Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
Honor, et al... There is a petition here: http://petities.nl/petitie/bezuinigen-op-cultuur-zonder-alle-feiten-nooit Regards, Jesse On 2011-06-15, at 11:38 AM, spectre-requ...@mikrolisten.de wrote: From: Honor Harger ho...@lighthouse.org.uk Subject: Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding To: spectre@mikrolisten.de Cc: Annette Wolfsberger annettefromaust...@gmail.com Message-ID: a06240808ca1e24155c76@[192.168.1.68] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii ; format=flowed Dear all, The situation evolving in the Netherlands is shocking and catastrophic. Can those involved in the Dutch media arts scene let us know what the international community can do to help or support the organisations who face oblivion? I know they seem like small gestures, but I'm sure there's a petition or open letter in circulation, and it would be great to post the details of that here. Plus, is it worth concerned colleagues from around the world, writing letters directly to Halbe Zijlstra? I'm saddened and concerned, and my thoughts are with all my friends in the media arts sector in the Netherlands. Best, Honor Last Friday the new policy plans of the new Minister were announced and published and they are very dramatic in general for the whole field of art and culture in The Netherlands. On the PNEK list it was announced as: New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding. The Dutch New Media Art Organisations Steim, De Waag, Mediamatic, V2 NIMK are about to lose all their funding. The Dutch secretary of state for Culture in the Netherlands, Halbe Zijlstra, has published his policy plan for coming years. In contrast to the official recommendations given to him by the Culture Advisory Board, the cutbacks will not be spread out over a number of years, but will take immediate effect in 2013. The budget for visual art will shrink from 53,3 to 31 million. Among the more damaging and destructive decisions is the complete cutting of funding for the six leading New Media Art Organsiations that produce, distribute and facilitate New Media Art; -STEIM: Independent Live electronic music centre that is exclusively dedicated to the performing arts. -De WAAG: Organisation Worklab for old and new media, developers of open source tools, research technology for the creative independant industry intermediate between art, science and media. -Worm: Rotterdam based laboratory, venue and studios for film, music and internet featuring concerts, new media events, screenings, production of film, music and software art. -Mediamatic: software art projects, lectures, workshops screenings aiming on the young generation of artists, designers tinkerers. -V2: interdisciplinary centre for art and media technology in Rotterdam, activities include organizing presentations, exhibitions and workshops, research and development of artworks operating in an international network -NIMK: The Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk) promotes the wide and unrestrained development, application and distribution of, and reflection on, new technologies within the visual arts. Since the Netherlands Media Art Institute came into being in 1978 an extensive collection of video and media art has been assembled, to which new works are constantly being added. These institutes together form the foundation for New Media Arts in the Netherlands and forfil an important role in the International Network that shares knowledge, exchanges, produces, distributes and promotes various forms of New Media Art. For most of these organisations the budget cuts will mean their disappearance. (fwd) BUT of course there is more to it. In the document one can read that Architecture, Design and eCulture are fusing together in a new fund called Creative Industry (something non of these sectors wants). ALL organization in the 3 domains won't receive any structural funding anymore in this plan BUT the new Fund, that is now being structured, will likely offer the change to organizations to get structural funding (2 to 4 years). But since this fund is not there yet and since they are having strong debates about the role and function, and program of this fund nothing is indicated about this fund in the published document. So when reading the document you get a different picture of what is being debated right now insight the Ministry and with the 3 sectors. The thing that should be in place for this fund are 1. structural funding to some of the important plpl.ayers in the 3 sectors; and 2. creating space for basic research in the 3 sectors. When we get this done we are still facing a hardcore economic agenda (the Minister is a hardcore liberal) but that we can shape and address 'creatively' since we can't and don't want to fullfill this agenda ourselves. Dealing with the goals of the new Fund
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
hi all, this may sound somewhat naive, but given that the organisations involved are not exactly 'fly-by-night' speculative or frivolous instances, but are historically significant parts of the Dutch, European and broader and international cultural, political, educational, academic and scientific landscapes, i.e. institutions of major significant cultural and national heritage, that perhaps this is an issue that needs to be taken up by a court challenge at the European level, either at the European Court of Human Rights or the European Court of Justice. It's not necessarily so that national governments have either the right, the mandate or the power to disproportionately or unreasonably erase such significant portions of their own cultural identity. any legal experts with relevant experience/insight among the ranks of the spectrites? greetings, Stephen On 14.06.2011, at 20:15, Andreas Broeckmann wrote: (fwd) Last Friday the new policy plans of the new Minister were announced and published and they are very dramatic in general for the whole field of art and culture in The Netherlands. On the PNEK list it was announced as: New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding. The Dutch New Media Art Organisations Steim, De Waag, Mediamatic, V2 NIMK are about to lose all their funding. The Dutch secretary of state for Culture in the Netherlands, Halbe Zijlstra, has published his policy plan for coming years. In contrast to the official recommendations given to him by the Culture Advisory Board, the cutbacks will not be spread out over a number of years, but will take immediate effect in 2013. The budget for visual art will shrink from 53,3 to 31 million. Among the more damaging and destructive decisions is the complete cutting of funding for the six leading New Media Art Organsiations that produce, distribute and facilitate New Media Art; -STEIM: Independent Live electronic music centre that is exclusively dedicated to the performing arts. -De WAAG: Organisation Worklab for old and new media, developers of open source tools, research technology for the creative independant industry intermediate between art, science and media. -Worm: Rotterdam based laboratory, venue and studios for film, music and internet featuring concerts, new media events, screenings, production of film, music and software art. -Mediamatic: software art projects, lectures, workshops screenings aiming on the young generation of artists, designers tinkerers. -V2: interdisciplinary centre for art and media technology in Rotterdam, activities include organizing presentations, exhibitions and workshops, research and development of artworks operating in an international network -NIMK: The Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk) promotes the wide and unrestrained development, application and distribution of, and reflection on, new technologies within the visual arts. Since the Netherlands Media Art Institute came into being in 1978 an extensive collection of video and media art has been assembled, to which new works are