'The Holland Festival is pleased with its favourable evaluation and the support granted by both the Council for Culture and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, as well as the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts. This support for the approach we have adopted in recent years, the appreciation for our artistic programme and the Holland Festival’s new plans is of great importance for the future.
At the same time, a great many institutions, artists, companies and orchestras are set to face difficult times, and may even be unable to continue doing what they do with less or no subsidy. Many of these are partners of the Holland Festival. Whether directly or indirectly, their difficulties affect us too. It is therefore highly important that we affirm our support for our partners - in words, and sometimes also in actions.
Together with the coming VAT increase, further cuts announced at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and a complete denial of, or worse still, disregard for the crucial role of the arts in society by the current national government, this has a serious impact on our future.
“What is really happening?” was the slogan associate artist ANOHNI gave us in 2023. We aim to keep connecting cultures and people through the Holland Festival and raise awareness about the social and political realities of our world. We intend to keep showcasing new artistic forms and developments. Together with inspiring artists, we seek to answer this question and push the boundaries of the performing arts. Public support, now especially, is thus of the utmost importance in order for us to continue presenting inspiring, groundbreaking, first-rate performances by both international and Dutch artists in the coming years.’