The arts scene across the world is shocked to hear of the extent of the cuts to the arts announced by the State secretary of Education, Culture and Science Halbe Zijlstra, and of the disastrous impact these cuts will have on the health and reputation of the Dutch arts sector.
The Netherlands’ rich and diverse arts culture has long been recognised as a beacon of excellence across Europe. In the performing arts field, it owes its outstanding reputation largely to the innovative and daring work made by its independent artists, small and medium size companies, which will now be the ones hit the hardest by the new policy. Internationally it is really exceptional that such a carefully balanced and unique structure for supporting independent artists and smaller companies in the performing arts has been developed. Dutch artists profoundly and positively influence the fabric of Dutch society and their work travels across borders to theatres, festivals and cultural houses internationally, inspiring audiences throughout the world. The cuts proposed, of 200 million a year, will adversely affect the dynamic, innovative independent sector and constitute cultural vandalism. They will have a cataclysmic impact on the Dutch arts ecology and on audiences and communities in the Netherlands and beyond. They are also extremely short-sighted: for relatively modest levels of investment Dutch artists are international standard bearers for the artistic excellence, innovation and tolerance your country can be so justly proud of. The theatre and dance will suffer the worst consequences of the cuts. The impact, for example, of an overall cut in the theatre budget of 56% and the dance budget of 40% will dramatically damage the Dutch performing arts scene for years to come.
The market and private philanthropy is not the quick win solution the State Secretary and the Prime Minister believe it is. A culture of private giving develops not overnight, but over generations and needs to be supported by structural tax incentives.
We all recognize that the arts need to share the burden of budget deficits and cannot be singled out as a special case. However cuts on this scale, which will strangle innovation, will cause irreversible damage to the arts in the Netherlands and be felt across Europe. We, the undersigned, implore Halbe Zijlstra and the members of the Dutch Parliament to reconsider the scale and distribution of these cuts and preserve the infrastructure necessary to maintain the climate of innovation and creativity.
Mark Ball, artistic director
London international festival of Theatre
London, U.K.
Vincent Baudriller, director
Festival d'Avignon
Avignon, France
Thomas Oberender, artistic director theatre
Salzburger Festspiele
Salzburg, Austria
Peter Sellars
Theatre director
New York, USA
Frie Leysen, curator
Spielzeit Europa
Berliner Festspiele 2012
Frank Castorf, artistic director
Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
Berlin, Germany
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
Rosas,
BrBrussels, Belgium
Oskar Eustis, artistic director
The Public Theater
New York Shakespeare Festival
New York, U.S.A.
Johan Simons, artistic director
Münchner Kammerspiele
München, Germany
Marie Collin, director
Festival d’Automne,
Paris, France
Sasha Waltz / Jochen Sandig and the whole team of
Sasha Waltz & Guests
Berlin, Germany
Jossi Wieler, artistic director
Staatsoper Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany
Marianne Van Kerkhoven, dramaturg
Kaaitheater
Brussels, Belgium
Matthias Lilienthal, artistic director
Hebbel am Ufer theater
Berlin, Germany
Marie-Hélène Falcon, director
Festival TransAmériques
Montréal, Québec, Canada
Tim Etchells
artist and Artistic Director Forced Entertainment
Sheffield, UK
Christophe Slagmuylder, artistic director,
Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels
Claire Verlet
Adjointe pour la danse
Theatre de la Ville
