Netherlands allocates €482 million in pandemic relief for cultural sector
The Dutch government is allocating €482 million to the nation’s cultural institutions and businesses, IQ reports, with €150 million designated for music venues and theatres. Artists, freelancers and contract workers have also been considered in this aid package, in addition to staffed employees. Other eligible industries and businesses include museums, filmmakers and historic preservation.
This round of relief is on top of the €300 million package for cultural industries that was announced in April. Since then, there have been campaigns like August’s Night Of Live and Sound Of Silence, started in Germany and Belgium, respectively, to pressure the government to provide more help for Dutch arts and culture.
Dutch culture minister Ingrid van Engelshoven has been the subject of much criticism for not providing adequate relief to the arts more urgently. When this recent relief was announced, she told de Volkskrant, “The Dutch cultural sector cannot [now] say that their needs are not being met.”
Photo credit: Kirsten Van Santen
