A brief guide to Dutch art and culture

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The Netherlands has an international reputation in the field of arts and culture. Every year, thousands of Dutch artists and cultural organisations travel the world, showing that they have got what it takes to compete in the international art scene. The Netherlands is itself an attractive destination for both budding and established foreign artists, thanks to its compact size, excellent infrastructure, an enquiring public, and its proximity to ‘happening’ cities like Paris and Berlin.

SICA (the Dutch Centre for International Cultural Activities) asked Dutch journalists to explore the art scene in the Netherlands, to discover which artists and organisations are currently ‘hot’, what traditions they represent and which institutions support them.

Design, architecture, visual arts and e-culture

Dutch design receives international acclaim, with the design company Droog Design leading the way, while Dutch architecture has been made world famous by Rem Koolhaas. Thanks to artists like Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Mondrian and Cobra, the Netherlands has traditionally been seen as a country of painters. What is striking about modern visual arts, however, is the great diversity of media and styles. Many Dutch organisations, including Waag Society, Mediamatic and V_2, are at the cutting edge of creative technology, combining art and media in new interdisciplinary forms. Our artistic and cultural legacy takes many different shapes, and insight into our common cultural heritage contributes to an understanding of our history as well as modern political developments.

Visit the following pages for more information:
Design, by Elsbeth Grievink
Architecture, by Jos Schuring
Visual Arts, by Domeniek Ruyters
Cultural Heritage, by Chris Reinewald
E-culture, by Jaap Vinken

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Dance and music

Variety is also the key word when it comes to dance and music. The Netherlands is internationally renowned for modern dance, boasting both established institutions such as the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) and smaller companies led by choreographers like Emio Greco, Anouk van Dijk and Krisztina de Châtel. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra enjoys high international standing, but Dutch music goes much further than classical symphonies, as witness prominent names like Louis Andriessen, Ton Koopman and DJ Tiësto.

Visit the following pages for more information:
Dance, by Annette Embrechts
Music, by Jos Schuring

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Literature and theatre

With only around 23 million speakers, Dutch is no world language, but Dutch authors are gaining international popularity thanks to translations of their work, with the International Impac Dublin Award for Gerbrand Bakker’s Boven Is Het Stil (The Twin) as the latest highlight. Young theatre makers like Dries Verhoeven, Lotte van den Berg and Boukje Schweigman overcome the language barrier with visual and interactive theatre. Leading theatre companies such as Toneelgroep Amsterdam, under director Ivo van Hove, perform on international stages all over the world, whenever possible in the language of the host country.

Visit the following pages for more information:
Literature, by David Duijnmayer
Theatre, by Jos Schuring

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Film and fashion

The Dutch film industry is a small but flourishing sector. Dutch art house films and documentaries do particularly well abroad, finding their way to international festivals. The Netherlands plays a small but not unimportant role in the international fashion industry, thanks to the many pioneering stylists, marketeers, photographers and creative entrepreneurs occupying key positions with major fashion labels, and of course a number of trendsetters like Viktor & Rolf, Marlies Dekker and Alexander Slobbe.

Visit the following pages for more information:
Film, by Fritz de Jong
Fashion, by Pauline Terreehorst

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