New Delhi - Ambassade

The Arts

In The Netherlands, the arts are represented in all their forms at a very high level.

World famous museums like the Rijksmuseum (best known for its 17th century Dutch masters) and the Vincent van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam house fine collections that attract many visitors every year. Lovers of theatre and music can find an enormous variety of concerts and performances in The Netherlands, traditional as well as modern and innovative. A large number of Art festivals are held all over the country every year. The Holland Festival, held annually in June/July, stages a wealth of productions from The Netherlands and abroad. Architecture and design, film and literature are encouraged to come up with innovatie ideas. Libraries of the highest standards are open to the general public.
The government of The Netherlands and private enterprises share a focus on the promotion of the quality of Dutch arts. By allocating grants, the government encourages the production and purchase of works of art. Various councils representing the arts sector advise and assist the government in its efforts.

SICA ( Society for International Cultural Activities) is an independent information and co-ordination centre for organizations involved in all kinds of cultural disciplines, both within The Netherlands and abroad. SICA was set up in 1999 to assist cultural organizations with their international activities, to focus on contributing to the development of the strategic dimension of Dutch International Cultural Policy (ICB) and to promote Dutch culture internationally. It informs, promotes and funds Dutch artists who want to take cultural activities abroad and assists them in their efforts to contact foreign counterparts and institutions. SICA also organises specific expert and thematic meetings and informs foreign artists coming to The Netherlands about official rules and regulations (for example opportunities to work, necessary visas and work permits).

1). VISUAL ARTS

The Netherlands has an impressive range of visual art. Artists are eligible to apply for a wide range of grants and scholarships. The government also purchases works of art,via museums and the Netherlands Office for Fine Arts. Contemporary Dutch artists are usually well represented at foreign events such as the Biennale in Venice and the Documents in Kassel. Karel Appel (died in 2006) and Corneille, both members of the Cobra movement of the 1940s, are the best known post-World War II artists. Other contemporary artists include Ger van Elk, Jan Dibbets, Peter Struyken, Rob Scholte, Marthe Roling and Marlene Dumas.

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1a). Paintings

The Netherlands has a long tradition of painting. The most distinguishing characteristic of Dutch art is probably the close scrutiny of the natural world. The concern with the infinite qualities of light seems to be a common thread linking almost every Dutch painter. Along with these characteristics, other outstanding aspects of Dutch art are domestic scenes in an interior setting and conversation pieces. Dutch painters have been well known to depict the most humble households of the poor as well as the most elegant dwellings of the well-to-do. Both were well treated with respect and human participation and sometimes with warm humour. Even the interiors of churches are humanized. A large number of painters produced a wide variety of subject matter including scenes from daily life known as "genre",, which had existed for centuries and were re-examined in a fresh light and brought to hitherto unprecedented levels of naturalness. Earthly humour, often with satirical overtones, was another speciality of Dutch art. In the painting of Vermeer in particular, we can see the fundamental characteristics of Dutch painting, love of light and the common human experience of everyday life, brought to their highest levels of artistic expression. The works of Dutch masters such as Rembrandt, Hals,Vermeer, Van Gogh and Mondriaan are known throughout the world.

A number of important Dutch master paintings, mainly from the 17th century, can be found in the Baroda Museum and the Chatrapati Shivaji Museum in Mumbai. On the occasion of the commemoration of the 400 year old relationship between India and The Netherlands in 2002, a number of these paintings were restored by Dutch and Indian experts. They were exhibited in the National Museum in New Delhi in the same year during which a catalogue was published.

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1b). Design

The concept of design is closely linked to the basic principle that graphic design, industrial design and applied art in their various forms are largely responsible for the visual quality of our environment. The Dutch government therefore seeks to enhance the quality of design and encourages people to take an interest in it. Although Dutch design is influenced by international movements, there is a recognizable Dutch style to which simplicity, clarity and austerity are central. To most observers, a characteristic example is the work of the members of "De Stijl", a group of designers and artists who exerted a great influence on the Dutch art scene in the 1920s. Piet Mondriaan, Theo van Doesburg and Gerrit Rietveld especially are among the best-known representatives of this movement. Rietveld's famous armchair may be regarded as typifying the systematic, geometric approach to design. Well-known modern designers have assembed in the collective called Droog design and in fashion Viktor and Rolf have earned themselves an internationally renowned reputation.