constantly being added. These institutes together form the foundation for New Media Arts in the Netherlands and forfil an important role in the International Network that shares knowledge, exchanges, produces, distributes and promotes various forms of New Media Art. For most of these organisations the budget cuts will mean their disappearance. (fwd) BUT of course there is more to it. In the document one can read that Architecture, Design and eCulture are fusing together in a new fund called Creative Industry (something non of these sectors wants). ALL organization in the 3 domains won't receive any structural funding anymore in this plan BUT the new Fund, that is now being structured, will likely offer the change to organizations to get structural funding (2 to 4 years). But since this fund is not there yet and since they are having strong debates about the role and function, and program of this fund nothing is indicated about this fund in the published document. So when reading the document you get a different picture of what is being debated right now insight the Ministry and with the 3 sectors. The thing that should be in place for this fund are 1. structural funding to some of the important plpl.ayers in the 3 sectors; and 2. creating space for basic research in the 3 sectors. When we get this done we are still facing a hardcore economic agenda (the Minister is a hardcore liberal) but that we can shape and address 'creatively' since we can't and don't want to fullfill this agenda ourselves. Dealing with the goals of the new Fund will be a major challenge since NO ONE wants this Fund and it has NO bearing grounds. Still, if you read the whole document you can see that probably eCulture, design and architecture are coming out best if you compare what is happening in other sectors
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
Dear all, The situation evolving in the Netherlands is shocking and catastrophic. Can those involved in the Dutch media arts scene let us know what the international community can do to help or support the organisations who face oblivion? I know they seem like small gestures, but I'm sure there's a petition or open letter in circulation, and it would be great to post the details of that here. Plus, is it worth concerned colleagues from around the world, writing letters directly to Halbe Zijlstra? I'm saddened and concerned, and my thoughts are with all my friends in the media arts sector in the Netherlands. Best, Honor Last Friday the new policy plans of the new Minister were announced and published and they are very dramatic in general for the whole field of art and culture in The Netherlands. On the PNEK list it was announced as: New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding. The Dutch New Media Art Organisations Steim, De Waag, Mediamatic, V2 NIMK are about to lose all their funding. The Dutch secretary of state for Culture in the Netherlands, Halbe Zijlstra, has published his policy plan for coming years. In contrast to the official recommendations given to him by the Culture Advisory Board, the cutbacks will not be spread out over a number of years, but will take immediate effect in 2013. The budget for visual art will shrink from 53,3 to 31 million. Among the more damaging and destructive decisions is the complete cutting of funding for the six leading New Media Art Organsiations that produce, distribute and facilitate New Media Art; -STEIM: Independent Live electronic music centre that is exclusively dedicated to the performing arts. -De WAAG: Organisation Worklab for old and new media, developers of open source tools, research technology for the creative independant industry intermediate between art, science and media. -Worm: Rotterdam based laboratory, venue and studios for film, music and internet featuring concerts, new media events, screenings, production of film, music and software art. -Mediamatic: software art projects, lectures, workshops screenings aiming on the young generation of artists, designers tinkerers. -V2: interdisciplinary centre for art and media technology in Rotterdam, activities include organizing presentations, exhibitions and workshops, research and development of artworks operating in an international network -NIMK: The Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk) promotes the wide and unrestrained development, application and distribution of, and reflection on, new technologies within the visual arts. Since the Netherlands Media Art Institute came into being in 1978 an extensive collection of video and media art has been assembled, to which new works are constantly being added. These institutes together form the foundation for New Media Arts in the Netherlands and forfil an important role in the International Network that shares knowledge, exchanges, produces, distributes and promotes various forms of New Media Art. For most of these organisations the budget cuts will mean their disappearance. (fwd) BUT of course there is more to it. In the document one can read that Architecture, Design and eCulture are fusing together in a new fund called Creative Industry (something non of these sectors wants). ALL organization in the 3 domains won't receive any structural funding anymore in this plan BUT the new Fund, that is now being structured, will likely offer the change to organizations to get structural funding (2 to 4 years). But since this fund is not there yet and since they are having strong debates about the role and function, and program of this fund nothing is indicated about this fund in the published document. So when reading the document you get a different picture of what is being debated right now insight the Ministry and with the 3 sectors. The thing that should be in place for this fund are 1. structural funding to some of the important plpl.ayers in the 3 sectors; and 2. creating space for basic research in the 3 sectors. When we get this done we are still facing a hardcore economic agenda (the Minister is a hardcore liberal) but that we can shape and address 'creatively' since we can't and don't want to fullfill this agenda ourselves. Dealing with the goals of the new Fund will be a major challenge since NO ONE wants this Fund and it has NO bearing grounds. Still, if you read the whole document you can see that probably eCulture, design and architecture are coming out best if you compare what is happening in other sectors like theatre, performing arts, post academic education, visual arts a.s. For example all production houses for theatre won't be funded anymore; all post-academic organization like the Rijksacademie, Jan van Eyck and Berlage Institute won't receive any funding anymore after 2012. This are just some of the cuts that have been done. NIMk
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
