival (BRIK), our latest performance Voor de Draad Ermee premiered and we presented Mankind with Paul van Kemenade and Stevko Busch for the last time. For the Wire With It premiered On Saturday 24 June, For the Wire With It premiered to a full house in the Chassé Theatre!.... 

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Michiel1972, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

'Cabinet, reign on!', says Arts '92. How did it come to this?

Above all, we must continue with the favourable arts policy initiated by the fourth Rutte cabinet. That is what the arts umbrella organisation Kunsten ´92 says in a letter in response to the fall of the last cabinet under that name. This is a remarkable turn of events after 13 years in which most of the art world wanted nothing more than to get rid of the... 

Read More "'Cabinet, reign on!', says Arts '92. How did it come to this?
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Colonial collections returned to Indonesia and Sri Lanka

The Netherlands is returning 478 cultural objects at the request of Indonesia and Sri Lanka. During the colonial period, these objects ended up in the Netherlands unjustly, through looting or coercion, for example. State Secretary Uslu (Culture and Media) has decided on the return. In doing so, she is following the very first recommendations of the Colonial Collections Committee chaired by Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You. The works... 

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Romana Peace links ongoing slavery to her personal suffering

Respect for the many resistance fighters against slavery connects Romana Peace in 'Time will teach us' with anger at 'the system' in which exploitation continues, and with the pains in her personal life. Lokay, a teenager still, flees from the plantation on St Maarten, is caught again and physically punished by the white owner: a breast cut off, she bled almost to death in hellish... 

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ensemble Wuthering Heights. Photo: Steve Tanner

Holland Festival 2023: a programme with great artistic scope and new audiences

The 76th edition of the Holland Festival opened on 1 June with Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Simon McBurney and closed on 1 July with Requiem for Nature by Tan Dun, Pierre Audi and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. With over 80,000 visitors, an average audience attendance of over 80% and many sold-out venues, the festival was... 

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National Archives, 1.05.12.02, inv. 154 (Caption: Register on the Rekwesten tot den uitvoer van Slaven van het Jaar 1834-1835)

INDICES OF SLAVERY HISTORY ARUBA AND SINT EUSTATIUS ONLINE

Searching for information on persons who lived in slavery on Aruba and Sint Eustatius has become easier with the online posting of two indexes and corresponding scans of colonial archives. The indexes can be searched from 30 June on the website of the Archivo Nacional Aruba (ANA) and on the website of the National Archives. In the index Aruba: slavery... 

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Tryater exchanges internationally on small theatre languages

On Thursday 29 June, a Tryater delegation will travel from Leeuwarden to Bautzen, Germany, where a robust three-day conference between international theatre companies will take place as part of the European minority language association phōnē. During the three-day event, politicians, linguists, minority language experts and theatre-makers talk to each other about the language situation, goals and challenges in diverse minority language areas. These days, companies from all over the world meet in... 

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Marianne Versteegh says goodbye - photo Culture Press

Arts sector yearns for freedom - Marianne Versteegh bids farewell to Kunsten'92 after 31 years, with rare inspiring symposium

If you want to do research out of curiosity, you should especially not apply to the government for money. Whether you are a scientist or an artist: in The Hague, they want you to know in advance what you are going to find and what it will yield. Anoek Nuyens, who caused a furore with her performance 'De Zaak Shell' (The Shell Case), could therefore produce her next... 

Read More "Arts sector yearns for freedom - Marianne Versteegh bids farewell to Kunsten'92 after 31 years, with rare inspiring symposium
boulevard poster

Boulevard full programme announced

It's time to get puzzling: the full programme of Boulevard 2023 is available from now on. In addition, Boulevard Magazine 2 is also out, containing background articles, filters to help you choose and, of course, a look at this year's programme. Brain gymnastics Earlier, we already announced thirteen names and now you can find the complete programme.... 

