Cultural projects coordinator Gerrit Kamstra is saying goodbye after 22 years as ‘cultural pope’ of the province of Drenthe. He was at the origin of all kinds of theater spectacles and cultural events.
According to Kamstra, there could be some additional money from the government. “Drenthe receives 2 euros per inhabitant and North Holland 61 euros. It is logical that more money goes to North Holland than to Drenthe. Many more people live there and a lot more happens there. Only the ratio is so skewed, because “There are so many wonderful things happening in Drenthe. The distance between The Hague and Drenthe is much greater than the distance between Drenthe and The Hague,” he says in the Radio Drenthe program Cassata.
Kamstra is not looking forward to his farewell. “I’m 67 and I’m in my overtime, but I’m very sorry that I have to stop, and I would have liked to continue, but that’s how the system works, that you have to stop.”
He sometimes calls the fact that Kamstra ended up in Drenthe as a real Groningen resident 22 years ago as an ‘unfortunate coincidence’. “I’m very happy with it and I’ve had a lot of fun with my work and I’ve met fantastic people and I’ve come to love the province.”
When the vacancy for official project coordinator culture of the province of Drenthe was pushed under his nose 22 years ago, Kamstra said: ‘over my dead body’. “I literally said that, I still have to get used to being a civil servant. When I started I didn’t know much about the cultural life in Drenthe. Then I started looking, literally drove a lot of kilometers and saw the potential of many beautiful things and I have achieved a lot with others.”
Kamstra then thinks of the Colonies of Benevolence, blues music, the Drenthe Museum, the Camp Westerbork Remembrance Center. “It already existed, but we have made a further contribution.” Kamstra also dares to say that without him and his team there would not have been major projects such as the Paupaerparadijs, Boer Koekoek and Jumping Jack.
“There is not always sufficient quality within the province, then you look outside and bring people in and mix that with the quality that is here and then beautiful larger plans are created. That takes time and energy. And then thousands come. people from all over the country to Drenthe. That is also economically important.” According to Kamstra, this also applies to Camp Westerbork and the Drents Museum.
We must continue, says Kamstra, standing still means going backwards. The stricter regulations do worry him. “They are already suffering from it, if the regulations continue to such an extent that you can no longer move in any direction, that is very bad. A lot is invested in enforcing rules that people have come up with themselves and that are no good. Festivals do not cause any nuisance “I think that attention is completely wrong, it is a threat and leads to nothing.”
Interest in culture starts in childhood, says Kamstra. “It starts with better education, with music, good sports, and good language education. If that improves, the culture will take care of itself.”