Limited focus on photography in the national grant system
Of course, it is unfortunate that we did not succeed in securing the multi-year funding through the Mondriaan Fund. We knew that the chance was not great given the limited number of places available, the limited budget, and the fund's focus on the visual arts. It means that the competition is fierce.
However, with this rejection, there is no longer a single national multi-year grantee in the north, where photography is the primary discipline. This gives pause for thought. There is only one presentation institution photography left in the country that still receives multi-year national support. I warmly congratulate the colleagues of FOTODOK in Utrecht with their realized long-term contribution.
This limited national attention for photography is in the context of the national subsidy system, in which photography has no place of its own. In an extensive article in the Volkskrant of some time ago, it was already mentioned: we are forced to knock on the doors of various other disciplines, each with their own criteria. That is difficult and demands a lot from our organizations.
Be that as it may, Noorderlicht is busy preparing the Regenerate festival, which will take place at various locations in the North in the summer and fall of 2023. And moreover, a beautiful anthology of Ukrainian photography is coming to Groningen’s Akerk in the autumn, in close cooperation with the Stichting Oude Groninger Kerken. Fortunately, we are always successful in arranging funding for projects of this kind and thus in presenting a program that sets the agenda. And all this with the support of the northern authorities and the BPD Cultural Fund (BPD Area Development), for which I am very grateful.
And let’s not forget the wonderful exhibition at In the Courtroom with Rocks, in which the talented young artists Olivia d’Cruz (India) and Marina Sulima (Moldova) have depicted three mineral extraction scandals in a way never before seen. One in Indonesia, a second in India and, last but not least, a third in our own province of Groningen. Humorous and confrontational. This exhibition is part of a long-term collaboration with BPD Cultuurfonds on the moving soil of Groningen, called Hernieuwde Energie (Renewed Energy). On view at Noorderlicht Studio, free admission until September 11.
Kees van der Meiden
Director Noorderlicht