And then what about joining forces with the UK affected institutions, trying to make a shared court challenge, or two simultaneously? I'm not an expert too, but it seems more and more urgent to plan relevant actions. a. this may sound somewhat naive, but given that the organisations involved are not exactly 'fly-by-night' speculative or frivolous instances, but are historically significant parts of the Dutch, European and broader and international cultural, political, educational, academic and scientific landscapes, i.e. institutions of major significant cultural and national heritage, that perhaps this is an issue that needs to be taken up by a court challenge at the European level, either at the European Court of Human Rights or the European Court of Justice. It's not necessarily so that national governments have either the right, the mandate or the power to disproportionately or unreasonably erase such significant portions of their own cultural identity. any legal experts with relevant experience/insight among the ranks of the spectrites? greetings, Stephen On 14.06.2011, at 20:15, Andreas Broeckmann wrote: (fwd) Last Friday the new policy plans of the new Minister were announced and published and they are very dramatic in general for the whole field of art and culture in The Netherlands. On the PNEK list it was announced as: New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding. The Dutch New Media Art Organisations Steim, De Waag, Mediamatic, V2 NIMK are about to lose all their funding. The Dutch secretary of state for Culture in the Netherlands, Halbe Zijlstra, has published his policy plan for coming years. In contrast to the official recommendations given to him by the Culture Advisory Board, the cutbacks will not be spread out over a number of years, but will take immediate effect in 2013. The budget for visual art will shrink from 53,3 to 31 million. Among the more damaging and destructive decisions is the complete cutting of funding for the six leading New Media Art Organsiations that produce, distribute and facilitate New Media Art; -STEIM: Independent Live electronic music centre that is exclusively dedicated to the performing arts. -De WAAG: Organisation Worklab for old and new media, developers of open source tools, research technology for the creative independant industry intermediate between art, science and media. -Worm: Rotterdam based laboratory, venue and studios for film, music and internet featuring concerts, new media events, screenings, production of film, music and software art. -Mediamatic: software art projects, lectures, workshops screenings aiming on the young generation of artists, designers tinkerers. -V2: interdisciplinary centre for art and media technology in Rotterdam, activities include organizing presentations, exhibitions and workshops, research and development of artworks operating in an international network -NIMK: The Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk) promotes the wide and unrestrained development, application and distribution of, and reflection on, new technologies within the visual arts. Since the Netherlands Media Art Institute came into being in 1978 an extensive collection of video and media art has been assembled, to which new works are constantly being added. These institutes together form the foundation for New Media Arts in the Netherlands and forfil an important role in the International Network that shares knowledge, exchanges, produces, distributes and promotes various forms of New Media Art. For most of these organisations the budget cuts will mean their disappearance. (fwd) BUT of course there is more to it. In the document one can read that Architecture, Design and eCulture are fusing together in a new fund called Creative Industry (something non of these sectors wants). ALL organization in the 3 domains won't receive any structural funding anymore in this plan BUT the new Fund, that is now being structured, will likely offer the change to organizations to get structural funding (2 to 4 years). But since this fund is not there yet and since they are having strong debates about the role and function, and program of this fund nothing is indicated about this fund in the published document. So when reading the document you get a different picture of what is being debated right now insight the Ministry and with the 3 sectors. The thing that should be in place for this fund are 1. structural funding to some of the important plpl.ayers in the 3 sectors; and 2. creating space for basic research in the 3 sectors. When we get this done we are still facing a hardcore economic agenda (the Minister is a hardcore liberal) but that we can shape and address 'creatively' since we can't and don't want to fullfill this agenda ourselves. Dealing with the goals of the new Fund will be a major challenge since NO ONE wants this Fund and it has NO
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
NOPE! When the day is over you want to keep a present and why should new media institution have any better case than theaters, museums, universities, orchestras and the like? Get real, H. Am 15.06.2011 11:38, schrieb Alessandro Ludovico: And then what about joining forces with the UK affected institutions, trying to make a shared court challenge, or two simultaneously? I'm not an expert too, but it seems more and more urgent to plan relevant actions. a. this may sound somewhat naive, but given that the organisations involved are not exactly 'fly-by-night' speculative or frivolous instances, but are historically significant parts of the Dutch, European and broader and international cultural, political, educational, academic and scientific landscapes, i.e. institutions of major significant cultural and national heritage, that perhaps this is an issue that needs to be taken up by a court challenge at the European level, either at the European Court of Human Rights or the European Court of Justice. It's not necessarily so that national governments have either the right, the mandate or the power to disproportionately or unreasonably erase such significant portions of their own cultural identity. any legal experts with relevant experience/insight among the ranks of the spectrites? greetings, Stephen On 14.06.2011, at 20:15, Andreas Broeckmann wrote: (fwd) Last Friday the new policy plans of the new Minister were announced and published and they are very dramatic in general for the whole field of art and culture in The Netherlands. On the PNEK list it was announced as: New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding. The Dutch New Media Art Organisations Steim, De Waag, Mediamatic, V2 NIMK are about to lose all their funding. The Dutch secretary of state for Culture in the Netherlands, Halbe Zijlstra, has published his policy plan for coming years. In contrast to the official recommendations given to him by the Culture Advisory Board, the cutbacks will not be spread out over a number of years, but will take immediate effect in 2013. The budget for visual art will shrink from 53,3 to 31 million. Among the more damaging and destructive decisions is the complete cutting of funding for the six leading New Media Art Organsiations that produce, distribute and facilitate New Media Art; -STEIM: Independent Live electronic music centre that is exclusively dedicated to the performing arts. -De WAAG: Organisation Worklab for old and new media, developers of open source tools, research technology for the creative independant industry intermediate between art, science and media. -Worm: Rotterdam based laboratory, venue and studios for film, music and internet featuring concerts, new media events, screenings, production of film, music and software art. -Mediamatic: software art projects, lectures, workshops screenings aiming on the young generation of artists, designers tinkerers. -V2: interdisciplinary centre for art and media technology in Rotterdam, activities include organizing presentations, exhibitions and workshops, research and development of artworks operating in an international network -NIMK: The Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk) promotes the wide and unrestrained development, application and distribution of, and reflection on, new technologies within the visual arts. Since the Netherlands Media Art Institute came into being in 1978 an extensive collection of video and media art has been assembled, to which new works are constantly being added. These institutes together form the foundation for New Media Arts in the Netherlands and forfil an important role in the International Network that shares knowledge, exchanges, produces, distributes and promotes various forms of New Media Art. For most of these organisations the budget cuts will mean their disappearance. (fwd) BUT of course there is more to it. In the document one can read that Architecture, Design and eCulture are fusing together in a new fund called Creative Industry (something non of these sectors wants). ALL organization in the 3 domains won't receive any structural funding anymore in this plan BUT the new Fund, that is now being structured, will likely offer the change to organizations to get structural funding (2 to 4 years). But since this fund is not there yet and since they are having strong debates about the role and function, and program of this fund nothing is indicated about this fund in the published document. So when reading the document you get a different picture of what is being debated right now insight the Ministry and with the 3 sectors. The thing that should be in place for this fund are 1. structural funding to some of the important plpl.ayers in the 3 sectors; and 2. creating space for basic research in the 3 sectors. When we get this done we are still facing a hardcore economic agenda (the Minister is a
