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Brabant feud between orchestra and province comes at the expense of children, schools and small companies.

Cultural summit will take place Friday, February 1, 2019, at the North Brabant Provincial House. Reason: The 'Orkexit', or, the decision by the Philharmonie Zuid Nederland to cease all education activities in North Brabant with immediate effect. This not only deprives thousands of children of culture, but also puts a number of small youth theatre companies in dire financial straits. The Philharmonic, a merger orchestra, formed... 

Read More "Brabant feud between orchestra and province comes at the expense of children, schools and small companies.

Kind of a recovery in the performing arts, but pay particular attention to what's happening in the southern Netherlands

As part of "Hi, Figures!", Statistics Netherlands today released updated figures on the performing arts in the Netherlands. These show a cautious recovery, although the consequences of the 2011 interventions by the VVD and PVV are still painfully visible. The figures show that theatre in particular is struggling. There, the... 

Read More "Kind of a recovery in the performing arts, but pay particular attention to what's happening in the southern Netherlands

Lakedance is well organised: 'You don't have to walk around lost, nice and handsome people everywhere, no complaints anywhere, clean toilets!'

"In the Netherlands, we are actually on holiday," Daphne (40) and Ilja (26) say with a laugh. They are travel experts, with Japan as their core destination. "I visit a few festivals every summer, but whether I'm really a festival-goer? Not so much, I think." Seven years ago, Daphne was last to Lakedance, now she is "getting up to age" and got to go for... 

Read More "Lakedance is well organised: 'You don't have to walk around lost, nice and handsome people everywhere, no complaints anywhere, clean toilets!'
Henri Swinkels deputy livability and culture province of North Brabant

Gedeputeerde Swinkels on opportunities for Brabant: 'Unlike in the national government, we already don't work in a 'disciplinary' way here. We don't put everything in boxes.'

The trigger for this story is that relatively recently, the Council for Culture published its sector foresight. The summary opens with the words that 'Culture moves'. A rather euphemistic statement in my view. In this case, it means that the making, spreading and experiencing of culture is constantly changing. The second very obvious observation of... 

Read More "Gedeputeerde Swinkels on opportunities for Brabant: 'Unlike in the national government, we already don't work in a 'disciplinary' way here. We don't put everything in boxes.'

Good news for Urban artists in need of money. Three cultural funds are proposing eight 'Matchmakers'. (But at least 12 are needed)

Opinions differ on the size of the pot of money waiting for them, but 'urban' makers in particular do not yet know how to find their way to our art subsidy system. That is why the three cultural funds that deal mainly with performing arts have appointed ambassadors in a number of Dutch cities. These 'Matchmakers' should narrow the gap between The Hague and 'the region'.... 

Read More "Good news for Urban artists in need of money. Three cultural funds are proposing eight 'Matchmakers'. (But at least 12 are needed)

Lavalu's nocturnal movement

High up in a posh flat, Lavalu (stage name of Marielle Woltring, Cleveland, Ohio, 1979) recently gave a try-out of her new programme at Eindhoven's FlatFest festival. For the first time now, she will tour without a band, solo with piano, in small venues where there is a good grand piano. On that Sunday afternoon in Brabant, it soon became clear that somewhere, something was... 

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'American novels with a horse on the cover are always very good.'

In The Horseman, a father lets his daughter from the city go into hiding with her grandfather who lives in the countryside. The girl has a loverboy-like relationship with the leader of a dangerous criminal gang. With his granddaughter's forced stay, not only two generations collide, but also past and present, city and country, man and nature. The only connecting... 

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New Year's Eve lottery winner overturns culture cuts

A usually reliable source reports that the winner of the New Year's Eve lottery wants to dedicate a significant part of her prize to culture. In this way, she wants to undo the cuts made by Rutte I. Six million will go directly to the Dutch Travel Opera. Another four million is earmarked for a new integral performance of Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen. Also scheduled is a revival of Tristan und Isolde... 

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Garry Feingold and Ger Jager, Dance Makers, 2012. Photo: Jean-Pierre Jans.

Extremely rare landslide possible in contemporary dance in the Netherlands.

