Skip to content

politics

Via Intolleranza II is an irresistibly witty theatrical chaos about the construction of an opera village.

photo: Aino Laberenz

The lung cancer survivor who died last year Künstler Christoph Schlingensief - all-rounder, provocateur, director, life artist - gets on the Holland Festival an extended tribute: the opening performance Mea Culpa, a programme of seven feature films, and Schlingensief's swan song Via Intolleranza II.

Deathly ill caught Christoph Schlingensief up the wild plan to move into Burkina Faso an opera village from the ground up, Remdoogo. A self-sufficient sanctuary where people from different cultures could meet, and to make art together there for an extended period of time. This follows similar initiatives such as the Avenida Theatre in Mozambique, set up by author Henning Mankell. Schlingensief sought to merge art and life. Driven by a long-standing fascination with the rich African culture, and inspired by the ideals of his great hero Joseph Beuys.

Via Intolleranza II is Schlingensief's attempt to capture, in a maelstrom of documentary, music, visual art, film, performance art, lecture, opera and theatre, the early process of becoming Remdoogo. A performance about a process. At the same time, Schlingensief also seems to question his own motives. Via Intolleranza II was his swan song - he died three months after the premiere. The show will have its Dutch premiere on Saturday 4 June.

Gergiev comes to Rotterdam with a top orchestra and top repertoire, but audiences are used to that from him

Russian conductor Valeri Gergjev was back in Rotterdam for a while, for one concert. He conducted his own orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), in de Doelen. The famous orchestra played repertoire that we in our country know inside out: Gustav Mahler's 1st symphony and Dmitri Shostakowich's 1st piano concerto. A now historic combination: because the Netherlands has become fused... 

“Op je knieën, gouverneurtje!” David Byrne wint rechtszaak tegen misbruik ‘Road to nowhere’

Het was zo fijn, het nummer ‘Road to nowhere’ van de jaren tachtig-band Talking Heads gebruiken om je politieke boodschap over te brengen.  Nu ja. Ex-Senator en Gouverneur van Florida Charlie Crist dacht ermee weg te komen, en dat is hem in politieke zin misschien gelukt, financieel gaat hij er flink op achteruit. Het schadevergoedingsbedrag is niet bekend gemaakt, maar… 

Province investigates: 'Utrecht worth 1 billion more thanks to arts sector'

Art costs money. The current Rutte administration has hammered that into it: it's expensive, no one but a small club of insiders goes there, and either way those are leftists or pseudo-leftists who can easily pay for it themselves. So much for the government's opinion. The opinion of the art world can be guessed: it is... 

'There are provinces where you can vote VVD or CDA just fine'; new website gives voting tips to art lovers

It looked like a party. Coffee and flan, a Maastricht song, brass band music and a speech by Prince Carnival. Optimism surrounded the launch of the website nadeschreeuwnudestem.nl on 21 February. Surely the cry for culture in November was mainly a voice of dissent. Now there is a chance to take forward-looking action. 'Mobilise everyone you know to join the March 2... 

Liszt's music is too important to ignore

Fransz Litszt, born in 1811, explored every nook and cranny of the piano in his work, trying to incorporate every conceivable technique. As this contemporary of Carl Czerny, Niccolo Paganini and Richard Wagner was born 200 years ago this year, so there is a Liszt year. The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra bit the bullet of that on Friday 28 January,... 

What exactly does Mark Rutte say about the arts? It fits in 1 minute and it's not quite right.

We zijn politiek neutraal en zelfs in de subsidiediscussie proberen we dat vol te houden. Immers, iedere medaille heeft een keerzijde en het is niet de taak van de media om altijd en eeuwig partij te kiezen. Maar nu dit. Mark Rutte werd zondag 16 januari 2011 geinterviewd door Clairy Polak in Buitenhof en zij spraken een minuut lang over… 

Peter Van Straaten wins Inktspot Prize 2010 with strikingly placed crucifix.

'The drawing is literally and figuratively striking, painfully comic and wry: it brings tears and laughter at the same time. The combination of the boy's peaceful pose with the cruel assault on his body lingers in your mind. The print needs no text; it could appear in any European, even global newspaper, so powerful and universal is... 

Column: "As soon as they start embracing art in the PVV, right-thinking people should start watching out."

The Hague is quite complicated for those who do not visit it on a daily basis. I was there last Monday, as a spectator at the discussion of the culture and media budget, and it has taken me until now to fully understand what is going on. For that understanding, being there live was essential. After all, to understand a social system like the Lower House, you not only have to listen to what is being said, and see who is speaking, much more important are the 'listening shots': the body language and actions of those who are not speaking.

Concert hall finds wealthy partner for education and development in Deutsche Bank

The Concertgebouw Amsterdam has found its first 'partner' in the large capital-rich business community. With this, the Dutch world-famous crown jewel fulfils the Rutte Cabinet's desire to get more money 'from the market'. By the way, the capital-rich party found is not from the Netherlands, but from Germany: "With effect from 1 January 2011, Deutsche Bank and Het Concertgebouw NV will enter into a... 

Arts budget debated in second chamber: hardly any discussion on 200 million cut to performing arts

We were at a debate day in The Hague that was as inconspicuous as it was historic on 13 December 2010: it was about the budget of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the (first?) Rutte cabinet, and that was the budget in which, at the request of the supporting party PVV, the amount to be cut in the arts budget was set at 200 million, with heritage and museums having to... 

