Updates via the comments: scan from the NYTimes via bauke van der wal and via wtr "The message posted above is not the official letter from STEIM, they will respond after the vote in parlament this monday, this was a personal message from Jon, but still very important..." See the comments in this post for more.Original post:
If you've been coming to this site for a while, you might recall this post back on May 22, 2008 regarding STEIM being at risk of losing it's funding. On December 2, 2008 this post went up announcing they were safe. Well it looks like they are at risk yet again. The following is the content of an email from STEIM forwarded to me by John Levin.
Subject: "The new vision for Dutch media arts"
Body: "Dear friends and colleagues,
I apologize for the mass-emailing, this is quite important. You may have heard already about the new cultural plan for the Netherlands being pushed through by the current government, a minority coalition of market liberals and conservatives backed by Geert Wilders' anti-immigration freedom party.
While all federal programs in the Netherlands are taking hit, none are being hit so hard, so disproportionately, and so directly as the arts and culture sector. Particularly disastrous will be the cuts within the arts and technology sector. All new media art institutions in the Netherlands will be completely defunded, this includes STEIM, V2, the Waag, and other institutes with long histories and international reputations. These labs provide local and international artists space and support to perform, exhibit, and develop the cutting edge new art forms of our times. Their loss will be devastating to the Netherlands' cultural scene and deeply felt throughout the international media arts world.
The funding cuts will go into effect in 2013. The government has ignored the advice of the arts council, who suggested a phased-in solution which would give artists and organizations time to react and formulate new plans. This move illustrates the underlying motives of the politicians: not for a restructuring of support for the arts, but rather a direct attack against the culture of art that has prevailed
for so long in the Netherlands. The cuts are, in effect, a cultural coup d'etat.
So, what can you do? The unfortunate answer is, not very much. The politicians are implementing this new vision of Dutch culture with a vengeance, and will probably approve the cuts during the vote on Monday. The best thing to do is spread awareness of the situation, both in the Netherlands and abroad through your networks.
There are also two petitions being circulated prior to the Parliament vote this Monday. Please sign them and share.
http://petities.nl/petitie/bezuinigen-op-cultuur-zonder-alle-feiten-nooit
(general petition, goal: 40,000 signatures by Monday)
http://www.change.org/petitions/save-dutch-media-art-orgs-govt-plans-to-slash-them-all
(specifically to support Media Arts organizations)
If you live in the Netherlands there's more you can do to help. There is a large protest being organized during the vote on Monday. According to lobbyists close to the government in the Hague, a large presence here could slow down the legislation and give arts organizations more time to develop alternative plans for survival.
More information on the protests can be found here:
http://www.marsderbeschaving.nl/
http://www.marsderbeschaving.nl/index_en.php (English)
More information about the funding cuts, particularly for art and technology institutions:
http://2010.sonicacts.com/live_reports/news/dutch-new-media-arts-organization-about-to-lose-all-funding-what-you-can-do/
http://www.mediamatic.net/page/219535/en
Thank you and please share!
Best always,
Jon
---------------==========::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-------------
Jonathan Reus
Project Manager / Workshops
@ STEIM, Amsterdam
www.steim.org"
