In the period 2025-2028, the Mondrian Fund will invest more than EUR 38.5 million in multi-year programmes for 44 art venues in the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.
The Netherlands has a rich landscape of art venues that together form the humus layer of the visual arts. Talent finds a home, new audiences are welcomed and a platform for quality is provided. International discoveries are presented, innovations are celebrated and careers are shaped. Art venues form the foundation of the visual arts and are indispensable for a healthy sector.
From 2025, organizations are expected to implement fair pay, as everyone working in the cultural sector should be adequately rewarded for their efforts. However, art venues are often financially weak. Organizations are usually small and budgets are modest. In order to better equip the sector to achieve fair pay, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has issued an additional budget for the next policy plan period. The Mondrian Fund thus provides a stronger starting point for art venues and provides visual arts with the additional support they need.
Eelco van der Lingen, director:
“Looking ahead, it is great to be able to offer such a fantastic array of arts venues, spread across the Kingdom, which is a good foundation for great programming and fair pay. Through this support, we hope to not only contribute to higher quality and better pay, but also to increase the attractiveness of a sector that deserves it and that we need.“
The announcement of the awards under the multi-year programmes for the arts venues coincides with the presentation of the Council of Culture’s advice on requests for support for the basic cultural infrastructure (repeated) 2025-2028 and the announcement of the multi-year programme awards – annual grants from the Performing Arts Fund, the Creative Industries Incentive Fund, the Film Fund, the Literature Fund and the Cultural Participation Fund. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Council of Culture and the National Cultural Funds confirm that they work together to provide a high-quality, diverse and accessible cultural offering across the Kingdom.
Multi-year programmes for art spaces
The scheme is intended for programmes that offer a high-quality and diverse range of contemporary visual arts to a diverse audience, from interested professionals to visitors who are new to everything. The scheme has 3 categories: Broad, Basic and Introductory. Together, these provide a broad range of contemporary visual arts from initiating organisations and experienced contemporary visual arts institutions.
Applications are awarded for programmes that give form and content to developments relevant to contemporary visual arts in the most engaging way.
In this round of submissions, we received 97 applications, of which 86 were processed. See below which art venues received a contribution for each category:
Art platform lineage – Intended for professional contemporary art institutions of local to (international) national level that have implemented a regular annual programme of presentations for at least two years, complemented by an intensive programme of activities. Contribution: €450,000 per year for 4 calendar years.
Under this category, 15 requests were processed.
The following five organizations will receive an award:
1646 (The Hague), De Abel (Amsterdam), Oude Kerk (Amsterdam), Nest (The Hague) and VHDG (Leeuwarden).
Technical platform base – Intended for professional contemporary visual arts institutions with a relevant artistic content programme and which have implemented an annual programme for at least two years. Contribution: €225,000 per year for 4 calendar years.
Under this category, 59 requests were processed.
The following 32 organizations will receive an award:
A Basin Tale (Rotterdam), Ateliers ’89 (Oranjestad, Aruba), Bewaerschole (Burgh-Haamstede), Brutus (Rotterdam), Kasteel Wijlre Estate (Wijlre), Casco (Utrecht), Dat Bolwerck (Zutphen), Diepenheim Drawing Centre (Diepenheim), Photodoc (Utrecht), The Resort (Groningen), Hotel Maria Capelle (Hoorn), Human Activities (Domburg), If I Can’t Dance, I Don’t Want to Be Part of Your Revolution (Amsterdam). , Into Nature (Assen), Kunstenlab (Deventer), Kunstfort (Vijfuesen), Kunsthuis SYB (Pieterszwaag), Kunstpodium T (Tilburg), MAMA (Rotterdam), Metro 54 (Amsterdam), New Vid Artspace & Studios (Haarlem), Odapark (Venray), Onomatopoe (Eindhoven), Page not found (The Hague), Roemtmaken (Arnhem), Post (Nijmegen/Arnhem), Radius (Delft), Red Riding Hood (Rotterdam), Rosenstraat – The Rose is a Rose (Amsterdam), SIGN (Groningen), W139 (Amsterdam), and Zone2Source (Amsterdam).
Five applications were positively evaluated, but unfortunately could not be accepted due to budget constraints. These were the applications from: Captain Hook (Amsterdam), De Fabrik (Eindhoven), Kunstverein (Amsterdam), New Dakota (Amsterdam) and Rip (Rotterdam).
Launch of the artistic platform – Intended for start-ups that have not implemented a programme of offers and activities for more than 5 years. Contribution: 50,000 euros per year for two calendar years.
Under this category, 12 requests were processed.
The following seven art spaces will receive an award:
(A) Wick (Rotterdam), A Factory (Leisingen), Kunsthalle Kloof (Utrecht), L I NK (Zwolle), Playbill (Amsterdam), ROEM (Leiden) and WET (Rotterdam).
In 2025, the various Art Venue Awards for 2022 and 2023 are still valid. This is true for:
Melkweg (Amsterdam), Ripp (Rotterdam), and Strom (The Hague).
Basic Cultural Infrastructure (Repeated)
Six art venues are included in the basic infrastructure and are therefore directly funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
