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ACTUAL

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

Grassroots Arts Centre in Lucas

Small arts initiatives in the US are going to have a very hard time

Opponents of government support for arts and culture quite often cite the United States of America as an example of how things can be done differently. There, according to these people, no tax money goes to art and culture, and art is there despite this. Others point out that America does have government support for art, and that much of the top art in the US is partly... 

Delft opens with fewer chamber music surprises than other years

For another 15 years, the Delft Chamber Music Festival, so named to reflect its international character, has encompassed 15 years. Violinist Isabelle van Keulen handled the chamber music festival's programming for the first ten years, Lisa Ferschtmann - also a violinist - took over from her five years ago. But even this already successful festival fears the upcoming budget cuts. A pity, because what... 

Loyal festival-goer doesn't let his festival go down the drain

Rain, rain, rain. That looks bad for the festivals. Right? "Weather has less of an impact on a festival than people think," says Noorderzon's Mark Hospers. And they should know. Last year they had a lot of rain, and at the same time sold a record number of tickets. How is it that bad weather seems to bother the festivals little?.... 

Ingmar Bergman becomes opera at Grachtenfestival

Amsterdam, 1999. Studying Theatre Science, first-year theatre analysis class. I sit with notepad and pen clutched in fingers, making indecipherable notes. Halfway through the lecture, Sjaron Minailo (Tel Aviv, 1979) saunters in, dressed in a huge fur coat, with big Gucci sunglasses and dreadlocks. With a sigh, he plops into the back lecture bench, hears three sentences of the disrupted lecturer's speech 

If the children laugh and the parents cry, the performance is successful

"It's interesting here," says a lady with a two-year-old daughter, "and good for her development. And they have delicious apples with cinnamon here." The Children's Parade is ice creams, the carousel and baking your own poffertjes. But also taking your parents to performances. Getting them into the tent and making them forget the turmoil of the grounds for a while is the job 

Do we want top entertainment or still tragedy on the Parade?

"The Parade is like a snack bar. I come here to soak up atmosphere, drink wine and, in addition, be made to think a bit by the performances. But then that shouldn't last too long." Looking for the essence of the Parade performance, Cultural Press Agency knocks on the door of visitors, The Sadists and John Buijsman. "It's already just cosy... 

Theatre Institute Netherlands to continue as museum, perhaps in Arnhem

Clever, of course, but also perilous. Although - hanging over the abyss - there will be little else to do, but turn the TIN (Theatre Institute of the Netherlands) into a Performing Arts Museum. From 2013, because then the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science's money tap will close. In doing so, the institute will implement a rescue plan that will at least save the collection. Whether this will also save the... 

That was him then. The March of Civilisation. And so was the chamber's Culture Committee debate on Halbe Zijlstra's letter.

With a small break for much-needed sleep, we were active for over 27 hours with a liveblog on the March of Civilisation. Hard work, and at first we suffered from some start-up problems. After all: setting up such a liveblog requires some structure in the approach. We had introduced a few so-called #hashtags, such as #marsderbeschaving, which on twitter allow people to share their... 

Thousands of runners, thousands of website visitors during Civilisation March 2011

Of course there are 'trolls'. Opponents of 'leftist hobbies' and supporters of the thesis that good art will survive on its own. Our liveblog on the March of Civilisation, which we had filled partly by following Twitter hashtags, turned a bit sour. We cleaned that up a bit, took out the loudest screamers (also pro, incidentally) and a few striking political... 

Successful Holland Festival closes record edition amid uncertainty over future

Photo: Pierre Nydegger To conclude. The 2011 Holland Festival could well be historic. Not only was it the festival that attracted the most audiences for years, it was also the festival that took place while a minority government of populists, nationalists and materialists proclaimed the end of art subsidies. We therefore look back on a festival in which we were able to meet with... 

Going into the market without denying yourself - that's the issue

Sponsorship repels audiences. That could be a conclusion of the research carried out at Oerol by Inholland's professorships Media, Culture and Citizenship and Media and Entertainment. 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... 

Photo: Jochem Jurgens

The Kiss and DUS in final stage award nominations

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... 

That could well be a big event next weekend

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... 

Stage pollster provides useful figures on the performing arts

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,... 

Cultural policy Rutte cabinet advised against by patrons and entrepreneurs; PVV absent from hearing on future of Dutch culture

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... 

"We still spend hundreds of millions on culture"

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... 

Die Jahreszeiten, in OT's version, fits perfectly into the Flemish-Dutch Opera Days

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... 

The Dodo revives for Holland Festival edition 2011 #HF11

This week the Holland Festival erupts and we are there. We are producing a Dodo Festival Day newspaper with a sizeable team of professional journalists, as we did before for Springdance and The International Choice of the Rotterdam Schouwburg, for example. We follow the festival closely to bring news as it happens. We go to see performances where others... 

Limburg lion awakens: the heartland of the PVV rebels against culture cuts

When even André Rieu gets involved, the asparagus is done. 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... 

Rascals and heroes battle for power at Utrecht Festival a/d Werf

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... 

Ministry of OCW cuts a little more of the truth than we already proved on Friday

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 (a lot) less or (a lot) more money on... 

'You can't become a successful cultural entrepreneur if you don't understand how a symphony orchestra works'

The opening images are apt: 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... 

Ten theatre performances you should not have missed according to the jury of the Dutch Theatre Festival. Agree?

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... 

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