Amateur Arts Week 2013
Amateur Arts Week 2013 Examining the significance of connections and partnerships relating to Amateur Arts Week in Haarlemmermeer, Lelystad, Nuenen, Veere, Venlo and Wageningen 1
National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
School tree at Museum van Bommel van Dam, Venlo. Photograph: Karin de Jonge 2
Amateur Arts Week 2013
Content
Foreword
5
1.
Introduction
6
2.
Our approach
8
3.
Amateur Arts Week in six municipalities
10
4. 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4
Cooperation and connection Raising the profile of the amateur arts Cooperation between disciplines Art at special locations Collaboration with other sectors
18 19 21 25 30
5.
Press and publicity
36
6. 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6
What Amateur Arts Week means to the local community Importance of local coordination The impact of cooperation The role of local government Publicity and social media The value and the future of Amateur Arts Week Amateur Arts Week and LKCA
38 38 39 40 40 41 42
7. Appendix 7.1 Explanation of graphics 7.2 Sources
44 44 45
8.
46
Publishing details
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National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
Dance performance, Lelystad. Photograph: Ingrid Krabbe 4
Amateur Arts Week 2013
Foreword In 2013, Amateur Arts Week was held for the third time; 63 municipalities took part. This week-long event gives people every opportunity to see, hear and experience the amateur arts. It is a wonderful chance for the residents of a municipality to become better acquainted with the amateur arts scene and to enjoy all kinds of arts activities close to home: from dance to painting, from poetry to choral or orchestral performances, and from theatre to digital media.
Yet the significance of Amateur Arts Week for the local community goes further still. It encourages the amateur arts and cultural organisations to enter into new collaborations and to establish new connections: not only between amateur arts associations and cultural organisations, but also with partners from other sectors, such as health care, welfare, education, sport, heritage, industry, and hotel & catering. This survey presents a wide range of examples, such as art in the neighbourhood, arts activities at a day care centre and a centre for asylum seekers, and art at school, on the beach and at all kinds of other special locations. These examples show what cooperation within the context of Amateur Arts Week can offer to people and organisations in the local community. It is an event that reinforces the value of participation in the arts for people in the local community and that raises the profile of the arts. In the years to come, LKCA will continue to work with Stichting WAK Nederland (the foundation behind the event) to strengthen and promote the value of active cultural participation during and in relation to Amateur Arts Week. Ocker van Munster Director of LKCA
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National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
Introduction 1.
In 2011, Amateur Arts Week (Week van de Amateurkunst, WAK) was held for the first time. The organisation behind the initiative was Kunstfactor, which was absorbed into the National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA) from 1 January 2013. Kunstfactor organised Amateur Arts Week until the end of 2012. From the start of 2013, the event came under the auspices of Stichting WAK Nederland, a foundation charged with its implementation and promotion. In 2013, Amateur Arts Week was held from Saturday 25 May to Sunday 2 June.
LKCA examines and records the forms of cooperation, processes and networks that occur at local level in relation to Amateur Arts Week and disseminates this information. In doing so, it makes the resulting collaboration and connections visible at local level. This is consistent with LKCA’s broader objective of contributing to the development of the cultural infrastructure and of providing an accurate and up-to-date infrastructural overview.
In producing this survey, LKCA has focused on Amateur Arts Week coordinators, provincial institutions, amateur arts organisations and service desks, arts educators, cultural policymakers, culture coordinators in education and partners in the municipalities that participate in Amateur Arts Week. The survey’s objective is to show the impact of Amateur Arts Week on amateur arts activities in the local community and to inspire new connections and collaboration.
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In 2013, LKCA was also involved in awarding the BNG (Dutch Municipal Bank) prize for the best Amateur Arts Week municipality. The aim of the BNG prize is to encourage municipalities to enable their local amateur arts scene to grow and flourish to its full potential. An independent jury selects the nominees and the winner on the basis of set criteria. LKCA facilitated the work of the jury. Since 2011, the BNG prize has been awarded annually. The winner has the honour of organising the national launch of the following Amateur Arts Week. In 2013, that honour went to Lelystad.
Amateur Arts Week 2013
A podium at Noordduine beach club, Veere
Amateur Arts Week gives the local amateur arts scene the opportunity to present itself and encourages new partnerships and new connections with the surrounding community.
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National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
Our approach 2.
In 2013, 63 municipalities took part in Amateur Arts Week. LKCA followed the activities in six of these municipalities to find out more about the kinds of cooperation and connections that have arisen as a result of the event. The municipalities were selected on the basis of several criteria: - equal distribution across large, medium and small municipalities; - national coverage, including urban and rural areas; - diversity of promoters; - experience of previous editions. The municipalities surveyed were Haarlemmermeer, Lelystad, Nuenen, Veere, Venlo and Wageningen. Discussions were held with these municipalities about the organisation and cooperation during Amateur Arts Week and a visit was paid to one or more activities associated with the event. In Chapter 3, we will provide further details about these municipalities. For each municipality, the cultural climate, the level of community involvement and the policy and budget have been mapped out. Diagrams for each municipality have been produced, incorporating the level of facilities, the providers and aspects of the cultural climate. Similarities and differences are presented in a diagram that includes all six municipalities. This work has been carried out in collaboration with LKCA’s Research and Monitoring department, which is conducting research into Amateur Arts Services in a number of municipalities.
