Drenthe leads criticism of ‘regional’ art fund that is giving 80% of its funding to Randstad projects

Translated by Thomas Ansell

Drenthe, along with eight other provinces in the Netherlands, are calling out the work of the Fonds Podiumkunsten (FPK) for not being able to see outside of the Randstad, reports RTV Drenthe.

The fund has around 21 million euros in endowments to support regional art projects and initiatives, but 80% of this is to be distributed in and around Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht.

Lots of regional art projects reportedly received praise for their initiatives, but no funds. An open letter has been published in the Volkskrant, signed by a number of Provincial leaders from Drenthe, Groningen, Friesland; Overijssel, Flevoland, Gelderland; Noord-Brabant, Limburg, and Zeeland.

“So we lose various artists and unmissable performance groups, that have deep roots in our localities, and have built up strong bonds with local citizens”, wrote the Provincial deputies.

One of the theatre groups that received encouragement, but no funding, from the FPK is the PeerGroup from Donderen (Tynaarlo), who put in a request for 400,000 euros of funding; which is in line with previous years. They received nothing. The Assen-based theatrical company Garage TDI had requested 125,000 euros of support, which would cover their yearly funding target, but received only a ‘quality stamp’ from the FPK.

Those that did get support from the FPK were given pittances. The FestiValderAa in Schipborg (Aa en Hunze), the youth festival Art of Wonder (Assen), and Puppet International (Meppel) received a combined 87,500 euros. That’s approximately 0.4% of the total amount in the FPK fund.

The Provinces, understandably, are using the open letter to point out that the fund is for the entire Netherlands. “It’s completely against the cabinet’s claims to be a ‘cabinet for the regions’”, say  the Provinces. They are asking that Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven (D66) of culture speak to the Dutch parliament to explain the ridiculous gap in funding between the Randstad and the rest of the Netherlands.

Image via Wikimedia user DALIBRI. License here.