In contemporary dance, artistic leaders are often in place for decades, at least in the Netherlands. This week, Leo Spreksel announced his departure from Korzo, as of September 2017. After 29 years, the director and programmer of dance at the theatre and production house in The Hague is calling it a day, because "in the Netherlands, commercialisation is pushing away the voice of artists: procedures and formats are... 

Read More "Extremely rare landslide possible in contemporary dance in the Netherlands.
Hieronymus Bosch: Garden of Delights triptych.

Masterpiece Hieronymus Bosch dominates opening Festival Boulevard #tfboulevard

Adding three tonnes a year is cause for celebration. But Viktorien van Hulst, at the helm of the Bossche Theatre Festival Boulevard for the second year, had to restrain herself in her opening speech. Because the subsidising Performing Arts Fund does not give money to a large number of well-performing fellow institutions despite a positive assessment, the suffering in the performing arts exceeds the joy. Torn is called that.... 

Read More "Masterpiece Hieronymus Bosch dominates opening Festival Boulevard #tfboulevard

Jan Fabre's gems keep atmosphere of Hieronymus Bosch alive

Calm has returned to the North Brabant Museum in 's-Hertogenbosch. After more than 400,000 people saw the successful and widely acclaimed Hieronymus Bosch exhibition, the halls are now light and quiet again. No more opening hours from early morning to midnight. Just, peace and quiet. Although the Jan Fabre mosaics hanging there now are disturbing. Mosaic Panels 2016 is... 

Read More "Jan Fabre's gems keep atmosphere of Hieronymus Bosch alive

Culture Council fill-in exercise offers hardly any surprises

Champagne bij BAK in Utrecht, diepe teleurstelling bij Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam: de Raad voor Cultuur heeft gesproken. Vandaag, donderdag 19 mei 2016, kwam het eerste advies na de draconische kunstbezuinigingen door het eerste kabinet Rutte uit, en er rollen koppen. Amsterdam verliest de prestigieuze presentatie-instelling De Appel, in Den Haag moet collega-instelling Stroom zijn huiswerk overdoen. Het Orkest van het Oosten en het Gelders Orkest moeten binnen 2 jaar met fusieplannen kom...

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Storioni Festival: champagne bottle whose cork almost pops off

Thursday 21 January sees the start of the ninth edition of the Storioni Festival, dedicated to the five-hundredth anniversary of Hieronymus Bosch's death. Free after his famous triptych Garden of Earthly Delights, the musicians of the Storioni Trio and Frank Veenstra, artistic manager of Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, chose the theme 'Dreams and Demons'. Composer in residence is Poland's Krzysztof Penderecki, who became famous... 

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Hans van Beers is no more - another loss for Dutch cultural life

On Tuesday afternoon, 25 August, Hans van Beers (Eindhoven, 1941) passed away. He was an important figure in our cultural life, his curriculum is seemingly endless. Among other things, he was alderman of culture in Den Bosch, co-founder of Pinkpop, chairman of the Mondriaan Fund, interim director of the Stedelijk Museum, director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the VPRO and the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music, board member... 

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Safely out of hiding, but then?

The opera Poland in Plan Zuid will premiere at the Liberal Jewish Community in Amsterdam on Sunday 19 April. Composer Caroline Ansink and librettist Olaf Mulder based their work on Daniël Vermeulen's (pseudonym) memories of going into hiding in Brabant and his subsequent reunion with his mother in Amsterdam in 1945. Three questions for Caroline Ansink. Why... 

Read More "Safely out of hiding, but then?

Supervisory failure at HET Symphony Orchestra: drama that could have been avoided

The money at HET Symphony Orchestra has run out. Despite all the extra millions from the province and after years of writing off tons of general reserves, the end is in sight. And so the orchestra is scrapping concerts, will be seen less in theatres in Deventer and Zwolle, stops CD recordings and shuns any risky performances. To keep the... 

Read More "Supervisory failure at HET Symphony Orchestra: drama that could have been avoided

10 viral stories from Culture Press for 235,000 real readers

Always start with the good news. The Information Department of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science did a very good job in 2014. They sent one jubilant press release after another into the world. While there was actually hardly any good news to report. About culture. But because there are a lot of lazy journalists, good news often goes in a... 

