An American Condition Private Hands on Museums
18/06/08 Olav Velthuis
In the Netherlands, most museums are almost entirely financed by government subsidies. Nonetheless, the influence of private individuals on the policies of these public institutes is gradually increasing. It is a trial-and-error effort, as the recent history of the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum demonstrates.
Read more..A Plea for an Uncreative City About Rotterdam
20/02/07 BAVO
The concept of the creative city, which has become something of a directive for ambitious city councils throughout the Netherlands, does not necessarily lead to a prosperous future for art and culture. The writers’ team, BAVO, describes the city politics of Rotterdam as a form of self-colonization being forced on all its inhabitants. They sketch an image of a city whose unstoppable creative appetite is alienating it from itself.
Read more..Lonely at the Top New Plans for the Stedelijk Museum
20/02/07 Jorinde Seijdel
A museum potentially has the possibility and the means to be a place of critical comparison and discourse, but apparently not in the Netherlands, where museums are in the thrall of an all-consuming market mentality. Take the recent policy statement of the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum. Instead of stepping back from gratuitous conformity to market forces, the museum is following with narry a whisper, with the top of the international museum hierarchy as their ultimate objective. Fundamental changes in society are meanwhile ignored.