Chapter 4 takes a look at examples of cooperation and connection. In doing so, we identify four factors which indicate how the activity or cooperation connects to the local environment: 1. Raising the profile of the amateur arts; 2. Cooperation between disciplines; 3. Presentations at special locations; 4. Connection/collaboration with other sectors. 8
Amateur Arts Week 2013
Exhibition on the outer wall of Museum van Bommel van Dam, Venlo. Photograph: Karin de Jonge
Taking these factors as our starting point, we drew up a list of candidates, prioritised activities and produced short descriptions of a range of examples. On the basis of desk research, interviews and visits, the most appealing examples for each factor were selected. In Chapter 5, we present some of the findings with regard to press, publicity and social media. Lastly, Chapter 6 shows the significance of Amateur Arts Week to the local community.
In addition, three short videos have been made featuring interviews with prominent figures including executive councillors, coordinators and cooperating partners. These provide a greater insight into the organisation and cooperation at local level. The interviews can be seen here (only in Dutch)
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National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
A mateur Arts Week in six municipalities 3.
In 2013, Amateur Arts Week was organised in 63 municipalities in the Netherlands. Figures provided by WAK Nederland indicate that the number of activities amounted to 1809 and attracted a total of 84,751 visitors. The number of amateur artists involved was 19,353 and 2161 volunteers worked on the event to facilitate all the activities. For each municipality, the figures and data were supplied by the municipalities themselves. In this chapter we provide a number of facts and figures about each municipality and Amateur Arts Week.
1.500
35 60 60
1.500
Wageningen
6.500
12 502 50
Venlo
35 1.350 32
Veere
84.751 -
Nuenen
10
1.809 19.353 2.161 -
Lelystad
Visitors
Haarlem足mermeer
Total
Activities Amateur artists Volunteers
32 537 70
2.150
40 1.157 225
4.000
Amateur Arts Week 2013
Haarlemmermeer Haarlemmermeer lies in the province of Noord Holland and has a population of 144,000 in an area of 185 km². In addition to being responsible for Schiphol Airport, the executive councillor for the arts and culture in Haarlemmermeer has three other portfolios. According to the figures for 2013 provided by Statistics Netherlands, the Municipality of Haarlemmermeer spends €40 per inhabitant on the arts after deduction of income and expenses1. The Pier K Arts Centre is the driving force behind Amateur Arts Week in Haarlemmermeer. To this end, the arts centre collaborates with the De Meerse theatre (theatrical performances and the visual arts), the library and a local youth centre. The municipality plays a supporting role. Haarlemmermeer has provided no information on the budget for Amateur Arts Week and the numbers of activities and participants.
Overview of cultural facilities in Haarlemmermeer2 7%
5%
1% 3%
7%
5%
12%
7%
2% 41% 10%
Centres
Music
Theatre
Libraries
Creative Writing
Hertitage
Dance
Museums
Visual arts
Cultural organisations
Digital Media
The total number of cultural facilities is 92.
The number of inhabitants per cultural facility is 1565. 1. These are “the tasks and activities of the municipality that relate to participation in and promotion of the arts”.
2. Data based on municipal directories, see Appendix for an explanation of the table. 11
National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
Lelystad Lelystad is located in the Flevo Polder and has approximately 76,000 inhabitants in an area of 765 km², 534 km² of which is water. The portfolio for art and culture is one of the eight portfolios that the executive councillor has under his wing. According to the figures for 2013 provided by Statistics Netherlands, the Municipality of Lelystad spends €6 per inhabitant on the arts after deduction of income and expenses. De Kubus Arts Centre initiates and coordinates Amateur Arts Week in Lelystad and collaborates with amateur arts associations, pop venue Underground, the library and the Agora Theatre. De Kubus receives support from the municipality for its tasks associated with the event. In 2013, Lelystad was awarded the BNG prize of €20,000 and organised the official Amateur Arts Week opening. The total budget for Amateur Arts Week in 2013 was €10,000, including a €5000 contribution from the municipality. This did not include the personnel costs of employees. Apart from the Amateur Arts Week coordinator, 20 paid teachers also worked on the project.
Overview of cultural facilities in Lelystad
6% 0%
1%
3%
16%
7% 3%
16%
7%
35%
6%
Centres
Music
Theatre
Libraries
Creative Writing
Heritage
Dance
Museums
Visual Arts
Cultural organisations
The total number of cultural facilities is 69.
Digital Media
The number of inhabitants per cultural facility is 1101.
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Amateur Arts Week 2013
Nuenen Nuenen is located in the province of Noord-Brabant and consists of the parishes of Nuenen, Gerwen and Nederwetten and several hamlets. The village is home to approximately 22,600 inhabitants in an area of 34 km². The executive councillor for art and culture is also responsible for the portfolios education, educational premises and sport. According to the figures for 2013 provided by Statistics Netherlands, the Municipality of Nuenen spends €2 per inhabitant on the arts after deduction of income and expenses. The CAN Arts Centre initiates and coordinates Amateur Arts Week, together with the library and Nuenen’s platform for the amateur arts (PAN). The municipality no longer plays a supporting role. It contributed €125 to the organisation of Amateur Arts Week.
Overview of cultural facilities in Nuenen
2%
13%
22% 0%
3% Centres Dance
Libraries Mueums
0%
3%
3%
4%
48%
2% Music
Theatre
Creative Writing
Heritage
Visual Arts
Cultural Organisations
Digital Media
The total number of cultural facilities is 67.
The number of inhabitants per cultural facility is 337.
