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friction costs

Bussemaker doesn't invest in youth theatre: she cuts a company out permanently

Every company 50,000 euros more. Youth theatre in the Netherlands should be very happy with the letter culture minister Bussemaker sent to the chamber last Monday. After years of squeezing under Halbe Zijlstra, finally more air for the makers. But the investment of 4 tonnes a year turns out to be a cutback. In fact, Bussemaker is only giving a gift to eight companies. Company... 

Grand Theatre Groningen

Grand Theatre 'not too big to fail': bankruptcy looms for Groningen hotspot

The Grand Theatre in Groningen is dying. Yesterday, the city council of the northern university city decided that no more money should be poured into the theatre, which is in acute cash trouble. Bills from suppliers and independent artists have not been paid for several months, and financial reserves are more than depleted. We have received reports from artists... 

logo Netherlands Association for Performing Arts

Reden 6 voor geen excuses aan Halbe: ‘Prematuur, tendentieus en schadelijk voor de sector’

Ook het deftige deel van de kunstsector reageert woedend op de uitspraken van de VVD, vanmorgen  opgetekend door De Telegraaf. Daarmee komt het aantal redenen voor de sector om geen excuses aan te bieden aan Halbe Zijlstra op zes. Waar we  eerder al vijf redenen gaven, verklaart de Nederlandse Associatie van Podiumkunsten nu ook dat we pas in de loop… 

Lower chamber talked about art. We followed the debate for you

We kept a liveblog. Nice and old-fashioned, from the days when every month there was uproar somewhere about the government's handling of art. Now there is peace in the tent, as the PVV sardonically points out, because 'The Left' is now the bearer of policies devised by the PVV. The PVV predicts a black future for 'The Left' once the PVV comes to power.

Theatre Museum collection to be lost for good

[July update: the 2nd chamber passed a motion instructing the cabinet to save the collection from destruction. Where this is to be paid for, however, is still unclear]

It is now becoming clear where the laissez faire-laissez mourir (let it be done, let it die) policy of Halbe Zijlstra, Martin Bosma and Mark Rutte will lead. Of the dozens of institutions that will close, downsize or die off in the coming months due to vacancy of quality staff, the demise of Theatre Institute of the Netherlands (TIN) is starting to take on very tragic proportions.

How two orchestras sold an international revenue model as regional

Recap: Er zijn teveel orkesten in Nederland, vindt de regering, en dus moeten er een paar weg. Of samengaan. Nu schijnt dat gedwongen fuseren niet erg van harte te gaan. Maar je kunt er wel geld mee verdienen. In Gelderland en Overijssel leidt dat tot bizarre taferelen. Het zou komisch geweest zijn als het niet zoveel geld had gekost.

Om vijf ton extra binnen te kunnen halen, trekken het Nederlands Symfonie Orkest en het Gelders Orkest één lijn. En met succes: de provinciale overheden van Overijssel en Gelderland vangen de subsidiekorting van het rijk op. Nu blijkt echter dat de plannen waarmee die redding is binnengeharkt, dubieus zijn. De politiek heeft daar nauwelijks naar gekeken. Vragen over het businessplan kwamen in Overijssel vooral van de PVV, maar in Gelderland stemde die zelfde partij na een – opmerkelijk vernietigende – contra-expertise juist enthousiast in met de miljoeneninjectie.

'Ajax states' in sudden war between Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and National Travel Opera

This week, the National Travel Opera begins rehearsals of Mozart's Le nozze di figaro. In the bin, the brand-new Netherlands Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jan Willem de Vriend. Business as usual, as the two companies have been working closely together for years and are united in the National Music Quarter Enschede. Only: orchestra and opera company have not been talking to each other since last week.

Krabbendijke loses library, North Holland 'saves' youth theatre, while Brabant 30% cuts further on arts

The cut-away Metropole Orchestra is getting some air from the minister. She is willing to use the necessary friction costs to support the transition over the next four years from the Media Budget, provided it stays there. That is, the orchestra may use its own severance payments to be independently 'on the market' from 2017. As much as it shows... 

Noodkreet theaterschool Roosendaal op valreep, Kunstplaats Veenendaal geschrapt. Kortingsnieuws uit alle regio’s

(..) De Jeugdtheaterschool Roosendaal ontving in 2010 en 2011 een projectsubsidie van 36.779 euro van de gemeente. De school vervult ook een regiofunctie. Van de 330 leerlingen komt veertig procent uit de omliggende dorpen. Het voorstel is de subsidie per 1 januari te beëindigen. Pas deze week is dat kennelijk bij de directie van Hofplein doorgedrongen. Die startte meteen een… 

Orchestra members fired without waiting pay? A new collective agreement could cause that

On Thursday 27 October, FNV KIEM, the Nederlandse Toonkunstenaarsbond (Ntb) and NAPK sector orchestras discussed the terms of employment of musicians employed by the Randstedelijke and Regionale Orkesten that fall under the collective labour agreement Dutch Orchestras. Out of a total of 11 Dutch orchestras, nine are covered by this collective agreement. The orchestras of the Muziekcentrum van de Omroep and the... 

Even if they quit, Halbe Zijlstra is cracking down on culture clubs

Letters from Culture Secretary Zijlstra are dangerous, especially when they are about figures and schemes. And we haven't seen the latest one for now. So right now, it is about 'friction costs' for the cultural sector. These are the costs that subsidised institutions have to incur when their existence ends due to the subsidy freeze. Think redundancy payments, damages, flower arrangements for funerals of suicides and selling real estate at a loss.

Reply Zijlstra (culture) to question on friction costs confirms chamber did not pay attention in June

It came as a shock that still hasn't quite worked out. Haf September, dozens of arts organisations received a letter from the State Secretary for Culture, informing them that they could start using the subsidy they thought they were getting for projects until 31 December 2012 for redundancy procedures, selling property at a loss and staff lawsuits against... 

Letter Zijlstra is just a request for information. But it does include a tickable invitation to suicide

Has state secretary Halbe Zijlstra the Lower House lied or misled in June when he stated that rushing through the culture cuts was necessary to absorb friction costs? Or does it just turn out to be improper governance?

It's final: the format for arts subsidies until 2016 is with the chamber

We have another letter from the secretary of state for culture. Halbe Zijlstra has sent it to parliament, to make it official that from 2013 a very bleak wind is going to blow in arts land. That makes cuts of 200 million final, still excluding the probably 150 million in so-called friction costs that the ministry also has to get from somewhere (u... 

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

Eigenlijk was er maar één compliment voor het kabinet, dat bezig is om gemiddeld 30% te korten op een sector die werk geeft aan tienduizenden Nederlanders. Tijdens de hoorzitting die de tweede kamer op maandag 20 juni belegde was alleen cultuursocioloog Arjo Klamer positief over de daadkracht die staatssecretaris Zijlstra aan de dag legde. Dat hij vervolgens wel vond dat… 

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