News item | 22-12-2021 | 4:00 pm
Today, outgoing Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven of Education, Culture and Science, the Netherlands Association for the Performing Arts (NAPK) and the Association of Free Theater Producers (VVTP) agreed to continue to pay as fully as possible with the funds from the support packages for the self-employed. This is a prelude to broader agreements about the effect of the specific support packages within the entire cultural sector, which the Taskforce Cultural and Creative Sector wants to present in January.
During the conversation, the importance of makers, technicians and other self-employed persons for the cultural sector was acknowledged. Without this group many concerts, plays and other performances would not come about. To maintain a rich and diverse cultural offer, now and after the corona crisis, it is important that the creative and essential knowledge and skills of this group remain available within the sector.
Due to the restrictive measures to combat the coronavirus, cultural displays are limited and prohibited. Self-employed people in the sector therefore have a lot of uncertainty about their income and their position in the sector. That is why the interlocutors have agreed to continue to pay this group as fully as possible for assignments given with the resources from the specific support packages for the cultural sector. The announced supplementary scheme, whereby up to 85% of tickets for limited or canceled performances will be bought and which is currently being worked out by the Performing Arts Fund, is an instrument in this regard. This supplementation scheme will be of great importance to the severely affected performing arts sector.
Despite the current lockdown, the conversation is also looking forward. The parties consider it important that new assignments for the self-employed in the sector are also awarded. That is why they strive to continue to provide assignments to this group within the financial possibilities of the support packages.
Minister Van Engelshoven: “I am pleased that the sector is prepared to take responsibility and to allow the specific support to land where it is most needed. In this way we keep makers such as directors, script writers, actors and technicians at work as much as possible. With this we ensure a strong and proud cultural and creative sector that is so incredibly valuable.”
Mirjam Terpstra (director NAPK): “Since the first lockdown, our members have been committed to using the support packages as much as possible to compensate freelancers and create new assignments. With the current support package, we aim to make a further contribution to preserving employment in the performing arts sector.”
Dian Hoelscher (director of VVTP): “The independent (non-subsidised) theater producers also find it very important that all highly valued and indispensable self-employed persons continue to work in the performing arts sector. We trust that the specific support packages offered by Minister Van Engelshoven will offer us the opportunity to arrive at a scheme that does as much justice as possible to the desired trickle-down effect. After all, the theater producers are nowhere without the self-employed.”