Who we are
We are the Mondriaan Fund. We invest in the Dutch visual arts and cultural heritage sector, driving it forwards. Together with more than 65 dedicated colleagues, several regional agents and a dynamic pool of approximately 90 advisors, we organise a varied range of activities and ensure that your grant application is processed with the care and attention it deserves.
One of the 6 rijkscultuurfondsen
The Mondriaan Fund is one of the 6 rijkscultuurfondsen (public cultural funds) of the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. In addition to our fund for the visual arts and cultural heritage, there’s also the Cultural Participation Fund, the Performing Arts Fund, the Netherlands Film Fund, the Dutch Foundation for Literature and the Creative Industries Fund. The government supports art and culture through the ‘basic cultural infrastructure’ as well as via the 6 public cultural funds, which are monitored by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (in Dutch: OCW). With our comprehensive cultural expertise, the funds are ideally positioned to oversee investment in the sector, while we also fulfil an important role in developing initiatives and policy.
New beginnings
The Mondriaan Fund was formed following a merger between the BKVB Fund and the Mondriaan Foundation on 31 December 2011.
What we do
The Mondriaan Fund supports and promotes the visual arts and cultural heritage in the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. We provide grants. Every year, we invest approximately €35 million on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. We support hundreds of activities, projects and programmes, initiated by nearly 1,100 applicants. We process more than 2,800 applications every year, ensuring a robust and representative future for the Dutch visual arts and cultural heritage sector.
Advancing culture
We contribute to the plans of artists and curators as well as the realisation of projects and activities of museums and other heritage institutions, art venues, archives, galleries and art commissioners in the Netherlands or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. We offer support and safeguard progress, innovation and talent development, and actively connect with audiences throughout the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. We are also responsible for the Dutch entry to the Venice Biennale, and we organise the Prix de Rome and the Prospects talent exhibition during Art Rotterdam. Besides the Prix de Rome, we finance several awards to promote talents within the field of art criticism and traditional crafts. We help research and essay writing to flourish, and we promote international exchange through organised excursions and an active visitor’s programme.
Development, connection & presentation
Our policy plan, entitled Buiten de Perken (Beyond the Limits), outlines our focus for the next 4 years. In the years 2021 to 2024, we are dedicated to development, connection and presentation. In line with the (cultural) policy letter presented by Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven for the period 2021 to 2024, the Mondriaan Fund is focusing on diversification and innovation, with an emphasis on the Fair Practice Code, the Cultural Governance Code and the Cultural Diversity Code. In order to offer an honest reflection of society, the fund is keen to stimulate a richly diverse and inclusive art and heritage sector. This is one of the key aspects of our policy. The fund is determined to preserve that which is of value and to welcome new perspectives on the visual arts and cultural heritage, to embrace new stories and new values.
Stronger together
All of our contributions are intended to strengthen the position of the Dutch visual arts and cultural heritage sector, both at home and abroad. Whether it’s an artist developing new work or partnering with a museum, a gallery looking to present contemporary visual artists from the Netherlands or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom at an international fair, or a curator keen to conduct research for an exhibition or publication. We are here to help artists and exhibition makers develop their talent and gain practical experience. And when it comes to art platforms, museums and heritage institutions, we support art commissioners, innovative programming, acquisitions and the preservation of collections.
Making art accessible
The Mondriaan Fund brings art closer to home. The KunstKoop initiative allows individuals to purchase art on credit from more than 120 galleries and pay in instalments. The fund covers the interest on the loan. And absolutely anyone can commission a new artwork with a contribution from the fund, so long as the work is of sufficient quality and publicly accessible. This initiative has already enabled more than a hundred clients to commission new art and introduce it to the public sphere in the Netherlands and Caribbean part of the Kingdom.
