Illustration: Cyprian Koscielniak.
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On Prinsjesdag, Minister Plasterk has announced the level of funding Premsela will receive over the next four years. The total budget amounts to slightly more than €10 million, an annual increase of €500,000 as compared to the current situation. Premsela is satisfied with this outcome. Director Dingeman Kuilman: 'It was a sluggish round of subsidies in which it was immediately clear that all budgets were under pressure. But this budget allows us to implement our plan. At any rate we will develop programs on heritage and history, internationalization and new forms of amateurism. Also, we will expand some of our major projects in the years ahead, including Morf, Platform21 and Streetlab.'
A letter on the Dutch international cultural policy was issued simultaneously with the funding decision. In this letter, Minister Plasterk, Minister Koenders and Deputy-minister Timmermans list their priorities. Their emphasis on design and fashion is striking. A new and ambitious program, partly initiated by Premsela, is 'Dutch Design, Fashion and Architecture' (DDFA). Within this program, three ministries, several trade and professional associations, and various cultural sector institutions collaborate on developing projects for a select number of countries that show potential. DDFA will receive a four-year budget totaling €12 million.
