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Museum directors: is their role as figureheads and media artists becoming more important than as art history experts?

Dutch museums, partly due to the recent digital Museum Week, have been able to retain a large part of their audience. There is - reports the Museum Association on its website - a slight turnover though. And the hitherto loyal public will not find their way to museums automatically and to the same extent. But the picture is that the... 

Uncollect

For a week or two, the word uncollect has been in my head. An Amsterdam politician suggested selling Roy Lichtenstein's As I opened Fire. Estimated proceeds: 40 to 50 million. With that money, Amsterdam's art sector could be saved and, if there was some left over, work by new artists could also be bought. The politician himself holds... 

Catharsis under the Christmas tree - the 5 best films to end this terrible year with

Especially in a bizarre year like this, I need hot films: classics, found footage or children's film, all are allowed. As long as it deals with big emotions or offers the perfect escapism. Like every year, there is plenty to enjoy on TV. Not like every year, there is no option to seek refuge elsewhere, but streaming offers the solution. Five tips to get through Christmas.

De stiekeme sloop van het Nationale Theater in Tirana tijdens Corona is nog maar het begin

The sneaky demolition of the National Theatre during Corona: This is just the beginning.

Albania's National Theatre, recently declared a protected monument by Europa Nostra, was unexpectedly destroyed on Sunday, 17 May, after two years of protests. Early in the morning, when it was still dark, the bulldozers came. A sudden wave of policemen wearing mouth caps chased activists and artists out of the theatre and formed a cordon around the audience.... 

Requiem for an ideal music lover. 'Grandpa Hippo' is no more: Frans Curvers dies, aged 91

'Thea, have you heard that new piece yet? It's beautiful!' And there plopped another wetransfer in with a recording by Kate Moore, Pete Harden, Calliope Tsoupaki or any other composer. Frans Curvers was at the front of every (world) premiere. Whether it took place at Paradiso in Amsterdam, De Doelen in Rotterdam, TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht or a backstreet church somewhere.... 

Cinedans 2020: the digital edition

Cinedans, the festival for dance and film, was supposed to open 25 March and be the hub for dance film, as well as workshops and discussions, until 29 March. Obviously, this cannot continue. The festival will not be postponed but cancelled this year. An alternative that should ease the pain a little for this year is a nice and varied offering of short and... 

World-famous 'brooding work' - why Monet's water lilies and wisteria are still so special

People used to think it was three times nothing, but today the paintings of water lilies and wisteria are the most famous canvases by French painter Claude Monet. We visited his gardens in Giverny and took a peek through the eyes of the master. Mugs and socks When you think of the painter Claude Monet, the first thoughts probably go to his colourful canvases... 

'I am interested in situations or people that are overlooked in everyday life.' - Meriç Artaç two seasons guest composer of Day in the Fire.

'I always draw out my characters before I start composing. They are inspired by people I see on the street, personalities I admire, details that make someone special... I usually focus on one specific aspect of a character, a dominant mood that I then highlight in my composition.' Born in 1990 in Istanbul, Meriç Artaç was already... 

Culture Council advisory committee chairman steps down: 'Nobody checks state museums anymore'

Wim Hupperetz, director of Amsterdam's Allard Pierson, has resigned his position as chairman of the museums and heritage advisory committee to the Council for Culture. In protest, he says, against the irresponsible way in which the minister is now implementing the Culture Council's advice. 'If this continues, we will soon be giving millions of euros to a few... 

An app won't get you there. Why the minister should make archiving all arts mandatory

The heritage sector is not the sexiest sector of the Dutch cultural world. Even though nude exhibitions are flying around your ears this season, you're more likely to think of obscure museums, monuments, stamp collections, old stuff. This is how it happened that the Digital Heritage Netherlands Foundation could exist for almost 25 years without anyone in the 'more popular' arts (stage, film, literature)... 

With the Drents Museum back in time to forgotten Nubia- Land of the Black Pharaohs

When one thinks of pharaohs, one quickly thinks of Egypt, the land of pyramids and the Nile. However, south of Egypt - in the Nile region of present-day Sudan - kings and pharaohs also ruled. This area was called Nubia. For a long time, this culture and society was portrayed as a colony of Egypt. Unjustly so. The new exhibition Nubia- Land of the... 

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"; Chihuly's glass masterpieces dominate the Groninger Museum

According to those in the know, he is a master of glass creations: Dale Chihuly. Dynamic, colourful and fascinating. It is not just glass art, but installation art. The world-famous American artist's works are a feast for the eyes. Sensations of light and colour. Although the name may not ring a bell right away for most people, there is a good chance... 

Curious: arts sector support institutes turn against plans for new theatre and music sector institutes

There are quite a few petitions floating around these days. The most curious of all petitions was in the digital mailbox today. In it, the existing support institutes in the cultural sector urge the Lower House not to put money into new support institutes. In doing so, clubs such as the Landelijk Kennniscentrum Amateurkunst (LKCA), Cultuur+Ondernemen, and the Boekmanstichting put in a small but... 

Nude and naked. Two worlds as far apart as Bergen and Delden. (podcast)

Two private museums in the Netherlands have made human flesh the subject of an exhibition this autumn. In Bergen (NH) it is about Bare, and in Delden (Ov) it is about Nude. But where one exhibition (at Museum Kranenburg in Bergen) seems to be mainly an ode to the free-spirited 1970s and what happened afterwards, Museum No Hero in Delden puts... 

People no longer want to be seen as toys. We can't get around it. Museums can't get around it.

Searching for what I stand for and what path I should take, time and again I come across facts that confuse and amaze me. I live in a country where only a single woman is in De Volkskrant top ten most influential people - in tenth place, that is. Only three out of 100 young Dutch millionaires... 

AFFR: A true Rotterdam film festival with a mission

'Architecture has always been seen as an afterthought. I see it as a necessary thing, not an extra. You now see, for instance, that technocrats have taken over power. They come up with a technical solution for everything. They can make buildings that are well insulated, that use geothermal heat: that is now the job of the builders. But all these technocrats forget that it's... 

Freek and Hella de Jonge hold open house at Groninger Museum

Finally, the Groninger Museum has got it together. For six weeks, you can admire Hella and Freek de Jonge at the museum. Not only their art, but also the people behind the works. Art meets performance art meets reality show. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A glimpse into the couple's kitchen; also literally, because Hella goes into the... 

'Without screws, the (art) world collapses. Welcome to the empire of the 'Screw King' of southern German Künzelsau

Manufacturing screws and collecting art is on the face of it like Max Verstappen to Leonardo da Vinci. German billionaire Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Reinhold Würth, owner of Europe's largest fastener and assembly equipment company, has a total of 10 art museums in Europe and four art annexes in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, France and Spain. No art cathedrals... 

How drinking beer and Haute Couture go together just fine at the Fashion + Design Festival Arnhem

When I thought of fashion, I pictured an elite group at the catwalk: catty models and hostile designers. After my visit to the Fashion + Design Festival Arnhem, all those images have been completely adjusted. In the month of June, everyone in fashionable Arnhem seems to be working together. Fashion designers walk fraternally with each other in a fashion parade, sharing studios, catwalks and celebrating... 

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