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'Give municipalities their own culture budget'. Interest groups put pressure on new election manifestos (and sort for BBB)

The creative sector is pushing for a radical change in the arts subsidy system. This is evident from the lobbying documents (position papers and suggestions) sent to political parties' election programme writers. The largest and most important of them, the theatre boards (VSCD) and Kunsten 92, want the national government to give municipalities a clear and specific culture budget ('earmarked') from now on. By doing so, they want... 

Read More "'Give municipalities their own culture budget'. Interest groups put pressure on new election manifestos (and sort for BBB)

Monday debate day. Follow our famous pointing updates live! (not just via the birther network) #tkculture

We grew up with it: live tweets from the heart of our democracy. Now, of course, debates on culture in recent years have been a bit different from what we expect now. There is no longer a need to fight over the reputation of the arts, as there was during all debates until a year ago. What is it about now? Energy, thinking... 

Read More "Monday debate day. Follow our famous pointing updates live! (not just via the birther network) #tkculture

During Ingrid van Engelshoven culture regained some respect from the Chamber. How next? #culture debate

He will not be thanked, the headline above this article. After all, if there is one thing you don't want, it is to give a minister of a Rutte cabinet a compliment. And certainly not one of culture, the sector that, under Rutte's 10-year premiership, suffered the heaviest blows in post-war history. Rutte is the... 

Read More "During Ingrid van Engelshoven culture regained some respect from the Chamber. How next? #culture debate

Dear Hans Teeuwen, art has nothing to fear from boring men.

It is a great thing that there are comedians who keep a finger on the pulse of society. Hans Teeuwen, for instance, has once again made himself angry. He has joined the small chorus of (mostly) men who see the end of the world coming because of a rebuttal. That is the rebuttal that now comes via social media 

Read More "Dear Hans Teeuwen, art has nothing to fear from boring men.

Culture Council to investigate cross-border behaviour across cultural sector

We are a bit done with sex, drugs & rock'n'roll in culture. At least, not in what is presented through our galleries, film screens and venues, but in how that comes about. Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven has asked the Council for Culture for advice, and the Council is going to set up a commission to do so. This was just announced via... 

Read More "Culture Council to investigate cross-border behaviour across cultural sector

'This new law means even more obstacles and restrictions for visiting culture.'

Honourable members of the House of Representatives, It is with great concern that we look at the Temporary Test Act that will be voted on in your House on Tuesday 11 May. This new law means even more hurdles and restrictions for visiting culture. Restrictions that will be introduced but where the end date is not given. This new testing law could be a godsend for... 

Read More "'This new law means even more obstacles and restrictions for visiting culture.'

Support among the test society is falling away.

Today, both Koninklijke Horeca Nederland and the Cultural and Creative Sector Taskforce announced that testing to enter somewhere is controversial as far as they are concerned. The Taskforce wants to enforce testing for entry only in extreme cases, and not for cultural attractions that are already demonstrably safe. In fact, the hospitality industry finds testing completely unmentionable,... 

Read More "Support among the test society is falling away.

Godfried Bomans: respectively loved, vilified, misunderstood and forgotten

Godfried Bomans died half a century ago. Almost immediately afterwards, the Netherlands' best-loved writer sank into oblivion. It is time for a reappraisal of Bomans' literary work and even his political views. I delved into the archives, also looking for the few traces of Bomans in Amersfoort. First some round figures. Seventy years ago, he delivered a lecture... 

Read More "Godfried Bomans: respectively loved, vilified, misunderstood and forgotten

Nerd podcast 9: How Wijbrand almost turned into an angry white man and Marijn underwent an exciting experiment.

Do we need a new language, and are we at the mercy of the thought police of the Diversity and Inclusion Code? Or is that no thought police, and is Wijbrand in danger of turning into an old angry white man? It remains exciting. So in this podcast, we talk about the 'Guide to inclusive language for the cultural sector' drafted by Mounir Samuel.... 

Read More "Nerd podcast 9: How Wijbrand almost turned into an angry white man and Marijn underwent an exciting experiment.

Nerd podcast #4: Marijn Lems and Micha Wertheim clash over moral judgements in art criticism

The best works of art are failures, and it is up to the public to give them a meaning over which the artist has no control, argued comedian Micha Wertheim in an essay for De Correspondent. We thought that was a good topic for our fourth geek podcast. Marijn Lems (NRC,Theaterkrant) does sometimes clash with people who give him too much in his reviews,... 

