During the application round of 2023, the Mondriaan Fund will contribute €5,8 million to the programmes of 31 art platforms in the Netherlands. It concerns a variety of platforms, ranging from small art initiatives to organisations with an extensive programme of activities. The contribution is intended for a programme which is open to the public, and which contributes to a high-quality and diverse range of contemporary visual arts. The art platforms receive the contribution for an inspiring programme with a duration of 1 to a maximum of 4 years. It concerns fixed contributions of €25,000 to €275,000 on an annual basis.
The Art Platform Programme grant has four categories – Start, Basic, Pro and Broad – which, together, should provide a wide range of contemporary visual arts in the Netherlands. Each category has its own criteria, with increasing budget, period and requirements.
In this application round we received 69 applications. Of these, 31 applicants have received a contribution. Below you will find the art platforms that will receive a contribution, organised per category:
Art Platform Start – for small organisations and collectives in the field of contemporary visual arts. Contribution: € 25.000 for 1 calendar year.
We received a total of 41 applications for Start. In this round, the Mondriaan Fund was able to award 2 extra Start grants because more budget became available for this category. The following 14 initiatives have received a contribution: B32 (Maastricht), Destination Unknown (Weert), Into Nature (Assen), Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee (Amsterdam), Manifold Books (Amsterdam), Marwan (Amsterdam), Motormond (Amsterdam), Omstand (Arnhem), Productiehuis Plaatsmaken (Arnhem), Playbill (Amsterdam), SEA Foundation (Tilburg), Sarmad (Rotterdam), Shimmer (Rotterdam) and VierVaart (Groede).
Additionally, 4 other applications have also received a positive assessment, however these could not be awarded due to the lack of a sufficient budget. These are: Billytown (Den Haag), Limestone Books (Maastricht), Trixie (Den Haag) and Welcome Stranger (Amsterdam).
Art Platform Basic – for professional contemporary visual arts organisations with a relevant, annual artistic programme for a professionally allied audience and with the intention to expand that audience. Contribution: € 110.000 per year, for 2 calendar years.
We received a total of 22 applications for Basic. In this round, the Mondriaan Fund was able to award 5 extra Basic grants because more budget became available for this category. The following 13 organisations received a contribution: Bewaerschole (Burgh-Haamstede), Brutus Art Space (Rotterdam), Dat Bolwerck (Zutphen), Drawing Centre Diepenheim, Kunstfort (Vijfhuizen), Kunstpodium T (Tilburg), Melkweg (Expo), Metro54 (Amsterdam), Odapark (Venray), POST (Nijmegen), Page Not Found (Den Haag), RADIUS (Delft) and Rib (Rotterdam).
Due to the lack of a sufficient budget, 5 positively assessed organisations could not be awarded. These are De Fabriek (Eindhoven), Kunstverein (Amsterdam), Nieuwe Vide Artspace en Studios (Haarlem), No Limits! Art Castle (Amsterdam) and ROZENSTRAAT – a rose is a rose is a rose (Amsterdam).
Art Platform Pro – for professional contemporary visual arts organisations with a regular, pertinent and substantive artistic programme, complemented with activities to support that programme for a diverse audience of professionals and interested parties. Contribution: € 175.000 per year, for three calendar years.
We received 5 applications within this category, of which 3 applications will receive a contribution: MaMA (Rotterdam), Roodkapje (Rotterdam) and Stroom (Den Haag).
Art Platform Broad – for institutes spanning the local to the international level, with fully-fledged professional organisations, which seek support for a pertinent, regular annual programme of presentations, complemented with an extensive programme of activities. Contribution: € 275.000 per year, for 4 calendar years.
We received 1 application within this category. The applicant, De Oude Kerk (Amsterdam), will receive a contribution.
Indispensable for a healthy eco-system in the arts
This year, 69 Art Platforms applied for a contribution for Art Platform Programme grant. Programmes that give shape and content to relevant developments in the field of contemporary visual arts in the most engaging way have been awarded. The fund supports a number of art platforms distributed nationally, with programmes that distinguish themselves from each other. The committee saw a number of themes recur in the programme plans, such as: art and ecology at the intersection of science; ecology in combination with cultural heritage; and cultural heritage in combination with underexposed histories.
The Mondriaan Fund has been contributing to art platform programmes since 1994 because they are vital for the development and visibility of visual art. Although sometimes limited in scope, these are the locations where new trends emerge and are given space; where growth and innovation develop. This is why they form the basis of the visual arts field and are indispensable for a healthy art ecosystem. Museums, artists and the public reap the benefits. A condition for culture subsidies from the government is that recipients subscribe to the Fair Practice Code, as well as the Governance Culture Code and the Diversity & Inclusion Code.
In 2024, various grants from 2020, 2021 and 2022 will still be valid, through the grant of Art Platform Programmes. This is true for: A Tale of a Tub (Rotterdam), Ateliers ’89 (Aruba), de Appel (Amsterdam), FOTODOK (Utrecht), het resort (Groningen), Hotel Maria Kapel (Hoorn), If I Can’t Dance (Amsterdam), Institute for Human Activities (Amsterdam), Kunstenlab (Deventer), Kunsthuis SYB (Beetsterzwaag), Nest (Den Haag), Project Space 1646 (Den Haag), Reverb/Klankvorm (Rotterdam), Sign (Groningen), VHDG (Leeuwarden), Video Power (Maastricht) en W139 (Amsterdam).
8 art platforms are included in the Basic Infrastructure (BIS) and are therefore directly financed by ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW).
New multi-year grant Art Platform Programmes 2025-2028
It was recently announced that the multi-year grant Art Platform Programmes will change from 2025. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the national cultural funds have together decided to synchronise the procedures for the multi-year grants in order to make the process more clear for applicants. This means that institutions that would like to receive a grant for the period 2025-2028 must submit their application in early 2024. This application is for 4 years, with the exception of the Start category, for which the contribution is for a period of 2 years. The annual application round will lapse.
Find more information on the new multi-year grant here (Dutch only).
