It was a busy week, that first week of July. On July 1, a day after the anniversary of slavery, we celebrated the abolition of slavery (1863) in the territories colonized by the Netherlands. On July 2, the new cabinet was installed and the new administrators introduced themselves to us. On July 3, the Council for Culture presented its advice for the Basic Infrastructure (BIS) 2025-2028 and at the same time the national funds, including the Mondriaan Fund, announced their allocations for the same period.
On July 4, we made this edition of BK Information final and on July 5 the file went to the printer. There was still time in this spot - where you normally find a different kind of editorial - to say something about the above opinions and awards in the visual arts.
It was a busy week, that first week of July
First, a brief word about the new administrator of culture, that is, Minister of Education, Culture and Science Eppo Bruins (NSC). Kristel Baele, president of the Council for Culture, spoke positively about him. He had told her how important he considers culture to society and the need to continue investing in culture. A day earlier on national television, during the NPO proposal tour, the minister spoke only very briefly. There was no mention of art and culture.
First, a brief word about the new administrator culture
Back to the advice of the Council for Culture and the awards of the Mondrian Fund. Both the council and the fund have paid attention to regional distribution in their assessments in accordance with government policy. But in the first instance, the assessments are about quality. For example, the council states that it only considered regional distribution as a last resort. The applications were assessed based on artistic and substantive quality, social significance, accessibility, business health and geographic distribution. "First, the application is judged based on the first three criteria. If the judgement based on one or more of these criteria is negative, the assessment stops and the judgement on the application is negative. If the judgment is positive, the council then gives an opinion on business health. Finally, the council assesses geographic distribution."
What is quality and how do you measure it?
So the most important criterion is quality. Now quality is generally difficult to judge objectively. What is quality and how do you measure it? Questions that are not addressed in the opinion. However, the council did "pay attention to substantive expertise when composing the committees, so that a broad view of quality is guaranteed."
The Mondriaan Fund awarded 38.5 million euros to 44 institutions. In order to better equip the sector for fair pay, extra budget has been made available for the coming period. The institutions that received a positive BIS recommendation were filtered out by the fund. West in The Hague, Melly in Rotterdam, de Vleeshal in Middelburg, MU in Eindhoven, Marres in Maastricht and Framer Framed in Amsterdam do not receive any funding from the fund because of their BIS position. From the BIS, these six institutions collectively receive over 4.7 million euros.
To better equip the sector for fair pay, additional budget has been released for the coming period
A presentation institution that is completely out of the BIS and also heard earlier from the municipality that it will no longer receive funding is BAK, basis voor actuele kunst in Utrecht. The council did not find the quality of the application strong enough for a positive assessment. "While BAK has described a solid theoretical framework, the presentation program is so summarily elaborated and explained that the council can form too limited an opinion based on the application. Coupled with reservations about the institution's performance in recent years, the council reaches a negative opinion." On its website, the institution says it is shocked by this decision and: "Thus, a countless number of people and communities in Utrecht, the Netherlands and internationally - artists, pupils and students as well as a rich diversity of cultural players, vulnerable groups and general audiences - lose a basis for imagining and shaping the world differently. We will do everything we can to continue to protect such a base."
Xandra Nibbeling
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