As this is D66 culture minister Van Engelshoven's presumably last budget year, the press release once again emphasises that a total of 95 million extra has now come into the culture budget during her tenure. It is too early to draw far-reaching conclusions.
That 8.6 million the fund is now minimally short of will probably be found somewhere, so the saw line will be shifted again. Then the sector can - virtually - continue for another four years. Another one and a half million may be added to shape the spread. Pleasing the art world is not that expensive, The Hague will notice.
Just over a year ago, Culture Press carried the story that Wim Hupperetz, director of the capital's Allard Pierson, had resigned from his post as chairman of the museums and heritage advisory committee to the Culture Council. The reason was Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven's decision to hand over control of the policy of the national museums to...
Creativity expresses itself in Dutch politics mainly in bookkeeping. On 29 June, just before the start of the three-month summer recess, the Lower House actually found money to save pop festival Noorderslag and dance company Scapino from collapse. That demise would become a reality in the new arts plan, which takes effect in 2021, as the Council for Culture...
When the Council for Culture released its long-awaited musical advice a month ago, its president Marijke van Hees was remarkably nervous. This was particularly evident in her choice to act as moderator at her own presentation. When there, at Amsterdam's Allard Pierson Museum, came (very mild) criticism of the advice, she shot to the defence. That became...
Duizend scholieren per dag in de Tweede Kamer. Niet minder dan dat. Dat wil Cultuurminister Ingrid van Engelshoven. Kost 4,8 miljoen. Geld dat u feitelijk gaat betalen via uw theaterkaartje, het bibliotheekboek, de museumticket. Want van die 4,8 miljoen had ook echte kunst gemaakt gemaakt kunnen worden. Het is een grote vraag waarom het verplichte Tweedekamerbezoek bekostigd moet worden vanuit…
Het staat er echt, al is onduidelijk of er nou tweemaal 100 miljoen bijkomt of dat de publieke omroep en de hele cultuursector het met één keer 100 miljoen meer moeten doen. Maar het is in ieder geval duidelijk: net als in de rest van het concept-verkiezingsprogramma neemt de partij vooral afstand van de VVD en het vier jaar lang…
There is no such thing as free money. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has shown that many times. Extra money turns out to be a cigar from its own pocket. The ministry has elevated cash shifting to an art. Of course, it sounds so nice, all that extra money for the cultural sector, but where does it actually come from? Simple: by abolishing tax breaks for private individuals with listed buildings....
That 10 million is officially in. The art world is doing its best to sound grateful. The employers in the performing arts, gathered in the NAPK, have sent Bussemaker a thank you. Because she is not cutting 300 million from culture, but only 290 million. The extra money raked together last year by various lobbyists and parties is now anchored in the...
There is turmoil in the performing arts. This is because Culture Minister Jet Bussemaker has implemented a couple of motions from the opposition. The minister has also ignored the advice of the Council for Culture for a more balanced budget distribution. So, after much agitation on social media, we received a letter on Friday 28 August 2015. From the festivals, addressed to the minister,...
Those who apply for grants but do not receive them must be given insight into the applications of others who have been honoured. That is the most remarkable ruling by the Council of State in the case Holland Opera won against the Performing Arts Fund. Much more important for the company itself, of course: according to our highest court, the Performing Arts Fund decided in 2012 to grant Holland...
The second chamber was also keen to know what exactly Culture Minister Bussemaker meant by that 'cash shift'. After all, it was that cash shift with which she could festively announce that she would put an extra 18 million into culture, after 2017. In a letter to the chamber, the minister has now shown how creatively she can bookkeep. A few costs...
Where minister Bussemaker tries to sell the same overall budget as "an extra investment of 18 million" with the new "cash shift" and municipalities like Amsterdam use the old-fashioned cheese slicer to make cuts, the municipality of Enschede uses the blunt axe. Despite fierce opposition and 27,000 signatures from concerned citizens, the city council agreed to an additional annual cut of 600,000 on the library and...
The repair of cultural subsidies by more than 18 million, announced by culture minister Bussemaker on 8 June 2015, mainly concerns a perpetuation of earlier patchwork. That patchwork was necessary in recent years to smooth the crudest consequences of the cuts by her predecessor Halbe Zijlstra. That predecessor is now in the chamber as a coalition partner, to ensure...
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