Government commissions have played an important role in the development of post- World War II design. The PTT (the former Dutch postal and telecommunications company) took pioneering steps in commissioning prominent Dutch designers such as Piet Zwart and Jan van Toorn to design many of its stamps. Also, Dutch banknotes (of course now withdrawn after the introduction of the Euro) for example those created by R.D.E. Oxenaar and Jap Drupsteen, were regarded as masterpieces of design.

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1c). Museums

The Netherlands is famous for its world-class museums. Their collections cover all artistic and academic/scientific fields: archaeological and antique objects, old and contemporary art (objects and paintings), ethnology, etc.

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1d). Photography

1d). Photography

The World Press Photo Foundation ( World Press Photo) is an independent non-profit organisation, involved in the promotion of world class photographic excellence. WPP has been successfully organising a series of major international photo journalistic events all over the world. Since its foundation in The Netherlands in 1955, the World Press Photo Foundation (WPPH)has evolved into an independent platform for photojournalism. Its main objective is to support and promote the work of press photographers internationally and to enhance the professionalization of the photographic environment through training and institutionalization of relations.

World Press Photo enjoys worldwide recognition among both press photographers (amateurs and professionals alike) and the public at large. This can be attributed largely to the annual competition that World Press Photo holds for press photographers, which is the world's largest and most prestigious photographic contest. The prize-winning photographs are assembled into a traveling exhibition, which is visited by over a million people in 40 countries, including India.

The categories include Spot News, General News, People in the News, Portraits, Sports, The Arts, Daily Life, Science and Technology, Nature and Environment. A special Children's Award is given, wherein each year an international jury of schoolchildren acknowledges the best picture. WPPH also organizes seminars, workshops and annual master classes specifically aimed at photojournalists in developing countries. World Press Photo also provides media fellowships aimed at print and photojournalists.

Eminent photographers from India like Raghu Rai and Pablo Batholomew along with other well known photographers like Dilip Mehta and Prashant Panjiar have been associated with WPP as advisors and faculty members.

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2). PERFORMING ARTS

Performing arts have traditionally been important in The Netherlands. Particularly ballet and choreography are famous because of the high level they enjoy internationally. For a relatively small country, The Netherlands boasts an impressive number of performing arts groups of international repute.

2a). Theatre

The Netherlands Theatre Institute maintains a documentation centre on the Dutch performing arts. The Institute promotes the work of Dutch playwrights, directors and actors abroad.
There is a large number of major and minor theatre groups, engaged in developing new forms of theatre, often combining music, mime and new media techniques. Most theatre groups perform in Dutch, which makes it difficult for them to take their productions abroad. This does not apply to groups performing alternative forms of theatre.

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2b). Music

Music can be enjoyed in all its forms in The Netherlands. Apart from classical music, performances of modern music, jazz and pop music attract large audiences. Government policy takes all these different forms of music into account and they are all eligible for funding or grants.
The Netherlands has a great number of classical orchestras. The four most important ones are the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Dutch Philharmonic Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra in Amsterdam ( www.orkest.nl); The Residentie Orchestra in The Hague and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra ( www.rpho.nl), with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra ( www.tonkoopman.nl), the Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra ( www.amsterdamsymphony.com) and the Schonberg ensemble being well-known smaller ensembles.
Opera is flourishing in the Netherlands. The Netherlands Opera Society, which is housed in the Muziektheater in Amsterdam, particularly enjoys a growing international reputation.
Jazz and improvised music are highly popular in the Netherlands and live jazz is performed weekly at the many internationally renowned venues. Pop music and DJs such as Tiesto are equally well represented. Pop festivals, of which Pinkpop is one of the most famous, are organized throughout the year.

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General

Classical orchestras, ensembles and choirs

Concert halls

Jazz/pop/rock

Music festivals

2c). Dance

The Netherlands boasts of top dancers with strong stage personality. Dutch dance is enjoying a raised profile, not only in The Netherlands but also abroad. International Dance Theater has created a niche of its own all over the world.

The Netherlands has three major professional dance groups: the National Ballet in Amsterdam, the Netherlands Dance Theatre (NDT) in The Hague and the Scapino Ballet in Rotterdam. The National Ballet's repertoire consists mainly of classical ballets, but attention is also devoted to the works of 20th century choreographers such as the American Balanchine and the Dutch Van Dantzig, Van Manen and Van Schayk. The works of Jiri Kylian, the artistic director of he Netherlands Dance Theatre, largely determine the NDT's program. The NDT has built up an international reputation and frequently performs abroad. The Scapino Ballet originally performed largely for youthful audiences. In the past few years, however, the company has turned its attention to contemporary dance. There is also a large number of smaller dance groups that stage largely modern dance productions in smaller theatres.