VAT increase performing arts possibly postponed, if it is up to VVD's Upper House faction

De VVD fractie in de Eerste Kamer dreigt de door het CDA-VVD-PVV kabinet voorgestelde verhoging van de BTW op kaartjes voor podiumkunsten op de lange baan te schuiven. Dat meldt het Nederlands Dagblad vandaag. Volgens Geassocieerde Pers Dienst-redacteur Laurens Kok blijkt dat uit de woorden van de fractieleider van de VVD in die kamer, Fred de Graaf. We citeren: Waarnemend… 

World-renowned conductor Simon Rattle calls cuts to broadcasting orchestras 'baffling'

Sir Simon Rattle is quite clear about it: "The entire musical world must be as horrified and puzzled as I am to see such a massive destruction of orchestral and choral institutions in Holland." (The entire musical world must be as horrified and puzzled as I am, at the sight of such massive destruction of orchestral and choral institutions in Holland).... 

Art world via Facebook in action against culture cut even before Rutte-Verhagen cabinet installed

It was a pleasantly out-of-control flashmob: according to the police, there were around 3,000 people on The Hague's Malieveld at around noon. Young people, mostly: students from The Hague Art Academy and the Consevatorium. But that is not enough to make the Malieveld feel crowded. From all corners of the country, young art students were... 

Zoekhulp voor wie op de hoogte wil blijven van de kunstenaarsactie ‘kaalslag’

Vandaag (vrijdag 24 september 2010) is in het Amsterdamse Debatcentrum De Balie de aftrap gegeven van de acties van de kunstwereld tegen de door het nieuwe kabinet van CDA en VVD, gedoogd door PVV voorgenomen bezuinigingen van 21% op de begroting van OC&W. Voor wie de berichten daarover nog niet heeft gevonden in de reguliere media: de sociale netwersite ’twitter’… 

Introvert Keuzedebat in De Unie: Kunstenaar als participerende socioloog #dekeuze

Het debatseizoen in Rotterdam is dit jaar geopend in de vernieuwde zaal van De Unie. De net opgeleverde ruimte doet prettig en intiem aan. Des te opmerkelijker de uitspraak van gespreksleider Natasja van den Berg dat vragen vanuit de zaal niet zijn toegestaan ‘omdat die toch nergens over gaan’. Dat klinkt niet echt als warm welkom in een debatcentrum. Weliswaar leverde het… 

Cultuurwereld in actie op 24 september

Kunstbezoekers opgelet: de gezamenlijke vakbonden en beroepsorganisaties in de cultuursector roepen vrijdag 24 september uit tot landelijke actiedag. Die dag kunt u als bezoeker dus geconfronteerd worden met sprekende muzakanten en dansers. Op de website ‘Stop de culturele kaalslag’ roepen tal van kunstenaarsorganisaties (van FNV Kiem tot de Art Directors Club) de Haagse opnderhandelaars op om af te zien van… 

René Pollesch: cancelled, but maybe too good for the Netherlands anyway

Over the next few days, the show Der perfekte Tag - Ruhrtrilogie Teil 3 by German director René Pollesch was due to play at De Internationale Keuze in Rotterdam. But unfortunately, the main actor, Fabian Hinrichs, broke his leg and the performance had to be cancelled. What are we missing now? In recent years, I saw a number of performances by René in Berlin... 

Davis Freemans investeringsshow ironische reflectie op geld, macht, individu en cultuur #dekeuze

De multimedia show ‘Investment’ van de Amerikaan Davis Freeman doet in eerste instantie denken aan de PowerPointshow ‘An Unconvenient Truth’ van Al Gore. Drie performers en een projectiecomputer tonen het publiek zeer routineus en gedetailleerd een heel scala aan mogelijkheden om te beleggen. Aanvankelijk  zinvol en duurzaam, maar als snel spelen hele andere motieven een rol. Pikant detail: iedereen uit het… 

Opening #TF2010: 'Theatre should be at the forefront of discussion on society, instead of being dictated to by prevailing mores.'

On 2 September 2010, actress, writer, theatre and television producer Joan Nederlof opened the Dutch Theatre Festival with a speech that was as entertaining as it was provocative. As it was her turn to pronounce the annual 'State of the Theatre', Nederlof, born in 1962, seized the opportunity to call on her own generation to take a stand in the social debate. She did so in her own relatable way, known for her roles on TV (Deer Park) and in the theatre (Inside Out):

Queen makes up for absence from opening at Rameau's Pygmalion #hf10

 State visits are hard to adjust to the cultural agenda, and when the Queen then misses her opening of the Holland Festival because of a visit to Norway planned years before, it is force majeure. And not anything else, though of course in these politically confused times it remains delightful to speculate on other reasons why the Majesty was absent from Amal... 

Small Cultural Membership
175 / 12 Months
For turnover less than 250,000 per year.
Posting press releases yourself
Cultural Membership
360 / Year
For cultural organisations
Posting press releases yourself
Collaboration
Private Membership
50 / Year
For natural persons and self-employed persons.
Exclusive archives
Own mastodon account on our instance
en_GBEnglish (UK)