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
dear alessandro, friends, And then what about joining forces with the UK affected institutions, trying to make a shared court challenge, or two simultaneously? I'm not an expert too, but it seems more and more urgent to plan relevant actions. i would not do this; while we can observe how these inter-national phenomena are interrelated, the decision-making is happening on a national level and, in my opinion, the politicians in Den Haag or London will be more impressed by targeted international support for their specific national institutions, than by a (blanket) international campaign for 'media art in general'. my own guess is that the dutch 'threat' is a test to see how the different arts sectors will respond. if this is true, it does not change much in terms of the pressure on the institutions, but i believe that it can help to fine-tune the reaction and campaign. in this case (and unlike the english situation), the dutch institutions are working in a strong and well-established network for over 10 years and i believe that even more important than international reminders of the special value of this e-cultural landscape to the minister, will be a dutch argumentation around the societal relevance of this field (far beyond [supposedly] redundant publically funded art = leftist hobbies). also, we need to keep in mind that while this looks like an attack on media art structures, it is really an onslaught against a decade-old national cultural infrastructure that affects many other cultural institutions even more than the e-culture field. (this in part also because, in this latter sector, there is a greater routine of additional fund-raising and of working with diverse funding sources.) regards, -a __ SPECTRE list for media culture in Deep Europe Info, archive and help: http://post.in-mind.de/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/spectre
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
hello Maria, Which one did you try to sign? You might want to sign this, which is a way to move beyond national politics: http://www.wearemore.eu/manifesto/ Or this one, which summons the government to give all the facts (ie publish the financial costs of this policy in the long run): http://petities.nl/petitie/bezuinigen-op-cultuur-zonder-alle-feiten- nooit 'Ik' means 'I' and asks for your name. 'wonende te' means 'place of residency' (Amsterdam for example). 'Ja, mijn naam en woonplaats mogen zichtbaar zijn' means 'yes, my name and place of residency may by publicly visible' on the online version of the petition. 'emailadres' seems obvious... ;-) Thanks for wanting to help! warmly, J * On 15 Jun 2011, at 12:48, Maria Chatzichristodoulou wrote: I think Josephine's points are really important. I hope to engage in this discussion more fully as I think what is happening in the UK and the Netherlands in terms of cuts to arts funding, and the fact that media art organisations in particular might be targeted (and why), is saddening, worrying and misjudged. On this occasion I just wanted to say: I tried to sign the petition that someone sent, which is in Dutch only, but it's been quite complicated and I'm not even sure I managed! Might it be a good idea to produce a translation for this in English, that is more accurate than the one generated by google translator? I am sure that many colleagues internationally will want to add their names and wonder if others were confused too. All best Maria X On 15/06/2011 11:23, Josephine Bosma je...@xs4all.nl wrote: hi Stephen and others, It is not a naive idea at all imo. The only problem with it is that, see Heiko's reaction, it needs a thorough argumentation and a readily acceptance of experts in the field. What is at stake, I think, is the place of art in the world in general. We all remember quite clearly the outrage about the destruction of invaluable statues in Afghanistan. There are however no laws to protect cultural heritage of international value. It could be time to develop them. A question that would come up when discussing this would be: does a forced move to the private sector damage the arts significantly enough to speak of destruction of international or national cultural heritage? Yesterday evening I was quite shocked to see the Dutch evening news (NOS journaal) present an uncritical item about how american art institutions think their interests are best served by the private sector, away from government funds. Apparently an acceptance of a move from the arts towards market forces and friendly benefactors that need to be kept happy personally in order to be willing to give support is well underway. So what is destruction and what exactly needs to be supported, maintained or saved? The reason the plans of the Dutch government will most likely succeed is that they play very well on the divide between traditional and experimental art spheres. best, J * On 15 Jun 2011, at 09:38, stephen kovats wrote: hi all, this may sound somewhat naive, but given that the organisations involved are not exactly 'fly-by-night' speculative or frivolous instances, but are historically significant parts of the Dutch, European and broader and international cultural, political, educational, academic and scientific landscapes, i.e. institutions of major significant cultural and national heritage, that perhaps this is an issue that needs to be taken up by a court challenge at the European level, either at the European Court of Human Rights or the European Court of Justice. It's not necessarily so that national governments have either the right, the mandate or the power to disproportionately or unreasonably erase such significant portions of their own cultural identity. any legal experts with relevant experience/insight among the ranks of the spectrites? greetings, Stephen On 14.06.2011, at 20:15, Andreas Broeckmann wrote: (fwd) Last Friday the new policy plans of the new Minister were announced and published and they are very dramatic in general for the whole field of art and culture in The Netherlands. On the PNEK list it was announced as: New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding. The Dutch New Media Art Organisations Steim, De Waag, Mediamatic, V2 NIMK are about to lose all their funding. The Dutch secretary of state for Culture in the Netherlands, Halbe Zijlstra, has published his policy plan for coming years. In contrast to the official recommendations given to him by the Culture Advisory Board, the cutbacks will not be spread out over a number of years, but will take immediate effect in 2013. The budget for visual art will shrink from 53,3 to 31 million. Among the more damaging and destructive decisions is the complete cutting of funding for the six leading New Media Art Organsiations that produce, distribute and facilitate New Media Art; -STEIM: Independent Live electronic music centre that
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