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CocoRosie - PR image

CocoRosie live at Holland Festival: remarkably accessible and solid, and so is the festival itself

The Casady sisters, since they went through life together as CocoRosie in 2003, have developed a totally unique sound. Yesterday, they were guests at the Holland Festival, at the invitation of their friend ANOHNI. The latter, as associate artist, introduced this year's festival audience to the female and queer side of the New York art scene. CocoRosie are with... 

Read More "CocoRosie live at Holland Festival: remarkably accessible and solid, and so is the festival itself

'Self-employed workers during corona especially let down by large structurally subsidised arts institutions'

"The corona crisis exposes some weaknesses of the cultural and creative sector. In this most flexibilised sector of the economy, the flexible shell proved to be an easy austerity option during the corona crisis. As a result, self-employed workers have partly had to seek refuge outside the cultural and creative sector and may not return." What we already heard, saw and knew... 

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Organic dairy farm

Art knows all about symbols, so bring on those sustainable symbol politics!

"The easiest gain is then to produce less. Because high production implies a lot of energy and material use, travel movements and other forms of impact." Last week, the Council for Culture's long-awaited opinion on sustainability was released, and sooner than I could click 'open', all was set. Came all because of the above sentence, which, mentioned in... 

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'Peace, trust and continuity central to cultural subsidies'

Fair remuneration, trust in the cultural sector and less administrative burden are among the main principles for the cultural subsidy period 2025 - 2028. State Secretary Uslu (Culture and Media) thus wants to bring as much peace to the sector as possible in the coming years. She is also tackling a number of bottlenecks, for example in the youth performing arts. She is largely following the advice of the Council of... 

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Strong push needed to make cultural sector more sustainable

Sustainability and culture can reinforce each other, but a strong impetus is needed to accelerate the sustainability of the cultural sector. So says the Culture Council's advisory report 'Culture Naturally'. The advice is addressed to the cultural sector as well as to municipalities, provinces, the state culture funds and the most concerned departments. The council advocates more cooperation on... 

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Ivo van Hove in 2020. Photo by Jan Versweyveld

IVO VAN HOVE STEPS DOWN AS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ITA

Even though they are not yet members at ITA, let me pass on this press release. Because of its (inter)national importance. Coming: Ivo van Hove (1958) will end his role as artistic director of ITA on 1 September 2023. This means that he will then hand over his position as statutory director and artistic director. The Supervisory Board (BoS) intends to appoint Eline... 

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Clare Stewart new business director of IFFR

Earlier this year, business director Marjan van der Haar announced her departure from IFFR. It was announced yesterday that Clare Stewart will be her successor next week. Stewart has earned her spurs at numerous leading festivals, including the BFI London film festival and BFI Flare London, the British Film Institute's LGBTQIA festival; the Sheffield documentary festival... 

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Freelancers and Media Monitor 2023: Rates of freelance journalists and photographers lag behind inflation

The rates of freelance journalists, writers and photographers have hardly changed over the past eight years. Payment per word in 2023 is still around 35 cents, the hourly rate comes to an average of €61 and payment per photo to €60. Adjusted for inflation, rates have even fallen. This is according to research by the Dutch Association... 

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Culture Press podcast, the Holland Festival edition: the most feminine festival ever?

The first half of the Holland Festival is pretty much over, so time for Team Culture Press to take a look at what that first half has brought us. A lot, according to Helen Westerik and Wijbrand Schaap, and also many real highlights. 'Perhaps the best edition in years.' Among other things, we discuss the intimate installation 'Evolution of Fearlessness', look back... 

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14 June Action Day Screenwriters Everywhere: Dutch screenwriters and directors in solidarity with striking US colleagues

On 14 June 2023, the Authors' Association's Screenwriters Network and the Dutch Directors Guild are joining the global day of action Screenwriters Everywhere. In doing so, we support the 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East, who have been on strike since 2 May. Actions are planned in more than 20 countries. Screenwriters in the... 

Read More "14 June Action Day Screenwriters Everywhere: Dutch screenwriters and directors in solidarity with striking US colleagues

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