Re: New cultural policy in the Netherlands and the future of Open,
Cahier on Art & the Public Domain
Dear friends of Open,
The recent announcement that governmental funding of SKOR | Foundation
for Art and Public Domain will be stopped by 2013 means that the
existence of Open, as a project of SKOR, is also threatened.
On 10 June, the Dutch Secretary of State for Culture Halbe Zijlstra
(VVD) presented the new cultural policy and the measures that are to
be implemented in this regard. Under the pretext of economizing, an
unprecedented intervention in the Dutch cultural system is being
perpetrated. This above all seems to be an ideological modification of
a social-liberal cultural policy into one that is neoliberal and
populist. The extreme extent of the cutbacks (more than 30% for the
visual arts!), the rapidity with which these must be implemented and
the radical choices that have been made (whereby the Secretary of
State has completely ignored the advice of the Netherlands Arts
Council) would appear to confirm this. The new concept for art and
culture is primarily aimed at efficiency, market processes and large
audience reach.
In the visual arts, not only are fusions being forced and budgets cut
in half, but governmental funding of various renowned institutions is
being completely stopped. This is not just the fate of SKOR, but also
that of the Netherlands Institute for Media Art (NIMK), Manifesta, the
Rijksacademie, Jan van Eyck, De Ateliers and six of the eleven
prestigious Dutch exhibition institutes. Art journals and magazines
will no longer be subsidized.
Open is a groundbreaking SKOR project with an independent editorial
team. It is published by NAi Publishers in collaboration with SKOR,
and since 2004 has been an esteemed international platform for
experimental and interdisciplinary thought on art, culture and the
public domain. Open publishes profound, in-depth essays and is not
aimed at a wide audience. It is not profitable and has but a small
market. It is unique and invaluable. How Open can possibly manage to
survive without SKOR in the current neoliberal and populist Dutch
climate and its denuded cultural landscape is difficult to imagine
right now…
Your declaration of support is urgently needed, and SKOR and Open are
calling on you to make a stand against the present, fatal
developments. We ask you to sign the digital petitions below before 20
June. And please forward them within your network!
On 27 June, the new cultural policy plan will be discussed in the
Lower House of Parliament. We will keep you informed.
Many thanks and kind regards,
Jorinde Seijdel & Liesbeth Melis
Editor in Chief and Editor of Open, Cahier on Art & the Public Domain
Petition SKOR/OPEN in Dutch
http://petities.nl/petitie/waar-is-de-kunst-in-de-openbare-ruimte-gebleven
Petition SKOR/OPEN in English
http://www.skor.nl/artefact-5543-en.html
General petition against the cutbacks in the arts
http://petities.nl/petitie/bezuinigen-op-cultuur-zonder-alle-feiten-nooit
Relevant links
- Slash & Burn, blog Sven Lütticken (English),
http://svenlutticken.blogspot.com/
- Platform Dutch art organizations, www.dezaaknu.nl
- Letter by united Dutch art organizations to Halbe Zijlstra
(English), http://www.skor.nl/article-5520-nl.html?lang=en
# distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
# <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
# collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
# more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l
# archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected]
