Right to rooting in the city

A dialogue between Amsterdam Deputy Councillor Lene Grooten and artist Bart Stuart about the changing position of artists in Amsterdam and the influence of cultural policy.

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Lene Grooten has lived in Amsterdam since 1999 and works at the Kunstenbond. She is a dual councilor for GroenLinks, with a portfolio in healthcare and youth care. She first worked at the Bellevue Theatre and became politically active after the theatre was acquired and the cultural budget cuts began in 2011. She advocates for a new cultural awareness, believing that there must be, and remain, space for the arts. Bart Stuart is a visual artist. He has lived in the city since 1995, is based at the NDSM, a former shipyard in North Amsterdam, and is chairman of the board of the artists' initiative W139 in Amsterdam.

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Grooten and Stuart argue that the liberal arts have come under increasing pressure over the past ten years. Due to budget cuts and an increasing emphasis on economic and social returns, the space for autonomous art has shrunk.

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An important theme in the conversation is the importance of free spaces. These are places where artists can experiment, collaborate, and develop without being constantly judged on measurable results. According to Grooten, engagement with society is important, but it cannot be enforced. She criticizes current policy, in which artists are increasingly required to demonstrate societal impact: "You now see a kind of 'mandatory engagement' being enshrined in policy." According to her, true engagement arises precisely through time, trust, and mutual curiosity.

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In addition, Stuart and Grooten discuss the importance of long-term, affordable workspaces. The current incubator policy often offers artists a studio for only ten years, after which they must make way for a new generation. As a result, artists are given hardly any chance to connect sustainably with the city. As Bart Stuart puts it: "People need to be able to root themselves in space and in time."

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The societal role of artists is also discussed extensively. Artists identify developments, ask critical questions, and provide new perspectives. At the same time, Grooten and Stuart warn against the instrumental use of artists in urban development. According to Stuart, artists are sometimes used to make a neighborhood attractive, after which they themselves have to leave as soon as house prices rise. In his view, this approach leads to a monoculture and does not do justice to the value of art.

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Furthermore, they emphasize the importance of art in public space. Artworks can reach people who do not normally visit museums, thereby contributing to encounter, reflection, and connection. Grooten therefore advocates for a city curator who protects public art and ensures that it remains visible and relevant to residents.

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Finally, they discuss the financial position of artists. Although a great deal of money circulates in the cultural sector, artists themselves often receive insufficient income. Many artists are therefore forced to take on other work alongside their artistic practice. Both advocate for a cultural policy that is based less on market forces and control, and instead relies more on trust, experimentation, and long-term support. According to Grooten, artists should not be seen as temporary decoration for the city, but as an indispensable part of it. She concludes the conversation with a call to give more space to "trust and imagination", so that artists can truly take root in the city and make a lasting contribution to society.

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Source: 

Grooten, L., & Stuart, B. (2017, 24 december). Recht op wortelen in de stad. Wetenschappelijk Bureau Groenlinks. https://www.wetenschappelijkbureaugroenlinks.nl/tijdschrift/winter-2017/recht-op-wortelen-de-stad