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Looking back: Mark Rutte thinks only 30 people want to be at art. Why an archive is important.

Culture Press is 11 years old, and I wanted to celebrate with a fun look at the archives. And then I came across this one. From 2011. Just watch this minute video and know that it is not to be expected that a prime minister can change his views one hundred and eighty degrees in 9 years. This is what the lobby needs to consider. What does Mark say... 

#Corona-classics I: Le Dernier sorcier Pauline Viardot

When corona measures were declared on Thursday 12 March, it felt surreal at first. The next day, the world premiere of Willem Jeths' opera Ritratto fell through. I had been looking forward to this immensely, just like all the other productions in the Opera Forward Festival. Besides, I was in the midst of preparations for numerous introductions the next... 

The Encounter, Complicit / Simon McBurney, photo: Alex Aitchison

Why you should listen to Simon McBurney with headphones on between 15 and 22 May

We are fairly bombarded to death with online theatre experiences. Frankly, I avoid them. I always thought theatre was something to be experienced live. Bobbing shoes are terrible, visible consumption when speaking is something I can't stand at the moment and the sound is always mediocre. I want live theatre, and nothing else. Leave TV to the TV makers, they have studied for that. Still... 

Museum Het Schip shows visitors around virtually: 'Let's do what is possible'

Five days after the opening of the exhibition Bruno Taut: beyond imagination, museum Het Schip had to close. Alice Roegholt, director of this museum dedicated to the Amsterdam School, saw two years of preparation go up in smoke. But after only a few days she thought: 'Let's turn it around and look at what is possible.'.... 

The lobby has made art just a little too big. Now populism is reaping the benefits of that.

Naturally, I stand speechless along the sidelines watching Dutch art get hit by a 'perfect storm'. Two, maybe three deep depressions crossing each other at the worst possible moment, creating a surge that sinks even the strongest ships. In this case: an extremely weak minister, a cultural sector divided to the bone ... 

Brabant FvD council cuts at least 25% (but probably 100%) on culture, and only talks about 'Leisure'

(8 May: updated to clarify that the cut is probably 100%) The new provincial government of North Brabant is still going to help the heavily corona-affected cultural sector to overcome this year's blow. Immediately afterwards, however, it will be followed by a cut of at least 25 per cent in the total 'leisure' budget. According to the... 

'For museums, a reservoir of deferred rent and taxes awaits' Paul Baltus of Amersfoort in C is working hard on a plan B.

'At some point, you get it again. then you just have to start paying again. Unless there will somehow be remission, but that is not the case for now.' For Paul Baltus, director of museum dome Amersfoort in C, a big challenge awaits if the intelligent lockdown will slowly be lifted. How can... 

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... 

'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... 

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,... 

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.... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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,... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

(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.... 

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.... 

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... 

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