Read More "10 viral stories from Culture Press for 235,000 real readers

See monumental visual art? Go to the opera!

For fine art, you go to the museum, especially in Amsterdam and especially now that all the museums have reopened. But there is also another option: the opera. There you see visual art that doesn't fit in any museum, not even in the largest room of the Rijksmuseum. Take the Greek sculptor Jannis Kounellis. From today, his work is a... 

Read More "See monumental visual art? Go to the opera!

Joop Daalmeijer Marathon (5) "All balls on Amsterdam", I'm not into that at all.

Wijbrand Schaap: ‘Nu over de rol van de steden. Een van de reacties op onze site gaat over de rol van de randstad in het cultuurbeleid. Melle Daamen legt het primaat in de randstad, en gaat daarin verder dan de Raad.’ Marathon-interviewNaar aanleiding van de ophef rond Melle Daamens opiniestuk over het kunstbeleid zijn we uitgenodigd voor een ‘gesprek over… 

Read More "Joop Daalmeijer Marathon (5) "All balls on Amsterdam", I'm not into that at all.
Photo: Wijbrand Schaap

'Cuts do lead to loss of quality' The great Arts Council interview (1): "Patronage is, of course, bullshit."

Joop Daalmeijer: 'I never authorise. I find that such nonsense. A journalist should just do his job properly.' Wijbrand Schaap: 'We agree on that then. We write up everything in full, but because conversations about everything tend to be endless, I want to hang it on the Culture Exploration. That's the most concrete piece and the most topical, and it... 

Read More "'Cuts do lead to loss of quality' The great Arts Council interview (1): "Patronage is, of course, bullshit."

8 enticing words about Festival Boulevard.

Het is het meest ambitieuze zomerfestival van Nederland: Festival Boulevard in Den Bosch wil niet alleen het mooiste schouwburgtoneel van de lage landen laten zien, maar ook de vetste spektakels, en jongste nieuwe makers en de vrolijkste buschauffeurs. En dat allemaal in 10 dagen, in eens tad waar de lokale krant zijn best doet om cultuur zo eng mogelijk te maken. We vatten de boel even voor u samen in 8 verleidelijke woorden.
Louis
Alsof Louis van Gaal vier jaar lang de lokale FC komt coachen. ...

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5 lessons from a Tilburg riot: superficial newspaper determines superficial cultural politics

Regionale kranten doen vrijwel niet meer aan echte cultuurjournalistiek. We weten dat, want het was de reden waarom we Cultuurpers ooit opgericht hebben. Hoe erg het er nu, 5 jaar later,  voorstaat met kunst in de regio en de manier waarop de krant ermee omgaat, bleek deze maand in Tilburg. Een lokale journalist van het Brabants Dagblad had een stukje geschreven over vragen die een Statenlid van de PVV in de provincie had gesteld. In het nieuwsverhaal kwalificeerde deze voormalige sportjournalis...

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NRC doesn't count right: not 11, but at least 34 groups gone due to cuts

Volgens NRC Handelsblad werden de bezuinigingen op cultuur voor 'slechts' 11 theaterinstellingen fataal. Zij gaan hierbij uit van groepen die zichzelf daadwerkelijk opgeheven hebben. In hun overzicht zien zij echter de gezelschappen die zich vrijwillig hebben opgeheven door te fuseren met een ander gezelschap over het hoofd. Daarnaast zijn er een aantal instellingen die zichzelf al voor de nieuwe ronde hebben opgeheven, omdat al duidelijk was dat ze geen geld zouden krijgen. Rekenen we die wel m...

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November Music focuses on multimedia

's Hertogenbosch 9-11-2012 - November Music werd afgelopen woensdag succesvol afgetrapt en focust ook in zijn twintigtse editie op multimedia. Het duo Strijbos & Van Merwijk was er al vaker te gast en kreeg die middag de Prins Bernhardcultuurprijs Noord-Brabant, uitgereikt door voormalig Concertgebouwdirecteur Martijn Sanders. 's Avonds trok hun voor het Amerikaanse strijkkwartet ETHEL gemaakte multimediaspektakel Cross Avenue veel publiek, de twee voorstellingen van Cloud-Messenger van Fred...

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