Just a quick and final response before getting on my way: I totally agree with Andreas that we should not make this a battle for media art alone. That said, what is striking in this new policy is the division of the arts into (literally called in the policy) 'pearls' that will keep their funding and, well, 'trash' maybe? When looking at the 'pearls' there are the Rijksmuseum (Rembrandt), The National Opera and the National Ballet, the Rotterdam Filmfestival and a few more. NONE of the new media cultural institutions are among the 'pearls'. The problems we face therefore are complicated: huge cuts along a very broad line in the arts, and an emphasis of existing divisions between more traditional arts and new media arts. It is a time for action against a very trashy policy (Art is taste. It should make you happy Halbe Zijlstra quote) AND reflections and emphasis on the expertise and heritage of this unwelcome and ever widening field: new media culture. On 15 Jun 2011, at 13:06, Andreas Broeckmann wrote: dear alessandro, friends, And then what about joining forces with the UK affected institutions, trying to make a shared court challenge, or two simultaneously? I'm not an expert too, but it seems more and more urgent to plan relevant actions. i would not do this; while we can observe how these inter-national phenomena are interrelated, the decision-making is happening on a national level and, in my opinion, the politicians in Den Haag or London will be more impressed by targeted international support for their specific national institutions, than by a (blanket) international campaign for 'media art in general'. my own guess is that the dutch 'threat' is a test to see how the different arts sectors will respond. if this is true, it does not change much in terms of the pressure on the institutions, but i believe that it can help to fine-tune the reaction and campaign. in this case (and unlike the english situation), the dutch institutions are working in a strong and well-established network for over 10 years and i believe that even more important than international reminders of the special value of this e-cultural landscape to the minister, will be a dutch argumentation around the societal relevance of this field (far beyond [supposedly] redundant publically funded art = leftist hobbies). also, we need to keep in mind that while this looks like an attack on media art structures, it is really an onslaught against a decade- old national cultural infrastructure that affects many other cultural institutions even more than the e-culture field. (this in part also because, in this latter sector, there is a greater routine of additional fund-raising and of working with diverse funding sources.) regards, -a __ SPECTRE list for media culture in Deep Europe Info, archive and help: http://post.in-mind.de/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/spectre __ SPECTRE list for media culture in Deep Europe Info, archive and help: http://post.in-mind.de/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/spectre
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
Am 15.06.2011 12:23, schrieb Josephine Bosma: hi Stephen and others, It is not a naive idea at all imo. The only problem with it is that, see Heiko's reaction, it needs a thorough argumentation and a readily acceptance of experts in the field. What is at stake, I think, is the place of art in the world in general. We all remember quite clearly the outrage about the destruction of invaluable statues in Afghanistan. There are however no laws to protect cultural heritage of international value. It could be time to develop them. Dear Josephine, notice that this is a political question and not a legal one, my point, and notice, thats a reality, that you are without doubt not any cultural heritage. Neither any similar work. You would do net.art etc a big favour to realise that there are bigger problems in the world. Lets concentrate on the application of the UNESCO treaties that we allready have. UK, the USA etc.. Be carefull with ideas like internet access is a human right and so on, you can make your effords very easily very ridiculous. Good luck, H. __ SPECTRE list for media culture in Deep Europe Info, archive and help: http://post.in-mind.de/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/spectre
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
..on Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 12:23:05PM +0200, Josephine Bosma wrote: A question that would come up when discussing this would be: does a forced move to the private sector damage the arts significantly enough to speak of destruction of international or national cultural heritage? Yesterday evening I was quite shocked to see the Dutch evening news (NOS journaal) present an uncritical item about how american art institutions think their interests are best served by the private sector, away from government funds. Apparently an acceptance of a move from the arts towards market forces and friendly benefactors that need to be kept happy personally in order to be willing to give support is well underway. I think it's important to question the root expectation of State support altogether, however absurd that question may seem. Where I come from, New Zealand, students come out of humanities degrees with $30,000+ loans and comparable arts organisations run on vastly less arts funding, 1/20th at best, of what the Dutch enjoy, one reason I left. Since, European arts funding has been very good to me and I wish it to remain. I've greatly enjoyed (and benefited) working with several of the Dutch organisations now under the axe. What is happening in the Netherlands is grim indeed.. That said, I do believe it's foolish to /expect/ a persisting agenda of cultural support from the State. The modern European state has emerged as a geographically-abstracted capital enterprise whose executives we vote into power from time to time. With post-crisis economic rationalism the call of the day, the State-as-enterprise wants competitive capital growth, first and foremost. With exploding populations stressing infrastructure, in an agressive marketplace, supporting this thing called Media Arts may simply not prove to be in State interest, may simply not make any sort of sense. Moreso, the executives that the democratic majority put in power bring with them their own strategies and interests, each of which may or may not later reflect the terms under which they were voted in. It's always going to be a gamble.. As such, /depending/ on the state to support Media Arts organisations, let alone culture infrastructure altogether, is not wise. It will need to be more dexterous that this. Cultural projects that are believed to not: stimulate new markets, generate cultural tourism, revitalise a struggling post-industrial town (Newcastle, Linz, Karlsruhe), contribute to industrial RD, project an image that fits State branding will increasingly be dropped. It's here where a lab that hosts workshops on Edible Computing, The Programmable Crochet Symposium, Fungal Antennae Propagation or Kite-Based Mesh-Networking master classes may not appear a sensible investment when appearing in Times New Roman under the red pen. It doesn't matter how intrinsically important they are within the broader human project. European countries are following the New World and rationalising away from support of the arts, preferring privatisation of the so-called Arts Sector. All said, if we are to continue to gamble with state support, we need to further educate voters as to the real value of what we are doing. The gain in supporting it must be tangibly, publically felt. This means more successful public programs, increased accessibility to research, extensive knowledge sharing etc.. This is not to say those troubled Dutch organisations haven't been particularly active in this regard already. Good things sometimes end, or are ended. Cheers! Julian -- http://julianoliver.com On 15 Jun 2011, at 09:38, stephen kovats wrote: hi all, this may sound somewhat naive, but given that the organisations involved are not exactly 'fly-by-night' speculative or frivolous instances, but are historically significant parts of the Dutch, European and broader and international cultural, political, educational, academic and scientific landscapes, i.e. institutions of major significant cultural and national heritage, that perhaps this is an issue that needs to be taken up by a court challenge at the European level, either at the European Court of Human Rights or the European Court of Justice. It's not necessarily so that national governments have either the right, the mandate or the power to disproportionately or unreasonably erase such significant portions of their own cultural identity. any legal experts with relevant experience/insight among the ranks of the spectrites? greetings, Stephen On 14.06.2011, at 20:15, Andreas Broeckmann wrote: (fwd) Last Friday the new policy plans of the new Minister were announced and published and they are very dramatic in general for the whole field of art and culture in The Netherlands. On the PNEK list it was announced as: New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding. The Dutch New Media Art Organisations Steim, De Waag, Mediamatic, V2 NIMK are about to lose all their
