Less cash for the Concertgebouw, more for shooting carbide, says MP

The right-wing VVD’s culture spokesman says more money from the arts budget should go on ‘folk’ art and regional festivals rather than the national opera company or major orchestras.

‘The current balance is skewed and should be made fairer,’ Thierry Aartsen, 28, told the Volkskrant in an interview. He wants money from the national culture fund to go to traditional pursuits such as the bloemencorso flower parades from next year.

And from 2021, there should be a structural shift from professional, national performance arts groups to regional, amateur initiatives, Aartsen says.

Asked what he meant by ‘volkscultuur’, Aartsen told the paper: ‘It could be the flower parade, where people raise money from their local baker or butcher and decorate huge floats with flowers, blue with cold. They sleep in the tents where they work to stop their stuff being stolen.’

‘I’m thinking of the costumes used by guilds… the cost of security for carnival processions, to games such as kaatsen (a Frisian version of handball) and shooting carbide.’

Things have to be done more fairly, he said. ‘At the moment, the Concertgebouw gets €7m and attracts 210,000 people. But nothing goes to the bloemencorso which attracts 100,000 people on a single day. I think that is weird.’

Parliament will discuss the culture ministry’s budget for 2019 and onwards on Monday.