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THIS IS A CALL TO THE MINISTER OF CULTURE: Support our arts! My plea for a collective fund for all the arts

It is high time for collective action, now that arts organisations have closed and activities are at a standstill. Plea for a support fund for culture, to which governments, funds and companies contribute in unison. We all notice it: live cultural offerings are at a standstill due to the coronavirus. Much has been written and talked about the importance and value of culture in recent weeks. That... 

Read More "THIS IS A CALL TO THE MINISTER OF CULTURE: Support our arts! My plea for a collective fund for all the arts

'Bring all the venues in Amersfoort together in one management group.' Bernard van Gellekom has an unorthodox vision of cultural survival at the time of Corona.

'If you can put only a quarter, or even less, in a hall that normally holds 600 people, then the tickets do become very expensive, because your costs don't change. Then my popular heart starts beating again: should we really want something so elitist?' Bernard van Gellekom is an important figure in the Amersfoort pop scene. In his home... 

Read More "'Bring all the venues in Amersfoort together in one management group.' Bernard van Gellekom has an unorthodox vision of cultural survival at the time of Corona.

CULTURAL SECTOR APPEALS TO SUPPORT MEASURES PROVINCE

Cultural institutions in the province of Utrecht say they "fear for the survival of the province's finely-meshed arts and culture sector" in a letter to the Provincial Executive and Provincial Council. They are sounding the alarm about the consequences of the corona measures. The letter was drafted by over a hundred institutions: venues, both larger ones in Amersfoort and Utrecht and smaller ones in other municipalities, museums,... 

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Finally a mature debate on culture. VVD stresses importance of culture for local business climate. #tkculture

The cultural sector should listen more closely to the minister's mother. Who said: 'You can be sad for a long time about what you didn't get, also be happy about what you did get.' Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven cited her mother in the closing stages of the inserted budget consultation on the incidental aid to the sector, which was declared last week.... 

Read More "Finally a mature debate on culture. VVD stresses importance of culture for local business climate. #tkculture
OFF Projects photo Milena Twiehaus

Three well-known dance companies get nothing more in The Hague's new arts plan

The Advisory Multi-Year Policy Plan Arts and Culture 2021-2024 for The Hague was presented online on Friday 24 April. What stands out for dance in this City of Dance? Inclusion and diversity What at least stands out is that in the plan, the word 'inclusion' appears 110 times and 'diversity' 96 times. Then you know what time it is. Yet the Advisory Committee also gives... 

Read More "Three well-known dance companies get nothing more in The Hague's new arts plan

Culture podcorocastnapers (22): Surely some form of gathering should be possible again in the autumn? ISH will be awarded Holland's biggest culture prize on 23 November.

'We would have actually been presented with the award last week at the premiere of Grimm. That was our big production this season that was to play 30 times. But after the second rehearsal, we were able to stop. It seriously looks like we won't be seen in theatres this year. When in autumn the... 

Read More "Culture podcorocastnapers (22): Surely some form of gathering should be possible again in the autumn? ISH will be awarded Holland's biggest culture prize on 23 November.

Bending, concrete and brown sugar: why Paulien Cornelisse can't get bored of Japan

Long before flower arranging, forest bathing and tidying up in Japanese became hype, Paulien Cornelisse was already a big fan of the country. Her new book Japan in a hundred little pieces is like a manual Japan for beginners. Her love for Japan once began with Bobby & Kate's colourful, mole-sweet-smelling eraser - similar to Hello Kitty - that... 

Read More "Bending, concrete and brown sugar: why Paulien Cornelisse can't get bored of Japan

Culture Press podcastcorona (21) - Oscar Kocken: 'Not being allowed to perform your work for six months is pretty gross.'

'Yes, of course it was something we already saw coming in every way. That made me mentally prepared. But then when you actually hear it... It's just SO sour. It's every time - I don't blame anyone, to be clear - but every time you get bad news, you try... 

Read More "Culture Press podcastcorona (21) - Oscar Kocken: 'Not being allowed to perform your work for six months is pretty gross.'

HOLLAND FESTIVAL 2020 CANCELLED, 'ONLINE FESTIVAL' IN PREPARATION

It is with great regret that the Holland Festival is forced to cancel the 73rd edition, which was to take place from 4 to 28 June 2020. The corona pandemic's persistent, domestic and foreign restrictions and uncertainties make it impossible for the international performing arts festival to take place. The ongoing, restrictive measures that the central government had to announce 21 April last,... 

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Reintroducing an old support measure would mean a new incentive for creatives.

The Cabinet is allocating an extra three hundred million euros to cushion the damage of the corona crisis in the cultural and creative sector. This is an important step in the right direction and will actually help a number of institutions get over the bridge. By doing so, the cabinet is also sending a signal: that culture matters. Moreover, Rutte and his... 

Read More "Reintroducing an old support measure would mean a new incentive for creatives.

Zeeland has already fallen. Why processing arts plan grant applications has become pointless, but may still need to go ahead.

Right now they are all still zooming or in an MS Teams meeting, the dozens of advisers and committee members appointed to assess the hundreds of grant applications for the new arts plan 2021-2024. But in all likelihood, they are no longer talking about the applications, but about how to deliver the news that the procedure is stalled. The province of Zeeland... 

Read More "Zeeland has already fallen. Why processing arts plan grant applications has become pointless, but may still need to go ahead.

Virtual life after death does have a price tag in Amazon Prime's Upload

With amazement, I become aware of the 'sacrificing your elderly fellow man' attitude of many here in the Netherlands. Dor wood. Not money, but the love for it is the root of evil. Right now, I wish a virtual heaven were possible - so that those who have lost someone and may not be able to say goodbye to them either... 