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
Heiko is realistic. Politicians are able to make these changes if they think they can. That's a function of their electoral security (not the same thing as a mandate). Unless what a government is doing is illegal I don't see how the courts can help. As the UK doesn't fully recognise the European Court of Human Rights and is moving to over-ride it with its own legislation it is also something of a moot point here. However, lobbying is still important. Many of the organisations involved will survive (if they were planning ahead they would have ensured they had appropriately diversified income models) and be able to negotiate with government and its agencies over future policy and funding. Here in the UK Higher Education has been cut by 80%. Most universities will continue to exist but are changing the way they work. They are also lobbying behind the scenes to ameliorate certain affects and alter policy where they can. The same is going on in the cultural sector, which has been cut by 40%. The cuts hurt and some organisations will close. Many people are losing their jobs. It's awful. But I do not see what this has to do with the courts. I don't think governments are obliged to provide jobs for everyone. They can't. This is about politics, not the law. In the UK for funding of the new media arts sector is moving towards an instrumental view of digital media. This means cutting digital arts organisations that promote experimental practice and placing what funding is left in programmes that support conventional arts organisations in developing their websites, digital marketing capability and train their staff in social media for PR. Best Simon On 15/06/2011 10:53, Heiko Recktenwald heikorecktenw...@googlemail.com wrote: NOPE! When the day is over you want to keep a present and why should new media institution have any better case than theaters, museums, universities, orchestras and the like? Get real, H. Am 15.06.2011 11:38, schrieb Alessandro Ludovico: And then what about joining forces with the UK affected institutions, trying to make a shared court challenge, or two simultaneously? I'm not an expert too, but it seems more and more urgent to plan relevant actions. a. this may sound somewhat naive, but given that the organisations involved are not exactly 'fly-by-night' speculative or frivolous instances, but are historically significant parts of the Dutch, European and broader and international cultural, political, educational, academic and scientific landscapes, i.e. institutions of major significant cultural and national heritage, that perhaps this is an issue that needs to be taken up by a court challenge at the European level, either at the European Court of Human Rights or the European Court of Justice. It's not necessarily so that national governments have either the right, the mandate or the power to disproportionately or unreasonably erase such significant portions of their own cultural identity. any legal experts with relevant experience/insight among the ranks of the spectrites? greetings, Stephen On 14.06.2011, at 20:15, Andreas Broeckmann wrote: (fwd) Last Friday the new policy plans of the new Minister were announced and published and they are very dramatic in general for the whole field of art and culture in The Netherlands. On the PNEK list it was announced as: New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding. The Dutch New Media Art Organisations Steim, De Waag, Mediamatic, V2 NIMK are about to lose all their funding. The Dutch secretary of state for Culture in the Netherlands, Halbe Zijlstra, has published his policy plan for coming years. In contrast to the official recommendations given to him by the Culture Advisory Board, the cutbacks will not be spread out over a number of years, but will take immediate effect in 2013. The budget for visual art will shrink from 53,3 to 31 million. Among the more damaging and destructive decisions is the complete cutting of funding for the six leading New Media Art Organsiations that produce, distribute and facilitate New Media Art; -STEIM: Independent Live electronic music centre that is exclusively dedicated to the performing arts. -De WAAG: Organisation Worklab for old and new media, developers of open source tools, research technology for the creative independant industry intermediate between art, science and media. -Worm: Rotterdam based laboratory, venue and studios for film, music and internet featuring concerts, new media events, screenings, production of film, music and software art. -Mediamatic: software art projects, lectures, workshops screenings aiming on the young generation of artists, designers tinkerers. -V2: interdisciplinary centre for art and media technology in Rotterdam, activities include organizing presentations, exhibitions and workshops, research and development of artworks operating in an
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
Much more than 2 cents! On 15/06/2011 14:44, Christopher Salter csal...@gmx.net wrote: Dear All, I have just returned from the Netherlands (in residence at STEIM, which is one of the institutions which will be affected by the cuts) where I was engaged in many discussions with artists and curators about the Zijlstra announcement. The slash and burn cultural policy from Zijlstra and the VDD is another neo-liberal attempt at privatization, not only of subsidized culture but all other public goods. The policy is both reckless and, at the same time, divide and conquer. By shifting the larger majority of funds to the established cultural institutions, Zijlstra can argue that he is supporting Dutch culture (and national heritage) while at the same time, creating a Social Darwinist hierarchy among institutions. An across the board cut effecting all cultural institutions would enable the potential for lobbying between the high cultural institutions (the Nederlands Oper, the Rotterdam IFF, the Rijskmuseum, etc) and the alternative scene. By funding the big institutions (who also know that they depend on the alternative scene for talent), he creates a two tiered system and weakens the possibility of a united front. Despite everyone's best intentions, it is unlikely that Zijlstra will be convinced by online petitions from artists and arts organizers. This is his chance to make history for himself by reversing a Dutch cultural policy that has been long in place. Polticians (at least those nowadays) only care about votes. So the only way to reverse these decisions is to make Zijlstra look like a fool in front of the other politicans and the Dutch, European and international public based on European and international pressure. This article in the NY Times from last October provides a somewhat useful overview of the situation: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/opinion/23iht-edbickerton.html The main thing to keep in mind through all of this is that the media arts are not being singled out. ALL small and medium scale institutions (including post graduate education programs) are. The situations for the visual and performing arts is equally disastrous, especially since these fields (particularly the performing arts) have no chance whatsoever at even connecting to the so-called creative industries. In other words, this is not the time to argue for the benefit of the media arts and continue a ghettoization that makes such cultural policy's as Zijlstra's so easy to implement. In the face of cuts to the public welfare system in general, the arts budget is peanuts. The larger question is one of the necessity of subsidized heterogenous culture, in general, across all different scales and areas. If one wants to organize a letter writing and email campaign (such as what happened when the City of Frankfurt tried to shut down the Frankfurt Ballet), then it should come from united and more influential fronts rather than just the media arts sector. 