“Alles van waarde is weerloos.”
(“Everything valuable is defenseless.”)
— Lucebert

Although it’s Summer in The Netherlands, it feels like the country is going through a cold and grey Winter. With its empty politics of symbolism, our populist right-wing coalition destroys what civilization needs: beauty, innovation, care, trust, openness and tolerance. Its plans for draconic cuts in Dutch art funding will lead to irreparable cultural and economic damage. Dutch government spending on the arts will be severely reduced from roughly 950 to 750 million euros. These cuts are not distributed evenly: the remaining funds will be directed at traditional, established art forms and museums. The frustrate the Dutch cultural world even more, the government has also approved plans to raise sales tax on theater, cinema and concert tickets from 6% to 19%.

It’s time to take a stand together and fight the cultural meltdown. Please sign the petition, participate in the March for Civilization on 26 and 27 June, or do something else. Check out the Dutch Art Damage Map for an overview of all protest actions. Thank you!

Image courtesy of Mediamatic, Amsterdam.