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National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
Veere Veere lies in the province of Zeeland, contains six town centres, seven satellite villages and fourteen hamlets, and has approximately 22,000 inhabitants in an area of 133 km². The executive councillor for art and culture is also responsible for the education portfolio. According to the figures for 2013 provided by Statistics Netherlands, the Municipality of Veere spends €10 per inhabitant on the arts after deduction of income and expenses. The municipality coordinated Amateur Arts Week, collaborating with a working group of varying composition. The budget for Amateur Arts Week was approximately €9000, with €5000 coming from the municipality and €4000 in subsidy from the province of Zeeland. One member of staff was paid from the Amateur Arts Week budget; the cost of the coordinator were not. Several participants provided various types of sponsorship, for example, by making their premises available or by taking on responsibility for one of the activities.
Overview of cultural facilities in Veere
Centres
10%
21% 15%
3%
Music 28%
Visual Arts
3%
10% 1%
Theatre
Dance
1% 3%
5%
Digital Media Libraries
Creative Writing
Heritage
Museums
Cultural organisations
The total number of cultural facilities is 78.
The number of inhabitants per cultural facility is 282. 14
Amateur Arts Week 2013
Venlo Venlo lies in the province of Limburg and includes the urban districts of Blerick and Tegelen, the village of Belfeld and the former municipalities of Arcen and Velden. The municipality has approximately 100,250 inhabitants in an area 129 km². According to the figures for 2013 provided by Statistics Netherlands, the Municipality of Venlo spends €37 per inhabitant on the arts after deduction of income and expenses. The executive councillor for culture is actively involved in Amateur Arts Week and has six other portfolios, including finance. The Arts Centre initiates and coordinates Amateur Arts Week in Venlo, in cooperation with St. Woonwenz, Huis van de Wijk and a cultural institution called Cultuurpad. The budget for Amateur Arts Week in 2013 was €18,235. This sum covers part of the personnel costs, with the rest of the staff paid for by Venlo’s Arts Centre and or supplied by the coordinator in the form of volunteer hours. The municipality contributed €10,500 to Amateur Arts Week. An additional €800 came from sponsors and €6935 from sales revenue and participants’ contributions.
Overview of cultural facilities in Venlo
4%
11%
18% 0% 4%
3%
1% 46%
5% 4% 4%
Centres
Music
Theatre
Libraries
Creative Writing
Heritage
Dance
Museums
Visual Arts
Cultural organisations
Digital Media
The total number of cultural facilities is 242.
The number of inhabitants per cultural facility is 414. 15
National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
Wageningen Wageningen is situated in Gelderland and has over 37,000 inhabitants in an area of 32 km². The character of the municipality is strongly influenced by the large number of students (more than 150 different nationalities) studying at Wageningen University. According to the figures for 2013 provided by Statistics Netherlands, the Municipality of Wageningen spends €57 per inhabitant on the arts after deduction of income and expenses. The executive councillor for culture also has portfolios in finance, economics and climate. The initiative for Amateur Arts Week lies with a culture broker, who is commissioned by the municipality and is a part-time employee of the library. The partners of the event are ’t Venster Arts Centre and the library. The municipality made €400 in subsidy available for Amateur Arts Week and as much as possible was organised without money changing hands. The library and ’t Venster did not declare any hours for their employees’ contributions. Many venues were made available free of charge and sponsors provided services such as printing and PR.
Overview of cultural facilities in Wageningen 6%
1%
2%
2%
5% 7%
Centres Dance
Libraries
Museums
3%
9%
1%
58% 6%
Music
Theatre
Creative Writing
Heritage
Visual Arts
Cultural organisations
The total number of cultural facilities is 128.
Digital Media
The number of inhabitants per cultural facility is 289. 16
Amateur Arts Week 2013
Overview of cultural facilities in the six municipalities 120 100 80 60 40
Ce nt
0
re s M us i Th c ea tr e Da n Vi ce su al Di A rt gi s ta l M ed ia Li Cr ea bra r tiv ie s e W rit in He g r Cu ita ltu ge M ra u se l o um rg an isa s tio ns
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Wageningen Venlo
Lelystad Veere
Haarlemmermeer Nuenen
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National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
C ooperation and connection 4.
The way in which Amateur Arts Week is implemented in the various municipalities varies greatly. This variety encompasses the multitude and variety of venues and places where the amateur arts are on show, as well as decisions on whether to tie in with larger, existing events and whether to organise additional activities. This means that Amateur Arts Week has a different impact depending on the local setting. The extent to which various kinds of collaboration and connection occur, contributes to this impact. We have identified four factors in this process.
LKCA wants to show the impact of active participation in the arts and Amateur Arts Week on the local community.
Culture drop, storytelling by the Lindespelers, Nuenen Photograph: Annette Steevens 18
Amateur Arts Week 2013
4.1 Raising the profile of the amateur arts Amateur Arts Week raises the profile of the amateur arts in every municipality that takes part. All of the participating municipalities we looked at organised a range of different activities, including art trails, shows, exhibitions and workshops.
An art trail is an interesting and effective way to show art. Most of the municipalities we looked at used this approach in one form or another. The trails that led visitors to unusual places were particularly interesting, providing a new perspective on both the amateur arts and the location itself.