1. From the international perspective, we need to marshall the connections we have as leaders of festivals, institutions, etc. to try and encourage the directors of international (and particularly, european) cultural institutions (both public and private (the alliance francais, the goethe institute, the british council, the canadian and quebec art councils and many other organizations) to write letters to the Dutch parliament and to get those letters out there as much as possible. Furthermore, there has not been a single story since the Zijlstra announcement in the international press (for example, the Herald Tribune). Why is this? 2. What does the EU Commission's cultural policy body think about Zijlstra's proposal? http://ec.europa.eu/culture/our-programmes-and-actions/doc411_en.htm. Can the argument be made that the Dutch arts cuts will have a strong effect on Dutch institutions to participate in European cultural policy and projects (again, across all institutional scales, from small to large) due to the lack of diversity across scales and types of cultural practices? It seems to make sense that the letters should also go to the Commission DG urging a response from Brussels (http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/vassiliou/contact/commissioner/index _en.htm_ 3. The Dutch situation is far more complex because none of us outside of the Hague really knows what is going on but one strategy is to have the heads of the large institutions write in the press and to the government that the policy will affect ALL cultural institutions and general cultural life in the Netherlands. Letters from Pierre Audi (the director of the Nederlands Oper and the Holland Festival), the head of the Rijksmuseum, etc. will go less on the deaf ears of the politicians than letters from unknown institutions. Do any of us have those connections or, thinking six degrees of separation, do we know people that do? Furthermore,
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
Rijksakademie from Amsterdam is rare and exemplary institution that don't distinguish between contemporary art and (new) media art, in a positive manner. d Begin forwarded message: From: Rijksakademie - Edith Rijnja edith.rij...@rijksakademie.nl Date: June 15, 2011 8:18:22 PM GMT+02:00 To: Fritz, Darko frit...@chello.nl Subject: Support the Rijksakademie, secure the art of the future! Reply-To: edith.rij...@rijksakademie.nl Dear artists and friends of the Rijksakademie, We would like to ask your attention for a serious matter. The existence of the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten is being threatened by the Dutch Government. The intention to terminate governmental support as of 2013 endangers the future of this crucial source of top talent in the visual arts. What the Rijksakademie asks from the government is an approach of a planning in phases in order to have some time to make new plans for the future. The Rijksakademie is part of a large community. We have launched an online petition to reach out to our alumni, friends, partners and supporters from all over the world. Please join us to secure the Rijksakademie as a vital source of the art of the future. Sign the petition. http://www.change.org/petitions/support-the-rijsakademie-secure-the-art-of-the-future?utm_source=share_petitionutm_medium=email Voice your opinion and leave a personal message. And, please forward this email. We hope to have as many reactions as possible before June 20, when we will hand over the petition and signatures to the Secretary of Culture Mr. Halbe Zijlstra and Members of the Dutch Parliament. Thanks a lot. With kind regards, also on behalf of the artists and staff of the Rijksakademie, Edith Rijnja Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten Co-ordinator Alumni Projects / Rijksakademie Artists' Network Sarphatistraat 470 1018 GW Amsterdam tel +31 (0)20 5270300 fax +31 (0) 20 5270301 edith.rij...@rijksakademie.nl http://www.rijksakademie.nl/ __ SPECTRE list for media culture in Deep Europe Info, archive and help: http://post.in-mind.de/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/spectre
Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
I am not very good at politics but those Dutch institutions are part of European programs/projects with other European (new media) art institutions. If they have to reduce their activities or even shut down because their fundings are cut, this means they won't be able to fulfill their part in those programs. Can't this be used as an argument on a European level and a national level ? (breaking a contract) And in any case being united is always a good idea and shouting our voices (even if we don't all vote in the Netherlands) is also always a good idea. Annick -- Annick Bureaud (abure...@gmail.com) tel: 33/(0)1 43 20 92 23 mobile/cell : 33/(0)6 86 77 65 76 Leonardo/Olats : http://www.olats.org Web : http://www.annickbureaud.net - __ SPECTRE list for media culture in Deep Europe Info, archive and help: http://post.in-mind.de/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/spectre
Re: Re: [spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
Hi,
another
neo-liberal attempt at privatization, not only of subsidized culture
but all other public goods.
Polticians (at least those nowadays) only care about
votes.
From the international perspective, we need to marshall the
connections we have as leaders of festivals, institutions, etc. [...]
to write letters to the Dutch parliament [...].
The Rise of the Creative Class
in the stages of late capitalism
and an international neo-liberal uprising in which we are in, none of
us can afford to take sides.
I believe some categories are not understood here, not to say
completely misunderstood. Although it seems to be the abstract domain
it's needless to say these categories are related to the concrete.
Since most people call these days the neo-liberal age or late capitalism
(as most Maoist-Leninist writers in Europe, more specifically in Germany
and France after the 1968-'shock' would have done in the 1970s) it is
quite true, that there IS a policy about keeping the capital's profits
up (not juts since the OECD Guidelines in late 1970s after the big
crises of the late 60s and early 70s).
But the term neo-liberal is used very often nowadays descriptively
like designation, like an aim, as if it were a campaign or conspiracy,
a way back away from a more progressive economical regime to older bad
days. This plot, this story of telling the neo-liberal continuous form
considering it as an incident or an new/old horizon shows that
capitalism's logic is fully regarded superficial and glitzy. The
reproduction of this story is the story of the 1990's and newer media
theory which was fed by state sponsors and. Its young authors seem to
have turned away from the economical topoi of media to the media media
questions. Now the increased productiveness forces to reclaim the
economical spects of media and they are disclosed as social factors.