Read More "Nerd podcast #4: Marijn Lems and Micha Wertheim clash over moral judgements in art criticism

'Warm Right' keen to invest in full houses - Culture spokespersons Lower House in debate

'There is no other sector in the Netherlands that is as controlled and regulated as the cultural sector.' D66 MP Salima Belhaj sighed this towards the end of the debate organised by the assembled cultural sector lobby clubs on Monday 8 February. 'It takes an incredible amount of work, time and especially money. And the basis is distrust.' The most culture-friendly party of... 

Read More "'Warm Right' keen to invest in full houses - Culture spokespersons Lower House in debate

There are also problems with the region in Limburg (and people suspect the advisers of being arbitrary and pre-emptive)

The cultural centre of gravity in Limburg has been in the south for years. However, to encourage southern institutions to programme outside the region, only 1 extra point is available. Examples of the problem of geographical spread also exist at the Council of Culture and the Performing Arts Fund.

Burn letter from festivals: 'It's going wrong with the performing arts in the Netherlands'

A fire letter from the United Performing Arts Festivals. One of more than a hundred lobbying organisations in the arts, but a very important one. After all, the festivals are the place where audiences were introduced to arts and entertainment in its full breadth. That doesn't happen anywhere else. And beautiful: they stand up for all performing arts, because, as loyal readers of this site know: they are quite the hare, and become even more the hare with every half-hearted rescue.

Subsidy crisis: if the House comes up with a fix for region and saw line soon, we will be even further home.

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.

Eurosonic/Noorderslag and Scapino possibly saved. But at the expense of new art acquisitions. #tkculture

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 Culture Council... 

Read More "Eurosonic/Noorderslag and Scapino possibly saved. But at the expense of new art acquisitions. #tkculture

The Lower House will only make the disaster for culture worse. (Unless it chooses to change.)

On Monday 29 June, the Lower House will discuss the advice of the Council for Culture. An advice that, as the Volkskrant rightly noted on Friday 26 June, receives much more criticism than previous advice. In doing so, the newspaper reaffirms what we already wrote down immediately after its release on 4 June: there is a total lack of transparency, a... 

Read More "The Lower House will only make the disaster for culture worse. (Unless it chooses to change.)

Survey shows need for emergency support for self-employed in cultural sector

There is an urgent need for emergency support for the large group of self-employed workers in the cultural sector. The 300 million in emergency support that the government released for this sector at the beginning of the corona crisis is barely trickling down to them. This is according to a survey of more than 1,500 freelancers, especially musicians, creators and technicians, on the eve of the debate ... 

Read More "Survey shows need for emergency support for self-employed in cultural sector

The House of Representatives has until Monday 29 June to save the culture (sector).

2.6 billion euros. It is a sum so large that it means nothing to anyone. It is less than the tax support KLM gets, though. Today Kunsten 92, the arts-wide lobbying organisation, in an unprecedented collaboration with all interest groups and industry associations, brought out that that 2.6 billion is the damage to the arts sector caused by the restrictive measures.... 

Read More "The House of Representatives has until Monday 29 June to save the culture (sector).

The Platform for Freelance Musicians in action

29 June is an important day for culture: the Lower House will then debate emergency support for the sector. Our message to politicians: "300 million euros of emergency support that OCW has available for the cultural sector is nowhere near enough to keep the sector afloat. Adopt the motion of PvDA, GroenLinks and SP!" In... 

Read More "The Platform for Freelance Musicians in action

Improper governance? Looks like it. Holland Festival expresses justified anger at Culture Council's arbitrariness (edited to make criticism of Oerol and lobby insightful)

The Council for Culture acted contrary to all policy agreements, its own advice and rules when it reduced the subsidy for the Holland Festival by over five hundred thousand euros. The Holland Festival, which is in serious trouble as a result, is now expressing its anger in a letter that went to the Lower House today. The organisation even speaks of "improper administration": a... 

Read More "Improper governance? Looks like it. Holland Festival expresses justified anger at Culture Council's arbitrariness (edited to make criticism of Oerol and lobby insightful)

Of course, when it comes to institutional racism, discrimination and exclusion, these are not feelings, as you claimed this week, but facts, Mr Rutte.

Dear Prime Minister Rutte, Dear Mark, We have met before. For you one meeting out of many, so you probably won't remember. After all, we have nothing in common, not in terms of political colour or skin colour, not in terms of our socio-economic class, not in terms of our nest, not our gender, height and possibly other distinguishing characteristics: many NOT... 

Read More "Of course, when it comes to institutional racism, discrimination and exclusion, these are not feelings, as you claimed this week, but facts, Mr Rutte.

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