Art trails With a view to maximising publicity, Veere opted to depart from the national Amateur Arts Week theme of Kijk Kunst (Look... Art!). They chose the theme KuNstmarathon (Art Marathon) to tie in with the popular local Kustmarathon (Coastal Marathon) event. During Amateur Arts Week presentations, performances, exhibitions, demonstrations and workshops were organised in the various town centres, encompassing the visual arts, creative writing, dance, yoga, living statues, theatre, music and folk dancing. Activities were held in unexpected places such as windmills, a church, a nature reserve and on the beach.
For the second time, Nuenen organised mystery performances called “culture drops�. Participants were able to sign up for two different culture drops, which took the form of music, theatre, dance or the visual arts presented at a variety of locations. They were kept in the dark beforehand about where the presentations would be held and what they would involve.
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National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
The culture drop event was rounded off with a reception at a weekend gallery which staged a special exhibition of the work of amateur artists. For the opening weekend of Amateur Arts Week, Venlo set out an art trail that featured all kinds of visual arts, including paintings, drawings, ceramics and jewellery.
It also included artworks made of collections and objects that people had submitted under the motto Venlo Verzamelt (Venlo Collects), which was the theme of Amateur Arts Week in Venlo. The art trail also exhibited works made by children as part of school art projects organised especially for Amateur Arts Week. Amateur art was on display at many different locations, including the youth church, the library, the abbey, the arts centre, the water tower and in living rooms and studios. Wageningen organised a musical theatre trail, with eight iconic locations throughout the city playing a special role in the performances.
Senior citizens’ choir, Venlo. Photograph: Karin de Jonge 20
Amateur Arts Week 2013
During the town’s 750th anniversary celebrations (Expedition W750), the audience could travel to the various locations where the performances were held, by bus or on foot. Wageningen incorporated Amateur Arts Week into its anniversary celebrations.
In Haarlemmermeer, art was put on display in shop windows. Lelystad did not organise an art trail, but it did exhibit art in surprising locations (see 4.3). In Lelystad an art trail was organised on Sunday, 26 May by Kunstroute Lelystad. Between 14.00 and 17.00, arts and crafts studios throughout the town opened their doors to the general public.
In addition to the joy of music, singing and performing in the choir it broadened the social horizons of the elderly participants.
4.2
Venlo Senior Citizens’ Choir Especially for Amateur Arts Week, Venlo founded a choir for the over 65s. The Domani concert hall was buzzing with enthusiasm and energy during their on-stage performance. The aim is to keep the choir going after Amateur Arts Week, giving the over 65s in Venlo a place to sing and socialise throughout the year. Cooperation between disciplines During Amateur Arts Week, amateur artists and associations get together with fellow artists to work on a show, concert or presentation. It might be a joint concert with another choir or orchestra, but it can also result in cross-pollination between art forms that seldom collaborate. Cooperation of this kind often leads to new experiences and insights, not to mention surprising results.
Amateur Arts Week can challenge amateur artists to connect with other disciplines.
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National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
Official opening, Lelystad. Photograph: WAK Nederland 22
Amateur Arts Week 2013
Inspiring mix of disciplines in Haarlemmermeer In the Municipality of Haarlemmermeer, a series of inspirational evenings were organised in the run-up to Amateur Arts Week 2013. They also gave people information on how to take part. These inspirational evenings sparked a collaboration between Annemarie van Dijk’s Harp Studio, Pier K, Het Kroontje art studio, DanceFlow dance studio and the Sing for Life choir. They decided to create a joint performance, which premiered during Amateur Arts Week. Their collaboration centred on a musical piece entitled Blue Planet, using various art forms to enact a story about space travel. Blue Planet is a piece written for harp ensembles. The harpists from the Annemarie van Dijk Studio and Pier K provided the music. Students from art studio Atelier het Kroontje painted various scenes inspired by the music and the students from the DanceFlow studio created choreography to fit the narrative. The Sing for Life choir provided the musical finale. The Blue Planet show was performed once during Amateur Arts Week in front of a packed audience at Pier K in Nieuw-Vennep.
Opening Gala in Lelystad Lelystad kicked off Amateur Arts Week events throughout the Netherlands on Saturday, 25 May. In accordance with tradition, the official opening was held in the municipality that had won the BNG prize. A range of amateur arts organisations worked on the opening gala in Lelystad: the Harmonieorkest brass band, choirs Popkoor Expression and Het Kaperskoor, pop choir Bea-T and children’s pop choir Bea-Tkidz, The New Land Singers and music and dance students from De Kubus. Together they put on an inspiring and varied performance at the Town Hall, culminating in a joint rendition of “Music Was My First Love” as the spectacular finale. After the official opening, performances could be seen, heard and enjoyed at four separate locations around town. Virtual-e-Motions Wageningen Most dancers move to the music, but it can be done the other way round. Music technologist/musician Frans-Jan Wind and graphic designer/break dancer Edwin de Jonge have developed a technique that enables you to register dance moves with a computer and
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National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
Living statues, Veere
convert them into music and video. Each movement generates a sound, image or rhythm. During Amateur Arts Week, this innovative multidisciplinary experience was given pride of place in the MovieW theatre, which was specially converted for the occasion. In addition, seven new collaborations between different disciplines took place in Wageningen, for example between the Lens theatre group and the Punt Uit choir, staged in the university’s greenhouses. Other examples included a collaboration between student theatre group WSTV and the Sonante orchestra in the student union building, and the Wagenings Work Theatre, Toteel Theatre Group, the Wagenings Small Choir and the Cantata Choir, who performed together at the church on the market square.
