New analyses by the Boekman Foundation for the Culture Monitor show that the cultural landscape is thriving again. Visitor numbers are rising at museums, cinemas, pop stages and theaters, and nine out of ten Dutch people annually visit ONEn or more cultural activities.
Rising visitor numbers but also challenges
Despite rising visitor numbers, various parts of the cultural and creative sector face challenges such as sharp increases in staff and housing costs, labor market issues and concerns about artificial intelligence (AI). And despite cultural institutions' commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion, persistent inequalities in the sector have not been resolved.
Fine Art
Within the visual arts domain page, developments around and differences in the (labor) market position of visual artists and the associated challenges are discussed. Also discussed are museums, art consumption and digitization. The visual arts domain includes makers of autonomous visual art in all common media, and the associated infrastructure such as museums, galleries, fairs, studios and creative incubators.
Within the visual arts domain, there is still much inequality, despite established guidelines. "The pay gap between visual artists is large, female creators are underrepresented in exhibitions and collections, and despite increased attention to diversity, different demographic groups are still unevenly represented in all segments of the sector (staff, audience, programming and partners)" said Felicia van Andel, author of the visual arts domain page.
Within the visual arts domain, there is still much inequality
There are also bright spots: "Visitor numbers for art museums and institutions have been recovering since the corona crisis, although for many institutions recovering the financialële damage is still high on the agenda. Besides rising visitor numbers, there are more bright spots: diversity, inclusion and equality are being worked harder and harder, art buyer spending continues to rise, and digitization offers opportunities for museums, makers and galleries. Finally, Fair Pay is and will continue to be an urgent issue within the visual arts."
Some figures
The number of visual artists in the Netherlands (measured over 2022) decreased slightly. After a low in 2017 of 11,000 visual artists, an upward trend set in. In 2022, that line drops for the first time to 16,000 visual artists in the Netherlands, still more than two years earlier when the Netherlands had 15,000 visual artists.
Although there is a noticeable upward trend, the gross monthly salary of alumni of fine arts programs is still lower than alumni of other creative programs. In 2022, the average gross monthly salary of HBO alumni of fine arts programs was 1,683 euros.
The number of visual artists decreased slightly
The "median personal gross annual income" is also low among visual artists. The figures (from 2016/2019) show that the median annual income of visual artists is 14,000 euros. In comparison, during the same period, it was 32,000 euros for 'writers and other artist occupations' and 38,000 euros for design occupations.
Available online
In the next BK Information (to be published July 19, 2024) we will elaborate on the Annual Report and the findings in the visual arts domain. In the meantime, you can see everything for yourself online; all results and analyses are available to everyone online. To get a good picture of cultural life in the Netherlands, it is also possible to further break down the data at the provincial and municipal level.
More information
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