Paris, France
Anita Mathieu, director
Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis,
Paris, France
Prof. Heiner Goebbels
Institute for Applied Theatre Studies / Justus Liebig University
Giessen, Germany
Rene Pollesch, associate director
Volksbuehne,
Berlin, Germany
Jan Goossens
KVS
Brussels, Belgium
William Kentridge
Artist
South Africa
Michael Freundt, ass. director
ITI - Network for the performing arts,
Berlin, Germany
Anselm Weber, artistic director
Schauspielhaus Bochum
Bochum, Germany
Romeo Castellucci
Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio
Cesena, Itally
James C. Nicola, artistic director
New York Theatre Workshop
New York, USA
Didier Fusillier, director
Le Manège - Scène Nationale - Maubeuge ,
festival VIA ;
directeur van Maison des Arts Créteil/Paris,
Lille 3000
Jerome Bel, artistic director
Jerome Bel company
Paris, France
Wim Vandekeybus, Kristien De Coster
Ultima Vez
Brussels, Belgium
Dieter Buroch
Intendant + Geschäftsführer
Künstlerhaus Mousonturm
Frankfurt, Germany
Tom Stromberg theatre producer and festival director,
Berlin, Germany
Niels Ewerbeck, director
Theaterhaus Gessnerallee
Zurich, Switzerland
Ong Keng Sen, artistic director
Theatreworks Singapore
Singapore, Singapore
Philip Bither, senior curator Performing Arts
Walker Art Center
Minneapolis, USA
Gurur Ertem, artistic director
iDANS Festival
Istanbul, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Hans-Thies Lehmann,
professor in retirement,
formerly Goethe University, Frankfurt(Main)
Berlin, Germany
Rose Fenton,
Independent Arts Producer and Advisor
London, UK
Veronica Kaup-Hasler Intendantin and Florian Malzacher, curator
Steirischer Herbst Festival
Graz, Austria
Thomas Walgrave, artistic director
Alkantara festival Lisbon
Portugal
Patrick Pernin directeur
Théâtre National de Bordeaux en Aquitaine
Bordeaux, France
Loughlin Deegan, artistic director
Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival
Dublin, Ireland
Vallejo Gartner, artistic director
P.S. 122,
New York, USA
Janez Jansa
Maska
Ljubljana,Slovenia
Tilman Broszat, artistic director
Theaterfestival Spielart
Munich, Germany
Amelie Deuflhard, artistic director
theater Kampnagel
Hamburg, Germany
Scott deLahunta, managing director
The Forsythe Company
Frankfurt, Germany
Peter Eckersall,
School of Culture & Communication, University of Melbourne
Melbourne, Australia
Helene Lesterlin
EMPAC, Rensselaer University
New York, USA
Isabelle Launay, professor Dance Departement
UNIVERSITY PARIS 8
Paris, France
Meg Stuart, artistic director and John Zwaenepoel, company manager
Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods
Brussels, Belgium
Sally De Kunst, director
FESTIVAL BELLUARD BOLLWERK INTERNATIONAL
Fribourg, Switzerland
Kathrin Tiedemann, artistic director
Forum Freies Theater
Düsseldorf, Germany
Susanne Foellmer
Institut für Theaterwissenschaft
Freie Universität Berlin
Berlin, Germany
Franck Bauchard, director
La Panacée,
Montpellier, France
Bojana Kunst,
University of Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany
Nicholas Ridout
Department of Drama, Queen Mary University of London,
London, UNITED KINGDOM
Joe Kelleher,
Roehampton University,
London, UK
György Szabó
Trafo House
Budapest, Hungary
Willie White, artistic director
Project Art Centre
Dublin, Ireland
Katleen Van Langendonck, programmer
Kaaitheater
Brussels, Belgium
Brigitte Kasslatter
Dampfzentrale
Bern, Switzerland
Berit Schuck,
c/o Ashkal Alwan,
Beirut, Lebanon
Eva-Maria Hoerster, Managing Director
Hochschulübergreifendes Zentrum Tanz Berlin
Berlin, Germany
Efva Lilja, professor and vice-chancellor,
University of dance and Circus
Stockholm Sweden
Johan Widén, professor fine art, pro vice-chancellor
University of Dance and Circus
Stockholm, Sweden
Prof.Dr. Sibila Petlevski
Academy of Dramatic Arts, University of Zagreb
Zagreb, Croatia
Emina Višni?, director
Zagreb Center for Independent Culture and Youth