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Living statues, Veere In Veere, a creative collaboration between local businesses and the Marie Tak van Poortvliet Museum in Domburg was a runaway success during Amateur Arts Week. The immensely popular Living Statues Festival organised by local entrepreneurs was held on 1 June and presented as part of Amateur Arts Week. Children were encouraged to participate in the Festival for the first time. At a school workshop, they learned how to be a Junior Statue, and took part in a fancy-dress and face-painting workshop. In the museum’s garden, the children showed off their prowess as Junior Statues to the general public during Amateur Arts Week, while concerts dedicated to young talent were also being staged there.
Amateur Arts Week 2013
4.3
The cooperation between these diverse activities produced positive results for all. The children’s living statues and the musical performances enhanced each other’s appeal. The musicians and the children both attracted a bigger and more varied audience than they could ever have achieved on their own.
Art at special locations Presenting art at a location other than the usual stage or exhibition space can allow the audience to experience an art form in a different way. It often attracts a new or different audience, who enter into a surprising encounter with music, dance, theatre or the visual arts.
Exhibiting art in an unusual setting opens up the possibility of new connections between the amateur arts and local residents.
Art comes to call Especially for Amateur Arts Week, De Kubus in Lelystad developed a concept that surprised audiences with performances in unusual places. This took three different forms: ‘Kubus comes to call’, ‘Kubus in company’ and ‘Kubus in the classroom’. For ‘Kubus comes to call’, residents of Lelystad were approached and asked whether they would be willing to make their home available for a performance. ‘Kubus in company’ arranged performances within various organisations, including Rabobank in Dronten, the MC Hospital, the KMM group and the provincial government building. Art in the classroom In Venlo, schools were sent the learning package Verzameltaal (Collective Language), developed in line with the town’s Amateur Arts Week theme Venlo Verzamelt (Venlo Collects). The theme corresponded with the schools’ educational themes and requirements. The project encouraged children to become actively involved in art and looked at the connection between collecting and museums. During Amateur Arts Week, the artworks the children created were
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National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
Painting at Het Polderhuis Museum, Westkapelle. Photograph: Jan de Jong 26
Amateur Arts Week 2013
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National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
Art at the Ster apartment building, Wageningen. Photograph: Frits Weener 28
Amateur Arts Week 2013
displayed at locations of special significance to them, such as the youth church and outside Museum van Bommel van Dam. Lelystad’s ‘Kubus in the classroom’ programme visited eight schools. Small groups of dancers, violinists, artists and actors took part in the various performances. Art on the beach Along the dune crossing 't Martgat in Zoutelande, near Veere, you can see sixteen haikus carved in stone. The haikus, short poems about the sand, the waves and the dunes, guide the walker through the transition from the village to the sea. Building on the success of previous years, visitors to Amateur Arts Week were again given the opportunity to become proficient in the art of writing and presenting a haiku. Experts in this Japanese verse form gave workshops along the coast. Noordduine beach pavilion in Domburg was the scene of several concerts. Young musical talent and established names from Zeeland, guitar sounds, Cape Verdean chansons, Dutch songs and music from Argentina and France: they could all be heard down at the beach.
Art in the window In Nuenen’s main street, Hoofdstraat, a large number of new retail outlets were standing empty. In cooperation with Helpt Elkander housing association, the vacant windows were used for an exhibition of paintings in line with the Amateur Arts Week theme Kijk kunst! Voor het raam (‘Look... Art! In the window’). The retailers’ association clubbed together to award an Amateur Art prize. An expert jury selected the works for the shop-window exhibition and the general public were invited to vote for their favourite. In Haarlemmermeer, too, works of art were on display in shop windows. In Wageningen, poems on the theme of freedom could be read in shop windows, thanks to a joint project between the library and Stichting 4/5 mei, the foundation in charge of the Netherlands’ remembrance day and liberation day celebrations.
Art in public spaces During Expedition W750, a programme to mark Wageningen’s 750th anniversary, the public and local residents had the opportunity to experience art at special locations in the town. On the balustrades
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National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
of the 16-storey Ster apartment building, a medley of James Bond themes was performed by members of Wageningen brass band and students from the town’s Jacqueline Hutten Dance School. On two towering fire escapes at a feed factory, dancers from iLL Skill Squad and actors from the Youth Theatre School climbed up and down to music performed by De Ontzetting brass band and composed by Andries van Rossum. Along the banks of the small River Walle, a play was performed in a number of episodes. With musical accompaniment by the Madlot ensemble, the audience sailed along with the performance in a boat on the Walle. The performance was staged in a total of seven scenes. The audience could also travel from scene to scene by bus or on foot.
If the amateur arts enter into a specific connection with organisations in other sectors, it can enrich the lives of everyone involved. 4.4
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Collaboration with other sectors Other sectors that offer a wealth of opportunities for collaboration with the amateur arts include Health, Welfare, Education and Law & Order. Examples of such collaboration could be seen in several municipalities during Amateur Arts Week. These examples show the value that the amateurs art can hold in people’s lives. Building bridges between different sectors can enrich the lives of everyone involved.
Closer: day care for people with disabilities In Venlo, collaboration took place between the arts centre and Stichting Dichterbij (Closer Foundation), a foundation that organises day care and daytime activities for people with disabilities. Using felt and paint, a total of 50 clients each made a patch symbolising their own life. From these small squares, two large patchwork canvases were composed. The result was a collective work of art that was exhibited in both the day care centre and the arts centre. It was a special experience for both the participants and their facilitators. Working together on this project stimulated the clients’ creativity
Amateur Arts Week 2013
and cooperation between clients with differing capabilities. It built bridges between islands. The facilitators also said that they had learned from the experience and that they would gladly repeat it the following year.
