News

This week we received two grant recommendations regarding our ‘Grondslag 2027–2028’ programme. The Creative Industries Fund NL has approved our application. We are delighted and grateful for the trust placed in our Zoöp practice, the workshops and meet-ups, the residencies we offer, and the online knowledge platform we are developing. The advisory committee of the Municipality of Utrecht is also full of praise for the content: a strong distinctive identity and a role model. Nevertheless, it does not recommend a grant for 2027–2028.

This leaves us with mixed feelings. Both committees have raised concerns about the viability of our organisation: our equity capital, our continuity reserve and the vulnerability of a small team. We recognise these concerns and take them seriously. Grondslag is, in fact, dedicated to addressing these issues. The theme centres on two things simultaneously: how we create culture with a focus on regenerative practices, and how we, as an organisation, become strong enough to sustain that way of working.

This is not the first time we have received a municipal recommendation. Since 2021, we have received four recommendations, offering modest funding and often less than we had requested. The 2021 recommendation asked us to prioritise creators and education, and to collaborate with existing organisations on our presentations. We did just that: this approach led to the creation of Piece of Code, and our presentations are now organised through partners in the city. The recommendation for 2025–2028 asked us to professionalise rather than expand. We did that too, with a revamped HR policy and a new education manager and communications strategist. The assessment evolved accordingly: from ‘eligible for funding’ to ‘pioneer’ and now ‘role model’. In every round, we continued to deliver with limited resources.

But it is also a chicken-and-egg situation. To ensure a healthy organisation – for its people and non-human residents – a structural foundation is needed. Without that security, as an employer you can offer your team very little, such as permanent contracts, a pension or the scope to take risks. The Cultuurnota is therefore more than just a contribution to the programme. It is the foundation upon which an organisation like ours can continue to operate with care.

We want to become less reliant on cultural grants, and we have everything we need to achieve this: an educational programme that schools and institutions are asking for, methods and knowledge that we share, and projects such as the Bird Listening Station, which are attracting attention even outside the cultural sector. At the same time, we are idealistic and rooted in creative practice. Youth education and artistic research are not undertaken for financial gain. We want to combine these two aspects: building up our own income without losing sight of the values that drive our work. That takes time, and a stable foundation is precisely what is needed for this.

A place may become available because another organisation is withdrawing from the Cultuurnota. Whether we will still receive a grant from the Municipality to fill that place will be decided by lottery. We’re pleased to be in the running, but it also says something about the financial strain in the sector: that organisations highly regarded for their work have to leave their survival to chance, whilst structural certainty is precisely what we need.

A foundation is not a growth plan. It is the soil in which you allow things to take root. We will continue to work on that soil, with or without a lottery.

Thank you to all the (human and non-human) creators, partners and colleagues who have made this possible.