Performing arts suffer major budget cuts

The Performing Arts Fund (Het Fonds Podiumkunsten) just announced that due to budget cuts, only 40 percent of all the requests for performing arts subsidies have been honoured for the coming four-year period. Just 48 of the 118 currently funded institutions will be funded again.

The fund had its 60 million euro budget cut to 24,5 million euros as part of the Dutch government's plan to cut 200 million euros from cultural subsidies starting in 2013. A total of 52,5 million euros was requested by 203 institutions for the next four years.

Between 2013 and 2016, 80 organisations will receive a subsidy from the fund. In addition to the 48 institutions which will continue to be funded, 17 of the honoured requests are from institutions that had not previously received funding, and the remaining 15 institutions were until now funded directly by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

Among those institutions that will no longer receive a subsidy from 2013 are the Amsterdam Dance Event, theatre festival Boulevard, the Paradiso-Melkweg production house and Motel Mozaïque.

Known institutions such as de Appel, het Toneel Speelt, het Nieuw Ensemble, and Theaterfestival Boulevard met the criteria for funding, but due to the budget cuts could not be funded.

The fund's George Lawson said that the financial challenges had encouraged a shift towards smaller and medium-sized artistic institutions, as well as more enterprising and co-operative ways of working, helping to reduce the impact of the budget cuts.

"The damage is enormous, but the decision offers, thanks to the resilience of the sector, also a chance for new balance and perspective," said Lawson.

You can read more about the Performing Arts Fund here.

Source: Het Fonds Podiumkunsten