For example: according to Florian Cramer (in 2004) Matthew Fuller came
up with the social software-term in terms of another social system
initiated by software and other usage than push or pull-only media. At
the moment this dictum turns out to be just the afterburner for the
early zero years of this millennium's businesses _as_ a network
(Castells). Starbucks rules within Web 2.0 and the social is the
consumption. Consequently Cramer supported action against the 2.0
regime.
Matthew Fuller though himself refers to the general intellect as
the intellect as productive force and pushes the commodity
production beside, see his article Softness: interrogability;
general intellect; art methodologies in software
(http://darc.imv.au.dk/wp-content/files/13.pdf [30.06.2009]). This
focus on the intellect is in fact the illness of the arts updated to be
arts and technologies (social media), which is _the_ creativity factor
in western economies and their national boundaries; their global
perspective of course is to design and to let assemble somewhere else.
This creativity factor has to be centralized and gathered of course
within each nation -- as it once was the case in the 90s: The ZKM in
Karslruhe is a pretty good example for such centering.
Even pharmaceutical industry (Shering) can learn a thing from artists
(even NASA did from Laurie Anderson -- who else? -- some years ago). The
result here is productivity as productivity for the (private -- what
else?) industries, not against.
For instance, Fukushima is Germany's last chance to get a new world
market with green industries. Designers are welcome, even those
'designers' who address criticisms to the hand that feeds them. So why
wondering? Why asking for funds for critical media practices?
The official political game is simply proportional representation and
the status quo in a parliamentary democracy. But votes are driven not
only by promises made by politicians but at beforehand driven by private
profit. Funny that, despite the proportional representation, within this
Rise of the Creative Class ('free'lancers 'independent' workers for
better wages) it is still the state people are calling for. But states
are half bankrupt today.
And what uprising of these states of neo-liberalism? The policies of
states as a function of the capital are quite clear and not at all an
uprising since it's their task to save banks and cash flow (event
against banks, as it was the case in USA in 2008). Otherwise credit
systems would fall over the bones of the payment defaults due to a hyper
number of commodities no one can buy. Thesis is, that there is a
superior number of media art/tech works which has to be canalized like
numbers of products have to be canalized in other sectors as well. This
depends on the structure of national capitals, true. But nonproductive
fields in sectors have to leave the spot. So there's a need to fight for
ones own field in the sector (distribution battle).
But what states and state banks can not end is the deeper crisis of the
nonmarketable coming from exactly this overproduction of goods/wares.
However the
[spectre] New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding
(fwd) Last Friday the new policy plans of the new Minister were announced and published and they are very dramatic in general for the whole field of art and culture in The Netherlands. On the PNEK list it was announced as: New Media Art Organisations in Netherlands lose funding. The Dutch New Media Art Organisations Steim, De Waag, Mediamatic, V2 NIMK are about to lose all their funding. The Dutch secretary of state for Culture in the Netherlands, Halbe Zijlstra, has published his policy plan for coming years. In contrast to the official recommendations given to him by the Culture Advisory Board, the cutbacks will not be spread out over a number of years, but will take immediate effect in 2013. The budget for visual art will shrink from 53,3 to 31 million. Among the more damaging and destructive decisions is the complete cutting of funding for the six leading New Media Art Organsiations that produce, distribute and facilitate New Media Art; -STEIM: Independent Live electronic music centre that is exclusively dedicated to the performing arts. -De WAAG: Organisation Worklab for old and new media, developers of open source tools, research technology for the creative independant industry intermediate between art, science and media. -Worm: Rotterdam based laboratory, venue and studios for film, music and internet featuring concerts, new media events, screenings, production of film, music and software art. -Mediamatic: software art projects, lectures, workshops screenings aiming on the young generation of artists, designers tinkerers. -V2: interdisciplinary centre for art and media technology in Rotterdam, activities include organizing presentations, exhibitions and workshops, research and development of artworks operating in an international network -NIMK: The Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk) promotes the wide and unrestrained development, application and distribution of, and reflection on, new technologies within the visual arts. Since the Netherlands Media Art Institute came into being in 1978 an extensive collection of video and media art has been assembled, to which new works are constantly being added. These institutes together form the foundation for New Media Arts in the Netherlands and forfil an important role in the International Network that shares knowledge, exchanges, produces, distributes and promotes various forms of New Media Art. For most of these organisations the budget cuts will mean their disappearance. (fwd) BUT of course there is more to it. In the document one can read that Architecture, Design and eCulture are fusing together in a new fund called Creative Industry (something non of these sectors wants). ALL organization in the 3 domains won't receive any structural funding anymore in this plan BUT the new Fund, that is now being structured, will likely offer the change to organizations to get structural funding (2 to 4 years). But since this fund is not there yet and since they are having strong debates about the role and function, and program of this fund nothing is indicated about this fund in the published document. So when reading the document you get a different picture of what is being debated right now insight the Ministry and with the 3 sectors. The thing that should be in place for this fund are 1. structural funding to some of the important plpl.ayers in the 3 sectors; and 2. creating space for basic research in the 3 sectors. When we get this done we are still facing a hardcore economic agenda (the Minister is a hardcore liberal) but that we can shape and address 'creatively' since we can't and don't want to fullfill this agenda ourselves. Dealing with the goals of the new Fund will be a major challenge since NO ONE wants this Fund and it has NO bearing grounds. Still, if you read the whole document you can see that probably eCulture, design and architecture are coming out best if you compare what is happening in other sectors like theatre, performing arts, post academic education, visual arts a.s. For example all production houses for theatre won't be funded anymore; all post-academic organization like the Rijksacademie, Jan van Eyck and Berlage Institute won't receive any funding anymore after 2012. This are just some of the cuts that have been done. NIMk nevertheless, since they are not part of eCulture but the visual arts, are serious trouble up from 2013. The Minister indicated that he has NO responsiblity for an archive that is not set up by the Ministry but by a foundation itself, so it's NIMk's responsibility to deal with their archive he thinks. The same for the Theater Instituut Nederland that won't get any funding and who also have a large archive on theatre on theatre covering decades of history. but it's also an archive setup and organised by the institute itself so also here the Minister sees no responsibilities for him. So you can imagine that I have been lobbying, having