Asylum Seekers’ Centre In Wageningen, inspiring connections were made between the amateur arts and sectors such as Health & Welfare, Law & Order and Education. The library held an exhibition called Vrolijke Gezichten (Funny Faces) with paintings made by children and their parents.
The works were created at the Asylum Seekers’ Centre in Wageningen during a parent-child project organised by Stichting De Vrolijkheid Wageningen. This foundation is dedicated to the welfare of children and young people in asylum seekers’ centres, and organises creative activities together with centres’ residents, using art as a means to express their personal stories. The young people in Wageningen stay at the centre only briefly. Through the exhibition of their paintings, they also became a visible part of life in the town. This also applied to people from the day care centre in ’s Heerenloo, thanks to a workshop organised for people with and without mental disabilities. This enabled the day care centre to connect with the neighbourhood and the town as a whole by running a catering facility.
Asylum Seekers’ Centre, Wageningen Photograph: Olga Kersten 31
National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
Flash mob, Wageningen. Photograph: Olga Kersten
Art in the district Clothing was one of the materials that residents of a district of Venlo worked with in a community-based project entitled Huizen van de Wijk (District Houses). The residents worked with clothes that they brought in themselves or which had been collected. In some cases the clothes were altered or given a ‘makeover’ but some were also creatively or artistically reimagined to create entirely new objects, such as a beautiful designer handbag. The District Houses that give the project its name are community centres that the Municipality of Venlo is strongly committed to in the coming years.
The aim is to make these community centres and arts activities in the districts of Venlo into a focal point for Amateur Arts Week in 2014. In Venlo and in Nuenen, the housing association collaborated on Amateur Arts Week projects and in finding venues where the amateur arts could be seen and heard. In Lelystad, a special tour was developed in the district of Waterwijk, where artist Peter Hartwig teamed up with local residents to create a larger-than-life 3D drawing in just four days. This was done in close cooperation with the district’s police substation. 32
Amateur Arts Week 2013
Heritage Het Polderhuis Museum in Westkapelle was the scene of the opening of Amateur Arts Week in Veere, a collaboration between the Prince Bernhard Cultural Foundation and Amateur Arts Week. The museum organised arts exhibitions that featured paintings, ceramics, jewellery and photographs. The artists were on hand to talk about their work and some artists could even be seen at work. An open platform offered everyone the opportunity to present their talents. There was also a photo quiz, a demonstration by the Wasschappelse Heiploeg (pile-driving team) and children’s textile art displayed in a square.
In Veere, cooperation between the Marie Tak Van Poortvliet Museum and amateur artists paid dividends for all concerned. The collaboration generated a larger and more varied audience than usual. The museum, which is located off the beaten track, attracted a stream of new visitors and experienced a record turnover. In the context of Amateur Arts Week in Venlo, a collaborative project was launched involving a primary school and Museum van Bommel van Dam. The school’s pupils visited the museum and created an artwork that was displayed on the museum’s outer walls. The various art trails also forged a link between active participation in the arts, art appreciation and local cultural heritage. Hotels, catering and retailers In several municipalities, Amateur Arts Week organisers and amateur artists established links with the local hotel and catering industry and local retailers. In Haarlemmermeer and Nuenen, artworks were on display in shop windows, while in Wageningen the shop windows featured poems. The latter exhibition was a collaboration between Amateur Arts Week and the Freedom Poems project organised by Stichting 4/5 mei. A volunteer from Amateur Arts Week arranged the poems and the windows for display, and the foundation took care of the additional publicity. In Veere, bars, cafés and restaurants provided a regular stage for bands and other musical performances, for example on the beach. The main result of these collaborations lies in the provision of venues and showcases for the amateur arts.
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Drama in the greenhouse, Wageningen 34
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Press and publicity 5.
36
National and local media Stichting WAK Nederland, the Amateur Arts Week foundation, takes care of the national publicity. On three occasions, Amateur Arts Week received coverage in the national daily newspapers. In addition, national publicity was generated by a TV advertisement and radio interviews were also broadcast. At local level, each municipality took care of its own publicity. As you might expect, this was done through a range of channels, using television, radio and a host of publications in local newspapers. The Amateur Arts Week website contains a collection of press cuttings from 2013.
Promotion and websites WAK Nederland has a website where all municipalities are welcome to post their information. In terms of accessibility, response to the site has not always been positive. WAK Nederland is incorporating the requests and suggestions received into its Amateur Arts Week website for 2014. In addition, WAK Nederland provides a toolkit with promotional material and there are Amateur Arts Week flags and banners available. The foundation asks municipalities to pay a contribution for participating in Amateur Arts Week. The municipalities and/or relevant organisations provide local information on their own websites. Venlo has its own Amateur Arts Week website (venloverzamelt.com), as does Wageningen (wakwageningen.nl). In Zeeland, promotion was carried out at provincial level, with a website for all Amateur Arts Week activities in the province (wakzeeland.nl).
Social media Strategies as regards Twitter and Facebook vary. Almost every organisation has a Twitter and a Facebook account, but the ways in which they are used differ. WAK Nederland has 785 Twitter followers and has sent 1738 tweets. On Facebook, it has 611 followers.
Amateur Arts Week 2013
Polderhuis performance, Veere. Photograph: Jan de Jonge 37
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W hat Amateur Arts Week means to the local community 6.