Zagreb, Croatia
Barbara Raes,
Kunstencentrum BUDA
Kortrijk, Belgium
Frédéric Mazelly,
Director of Performing Arts, Parc et Grande Halle de la Villette
Paris, France
Cis Bierinckx, director
Beursschouwburg,
Brussels, Belgium
Myriam Van Imschoot
independent artist, scientist, playwright
Brussels, Belgium
Dr Heike Roms FRSA
senior lecturer in performance studies, department of theatre, film and television studies, Aberystwyth University
Aberystwyth, UK
Outi Järvinen
Zodiak - Center for New Dance
Helsinki, Finland
Folkert Uhde / Jochen Sandig
and the whole team of Radialsystem V
Berlin, Germany
Kerstin Müller, Bettina Sluzalek, Franziska Werner, Ilka Seifert, Jochen Sandig, Sasha Waltz, Amelie Deuflhard and the whole team of
Sophiensaele
Berlin, Germany
Alexander Karschnia, artistic director
andcompany&Co
Berlin, Germany
Linda S. Chapman, associate artistic director
New York Theatre Workshop
New York, Germany
Goran Sergej Pristas, professor of dramaturgy
University of dramatic Arts
Zagreb, Croatia
Bojana Cvejic
Utrecht University, Theater Studies
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Carine Meulders
wpZimmer
Antwerpen, Belgium
Tom Bonte
Director of Beursschouwburg Art Center
Brussels, Belgium
Festival de Otoño
Madrid, Spain
Dr David Dean
Full Professor and Co-Director, Carleton Centre for Public History,Department of History, Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Maria de Assis Swinnerton
Executive Coordinator, Gulbenkian Programme Education for Culture
Lisbon, Portugal
Laszlo Hudi, Katalin Erdodi
Moving House Foundation / Arcus Temporum Festival
Budapest, Hungary
Martina Hochmuth, dramaturge
Centre Choreographique de Rennes
France
André Lepecki, associate professor,
Performance Studies Tisch School of the Arts
New York, US
Anja Dirks
Festival Theaterformen
Hannover, Germany
Thomas Frank
Brut
Vienna, Austria
Walter Heun ?
Artistic Director
Tanzquartier-Wien
Vienna, Austria
Simon Dove
Director, School of Dance
Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts
Arizona State University
Arizona, US
Theo Van Rompay, deputy director P.A.R.T.S.
On behalf of the community of dancers and choreographers at PARTS in Brussels
Brussels, Belgium
Yukihiko Yoshida
Dance critic
Japan
Geoff Cobham
Adelaide Festival
Adelaide, South Australia
Gordon Vajen
Intendant
Freies Theaterhaus
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Johan Wambacq
Brussels
Belgium
Professor Sarah Whatley
Coventry University
Coventry, UK
Prof. Dr. Gabriele Klein
Universität Hamburg / Fakultät 4
FB Bewegungswissenschaft / Performance Studies
Hamburg, Germany
Wolfram Heberle
Head of Studies / Theater
Bern University of the Arts
Bern, Switzerland
David Micklem, David Jubb, artistic directors
Battersea Arts centre
London U.K.
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, artistic director / choreographer
Rosas
Brussels
?
Ida Jakobs
Ass. Director
Théâtre Garonne
1 ave du Château d'Eau
31300 Toulouse
Jean-Louis Martinelli
Director
Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers
Nanterre/Paris, France
Andrea-Nartano Jacobsen
Responsible for international development
Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers
Nanterre/Paris, France
Marina Abramovic
performance artist
New York, USA
Robert Wilson
theatre director
New York
USA
Mike Figgis
film and theatre director
London, UK
Gilbert Fillinger
Director
Maison de la Culture d'Amiens
Amiens, France
Benoît André
Director
Festival Automne
Normandie, Rouen, France
Fabien Janelle
Director
Office National de Diffusion Artistique (ONDA)
Paris, France
Gilbert Fillinger
Director
Maison de la Culture d'Amiens
Amiens, France
Benoît André
Director
festival Automne en Normandie
Rouen, France
Roberto Casarotto
Responsible International Dance Project
OperaEstate Festival,
Bassano del Grappa, Italy
José Alfarroba
Director
Théâtre de Vanves
Scène conventionnée pour la danse