Art of Brabant: greater scope for cultural entrepreneurship

At the end of last month, the Culture Council issued advice on the future of the Dutch cultural system after 2029. One of the points of that advice is to make funding for the cultural sector accessible to a wider range of cultural institutions. De Kunst van Brabant, an interest group with over two hundred members, welcomes the fact that the advice calls for cultural entrepreneurship on a broader scale.

In the report Access to culture The Culture Council states, among other things, that the distribution of national government subsidies is not balanced. The range of culture varies greatly by region and there is a clear focus in the Randstad. Cultural institutions and cultural practitioners also do not have equal access to government funding.

The Art of Brabant (dKvB) stated in a letter to the Culture Council that it wholeheartedly supports the advice on these points. The organization also presents proposals for further detail. According to dKvB, one bottleneck is that, based on current support rules, cultural institutions are not allowed to create a “piggy bank” to absorb potential setbacks. They are also not allowed to budget for investment in innovation, for example. This hinders these institutions in their entrepreneurship, while the same government expects them to act as entrepreneurs.

Another limitation resulting from the support rules is that government funding is only open to targeted institutions, associations, and self-employed persons. Other forms of business are excluded, even if it is clear that those organizations pursue artistic and/or social goals. In cooperation with the Culture Council, dKvB points out that there is an urgent need to expand the rules. (And the)

Read about the message in Art of BrabanR

Read more about cultural policy at Cultural Brabant