6.1
38
Amateur Arts Week encourages organisations and amateur artists to enter into new collaborations and to forge new connections. By carrying out desk research, holding interviews with Amateur Arts Week coordinators and reviewing the activities that took place during the event, we have identified a number of themes and significant issues with regard to the impact that Amateur Arts Week has on the local community. In this chapter, we present our main findings. In doing so, we make no claim to be comprehensive. These are nothing more than possible starting points for further research in the coming years. Importance of local coordination As previously stated, the way in which Amateur Arts Week is implemented in the various municipalities varies greatly. An active organisation that coordinates and promotes local initiatives is key to bringing about activities and cooperation during and in relation to Amateur Arts Week. If a coordinator and a supporting organisation is prepared to take on the organisational tasks associated with Amateur Arts Week and play a leading role in that respect, this will contribute to the impact that Amateur Arts Week has on the local amateur arts and the local community. In four of the six municipalities, the coordination of Amateur Arts Week is in the hands of a local, subsidised arts centre. Arts centres are well suited to this function. The cutbacks being implemented in several municipalities may threaten the survival of Amateur Arts Week, since they mean that a number of centres are now at risk of receiving less subsidy or no subsidy at all. These cuts may result in the centre opting not to invest in Amateur Arts Week in future. On the other hand, organising Amateur Arts Week gives an arts centre the opportunity to raise its profile within the municipality. In Wageningen, the initiative for Amateur Arts Week lies with a
Amateur Arts Week 2013
6.2
6.3
culture broker, who is commissioned by the municipality and is employed by the library. In Veere, the event is coordinated by local government through a working group in which individuals and organisations from the community participate. The impact of cooperation The effect of Amateur Arts Week on the amateur arts and the local community is greater if the coordinating organisation also gets other organisations involved in the process. This is the case in many municipalities and, in addition to the arts centres, libraries and museums are also involved. In Wageningen, the town’s 750th anniversary celebrations played a special role in 2013. At present, it is not clear what impact this will have on Amateur Arts Week in years to come. Other examples of collaboration include housing associations (Venlo, Wageningen and Nuenen), theatres and venues (Lelystad, Haarlemmermeer and Venlo) and private companies and foundations (Wageningen, Veere and Venlo). Cooperation between local organisations is one thing, but for the arts it is the spirit of cooperation and sense of connection that arises between amateur artists and their surroundings that is so important. Chapter 4 is full of such examples. The nature of this impact and whether this cooperation and these connections are sustainable may represent an interesting topic for research in the years to come. The role of local government There is clear evidence that active involvement by the local government or the local executive has a positive influence on the scope of Amateur Arts Week within the municipality. In Venlo, the executive councillor for culture was actively involved in Amateur Arts Week. He brought various parties together, promoted the event in the media and officiated at the opening. But as he pointed out, the upcoming municipal elections mean that the situation next year is uncertain. The executive councillor for culture in Veere invests heavily in the arts and culture in the community. In line with this policy, the municipality takes responsibility for coordinating Amateur Arts Week. In addition, the province of Zeeland provides an overarching regional approach to the event, through its website and PR activities among other things.
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The opening of Amateur Arts Week in Het Polderhuis Museum, Westkapelle,
attended by the mayor and the King’s commissioner. Photograph: Jan de Jong
Its goal for the future is to enable Amateur Arts Week to become an event “for artists and especially by artists”, reflecting a shift towards “smaller government, bigger society”.
6.4
Lelystad’s policy in the field of culture and the amateur arts is aimed at enhancing the development and appeal of the town. This is why Lelystad was awarded the BNG prize for the best amateur arts municipality in 2013. “There is an ongoing vision that translates into a continuity of policy, even in times of austerity. ... The policy on the amateur arts and the associated activities accurately reflect the needs of the population3.” One practical result of this approach is the fact that Lelystad has created the post of manager of amateur arts. De Kubus organises Amateur Arts Week in Lelystad, in line with municipal policy.
Publicity and social media The municipalities tend to deploy their own channels of communication to publicise Amateur Arts Week, in addition to the national website run by WAK Nederland, on which all municipalities participating
3. From the jury report of the BNG prize for Best Amateur Arts Municipality 2013 40
Amateur Arts Week 2013
in Amateur Arts Week are welcome to post information. Amateur Arts Week municipalities make use of their own website, Facebook and Twitter.
6.5
However, their use varies greatly from one municipality to another, and we can also see that a range of opportunities are not yet being utilised to full effect. On Twitter, for example, a variety of different #hashtags are used, even within the same municipality. Using a single hashtag to tweet about Amateur Arts Week (e.g. #WAK2013) would result in clearer communication. The various parties involved within a municipality also miss out by not retweeting each other’s activities. Taken as a whole, the organisations have a large number of followers. In Lelystad, for example, the four cooperating organisations represent a total of 5000 followers between them. If a municipality sets up a separate Twitter or Facebook account dedicated to the event, it can end up being counterproductive because people have to follow it separately or go to the trouble of signing up. Venlo’s Amateur Arts Week Facebook page has 100 friends, while Venlo Arts Centre has 757. Tapping into contacts with existing followers within the Amateur Arts Week network can increase accessibility. A number of participants also used individual Facebook pages. While these may generate attention for Amateur Arts Week performances and activities, they do not always make it clear that these events form part of Amateur Arts Week. A far clearer publicity profile for Amateur Arts Week could be achieved by creating an easy-to-find Amateur Arts Week website for each municipality, for example, and by making efficient use of Twitter and Facebook. The value and the future of Amateur Arts Week This survey shows that the potential of Amateur Arts Week is not limited to the amateur arts scene within a community, but also benefits the wider life of the community and sectors beyond the arts and culture. The way in which Amateur Arts Week can continue to fulfil or expand this role, depends on several factors. The aim of the foundation behind the event, Stichting WAK Nederland, is to provide coordination and organisation at national level. This involves raising funds, so that Amateur Arts Week can continue to receive national publicity and enjoy a nationwide public profile.