Read More "Virtual life after death does have a price tag in Amazon Prime's Upload

This Was The News is more enjoyable without an audience than Sunday with Lubach

We must continue to get through the already theatre-less weekends this spring and summer without Sunday with Lubach and This Was The News. Their season is over. The latter remained witty without an audience, Lubach in my opinion did not. How did that happen? Five weeks ago, when the shows first recorded it without an audience, it was noticeable that Sunday with... 

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In times of Corona, do you really need to build a new theatre with a precorona design? Culture Press Corona podcast in times of Den Bosch (20)

80 million it should cost, and it should hold a lot of people, with three theatres, and it should all happen on the lot now occupied by the Theater aan de Parade in Den Bosch. That has proved so difficult that there has been fuss about it since 2006. Now there is a draft, approved and all, of... 

Read More "In times of Corona, do you really need to build a new theatre with a precorona design? Culture Press Corona podcast in times of Den Bosch (20)

How is it possible for the government to let the self-employed in the cultural sector, who once again prove to be oh, so important to our society, stand in their way?

I love the passion and love with which everyone in the cultural sector works. There is a conviction and perseverance behind it that can be compared to a faith. The belief that art is essential to society. Driven by a primal feeling, we bite into it and won't let go. But weren't we all... 

Read More "How is it possible for the government to let the self-employed in the cultural sector, who once again prove to be oh, so important to our society, stand in their way?

Culture Press Tonapodcast (19): Willemijn Mooij had to cancel the Matthew Passion: 'Leading from a distance is hard for me'

'Last (Silent, ed.) Saturday we ventured out to dinner at friends', my husband and I once again. We were tired of just talking about Corona. Then we agreed to have a music night. We all work in classical music, but agreed to listen to precisely no classical music. It became a... 

Read More "Culture Press Tonapodcast (19): Willemijn Mooij had to cancel the Matthew Passion: 'Leading from a distance is hard for me'

Netflix helps Dutch Film Fund support filmmakers affected by corona crisis

Netflix and the Netherlands Film Fund today announced the establishment of a new support fund. This is to provide help to collaborators on film and TV productions that have come to a standstill due to corona. Netflix is making €1 million available for this purpose. An amount comparable to the budget of a small Dutch feature film. This is part of a broader package of... 

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Drop in the bucket arrived. 300 million extra for culture. (And Belgium cancels all festivals until 31 August, then the Netherlands cannot be left behind)

While the Belgian government has just announced the cancellation of all festivals until 31 August, Mark Rutte in the Netherlands pronounced two very difficult words: 'theatre' and 'museum'. This was followed in Hilversum by a worship service for the minister led by the high priest of our culture, Cornald Maas. While they sat at the non-existent make-up, the... 

Read More "Drop in the bucket arrived. 300 million extra for culture. (And Belgium cancels all festivals until 31 August, then the Netherlands cannot be left behind)

(Update: government still announces extra money.) Dear government, Dutch culture is not a question of supply and demand, but of what we are or are not.

Update Wednesday 15-4, 16:00: this afternoon, the government has decided to come over as yet with additional schemes for the cultural sector, which are now no longer taken out of the culture budget. Apparently, the massive pressure helped. We will let you know when more is known about it. Update Wednesday 15-4, 20:00: Drop in the ocean arrived, leaving the below message only.... 

Read More "(Update: government still announces extra money.) Dear government, Dutch culture is not a question of supply and demand, but of what we are or are not.

Film tip this week: Festival of short film Go Short goes online

The short film is the poetry of cinema. This statement by a Berlinale programmer is cited with approval by Go Short. This internationally highly regarded festival for short films - stepping stone for the Oscar and other awards - was supposed to have taken place in Nijmegen in early April. But, unsurprisingly, corona drew a line under it.... 

Read More "Film tip this week: Festival of short film Go Short goes online

Dancing in times of Corona: all you need is yourself and a chair and a closet.

We are now a good month after the start of the intelligent lockdown. Slowly, a new normal is beginning to emerge, where we are no longer exclusively fanatically following all the tweets about corona. The concerns are still there and certainly where the cultural sector is concerned. The entire sector, nationally and internationally, is engaged in the titanic task of keeping the public... 

Read More "Dancing in times of Corona: all you need is yourself and a chair and a closet.

J'Accuse - is Polanski's latest film about the Dreyfus case or the creator himself?

It is 1895. Colonel Georges Picquart (Jean Dujardin) has just been promoted, to his own surprise, to head the French army's intelligence service. To get rid of the sewer smell there, literally and figuratively, he frantically yanks on the window in the musty office. It won't open. A touching image in J'Accuse, one of the most talked-about films of this... 

Read More "J'Accuse - is Polanski's latest film about the Dreyfus case or the creator himself?

OCW finds reporting 'premature': 'No extra Corona money to rescue cultural sector' Ministry of OCW must solve crisis within existing budget.

The Culture Council will soon be commissioned to produce a plan for the cultural sector to survive the one-and-a-half-meter society. The commitment of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is, to solve this within the existing financial frameworks. This is what sources at the top of that ministry have reported.

'A lot of people are waiting for the moment when they can sing together again. Make sure that by the time Corona is over, they still have that opportunity.'

Maybe I am not looking closely but I miss in the various media, as I did years ago during the demolition policy, the role of amateur music practice on which many a musician depends. At the moment, the focus is partly on venues and theatres asking their visitors to accept vouchers or donate their tickets. Fine... 

Read More "'A lot of people are waiting for the moment when they can sing together again. Make sure that by the time Corona is over, they still have that opportunity.'

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