In the past year, we witnessed a government (now under resignation) announcing devastating cuts on arts and culture, some of which have already been implemented. And although it is the production of art that will suffer most from the current art policies, it seems that artists feature in conversations more as subjects than as partners. In this process, choice of words and perceptual frame rarely matched the actual circumstances in which artists and cultural workers operate. At the same time, the support for arts and culture in larger society revealed to be slim, very little political parties openly dared to advocate the importance of art anymore and the mobilization of artists as counterweight in the discourse was less than convincing.

Platform Beeldende Kunst is a strategic coalition that mobilizes existing networks and maps out new connections in order to develop a foundation for joint action and spokemanship. Our aim is to positively affect the current perception and public opinion of arts and culture; to influence political decision-making in conjunction with existing interest groups such as De Zaak Nu and Kunsten 92; and to put forward new logics that can (re)define the significance of art.

During the launch, we will present our plans and hear which activities have been deployed by various artists (groups) in the past year. Come, look ahead with us and drink a Halbe beer to support the arts!