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To ensure a nationwide profile and growth potential of Amateur Arts Week, the existence of a central body to champion the cause is of vital importance. It is also important that municipalities understand (or continue to understand) the importance of organising Amateur Arts Week within their community and that one central driving force or organisation continues to exist at local level.
6.6
42
Due to cutbacks, the existence of some organisations and jobs are hanging in the balance and it has become more difficult to obtain funding through grants and sponsorship deals. This can impact on the future of Amateur Arts Week, at both municipal and national level.
Amateur Arts Week and LKCA It is LKCA’s intention to monitor Amateur Arts Week in 2014 and to observe the collaborations and connections established in the local community, to see which activities are followed up, and the nature and scope of the impact on the amateur arts and the local environment. We will plan our approach in greater detail in the coming period, in cooperation and consultation with Stichting WAK Nederland.
Amateur Arts Week 2013
Dance performance on the Silo fire escapes, Wageningen. Photograph: Frits Weener 43
National Centre of Expertise for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA)
Appendix 7.
7.1
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Explanation of graphics The data were collected from the municipal directories of the respective municipalities. In the ‘Centres’ category, subsidised providers and organisations with a multidisciplinary range of arts education are listed. The disciplines include associations and foundations, which often provide their own range of educational activities. The organisations and disciplines are grouped as follows: - Centres - arts centres, subsidised, multidisciplinary; - Music - orchestras, ensembles, choirs, vocal groups; - Theatre - amateur dramatics, cabaret, theatre; - Dance - dance schools, dance groups, folk dancing; - Visual Arts - drawing, painting, design, studios, etc.; - Digital Media - film, photography; - Libraries - libraries and book clubs; - Creative Writing - writing clubs, poetry circles; - Heritage - monuments, archives, carnival societies; - Museums - Museums -museums, galleries, art lending libraries; - Cultural organisations - linguistic organisations, storytelling circles etc.
Amateur Arts Week 2013
7.2 Sources - http://www.pier-k.nl/clientdata/downloads/PRK_OndPlan_Boekje_web110525.pdf
- https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haarlemmermeer
- http://lelystad.smartmap.nl/lib/gemeentemedia/e-books/Lelystad_2013/ index.html#/72/
- http://www.lelystad.nl/smartsite.net?id=39877
- http://www.lelystad.nl/Docs/kadernota2011/Kadernota%2020132016,%20na%20raadsbehandeling.pdf
- Cultuurnota 2009-2012 - V:\Documenten 2012\E12-2194.pdf
- http://www.nuenen.nl/bestuur-en-organisatie/beleid-en-begroting_41957/ item/begroting-en-jaarrekening_28427.html
- http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuenen,_Gerwen_en_Nederwetten
- http://veere.gemeentedocumenten.nl//Gemeente%20op%20Maat.pdf - http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veere_(gemeente)
- http://www.dekleinemedia.nl/ebook/veere/index.html
- http://www.veere.nl/document.php?m=1&fileid=94263&f=fa12a3c4b523e9 92b4509b67ee4664e1&attachment=0&c=62061
- Uitvoeringsprogramma cultuur 2011-2015, febr. 2012
- http://bis.venlo.nl/RisDocumenten/253301209456738.pdf
- http://www.lokaaltotaal.nl/venlo/organisaties-en-verenigingen/cultuur-envrije-tijd.html
- http://smartmap.nl/lib/gemeentemedia/e-books/Wageningen_2012/ pubData/source/Wageningen%202012.pdf
- http://wakwageningen.nl/category/home/
- http://www.wageningen.nl/Ontdek_Wageningen/Kunst_en_cultuur
- http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/themas/overheid-politiek/publicaties/ artikelen/archief/2013/2013-3875-wm.htm
- http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?VW=T&DM=SLNL&PA=
70942NED&D1=165-166,169-170&D2=l&D3=a&D4=l&HD=1309100923&HDR=G3,G1,T&STB=G2
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Publishing details 8.
Research Piet Roorda, project manager Gert Bomhof Maryan Hess Marian van Miert Ingrid Smit Hanny Spierenburg Laura Stoové Video Freek Zonderland
Thanks to Municipality of Haarlemmermeer Erik Waerts, Pier K Municipality of Lelystad Ingrid Krabbe and Aino Merits, De Kubus Municipality of Veere Ard-Jan Francke Municipality of Nuenen Marie-José van der Sandt, CAN Arts Centre and Annette Steevens, Dommeldal Library Municipality of Venlo Nicolle van Lith, Venlo Arts Centre Municipality of Wageningen Olga Kersten, culture broker Layout Thonik, Amsterdam
Translation Taalcentrum-VU
Copyright © LKCA Utrecht 2013 We have made every effort not to infringe the rights of artists, photographers and those portrayed in visual images. Should you have any questions about the use of images in this publication, please e-mail us at info@lkca.nl. Cover photograph: Schoonewille Holland 46
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