The city council in Rotterdam wants to dissolve the Rotterdam Council for Art and Culture (RRKC), the advisory body of the same council, as of January 1, 2023. Alderman for Culture Said Kasmi announced this at the end of May, shortly before the installation of the new coalition. The Rotterdam cultural world reacted with shock. On Wednesday 29 June, the city council will discuss it and it will be decided whether the subsidy of 700,000 euros per year to the Council will be discontinued.
1 What exactly does the Rotterdam art council do?
The RRKC (4.45 FTE) advises mayors and aldermen on municipal spending on art and culture. Every four years, the council writes a ‘Culture Plan’, in which it advises how the budget for art and culture (85 million euros for 2021-2024) should be distributed. The Board is not bound by the advice, but usually adopts it.
2 Why have relations between council and municipality deteriorated?
There have been tensions for some time between the three legs of the Rotterdam cultural field: institutions, RRKC and alderman. These are inherent to the working method: the Council has to navigate between the political game of the board on the one hand, and the interests of the cultural field on the other. At the same time, the Executive Board is the principal, the alderman determines the rules of the game and the RRKC tries to act as independently as possible.
This working relationship is “experienced as unsatisfactory by all parties”, organizational strategist Thomas van Dalen wrote in a report in 2014.
Recently, the distribution of subsidies in the Culture plan 2021-2024 to criticism. The subsidy from Museum Rotterdam was reduced from 3.5 to 1.7 million – which de facto meant the end of the museum. According to critics, including PvdD party leader Ruud van der Velden, this illustrated that the RRKC is ‘too close’ to the council and would make political choices. However, the sector was most concerned about the lack of hearing both sides of the argument in the subsidy process and the lack of the option to object. The RRKC is then looked at while the college determines the rules of the game, explains RRKC chairman Carlos Gonçalves. The city council has enforced the possibility of rebuttal, but it was already too late for the 2021-2024 Culture Plan.
3 What else is the RRKC accused of?
Two incidents from the past play a role. One: speaking at a municipal committee meeting about the new city museum function of the successor to Museum Rotterdam. Two: offering advice directly to the city council about the eight largest subsidized cultural institutions in Rotterdam. They are both “curious maneuvers” and “apparent expressions of a power play,” he said a critical report from consultancy Rijnconsult in February† That mistake has been acknowledged and apologies have been made by the Council. Alderman for culture Kasmi: “We pay the RRKC to provide us with advice. Then we decide whether to do something with it. The RRKC got involved in politics.” At the same time, the researchers conclude that there are no indications that the Council is not adhering to the procedural agreements, although the RRKC is pushing the boundaries.
4 What is the immediate reason for wanting to abolish the RRKC?
The aforementioned Rijnconsult advisory report – with the title Out of the groove – points out that the position of the RRKC is often unclear and that the Council wants to prove its position too much. Apart from the four-yearly Culture Plan, the recommendations of the RRKC are virtually unknown in the field. As a result, the RRKC has to constantly fight for its own interest and relevance. As a result, relations with the Municipal Executive and with the Culture Department of the municipality have been damaged and the RRKC has become more isolated.
The study offers six alternative scenarios, ranging from housing the RRKC within the municipality to abolishing the RRKC and establishing a new ‘Culture Council’ for the metropolitan region of Rotterdam and The Hague. “I have considered all scenarios and disbanding the RRKC is the best option,” says Kasmi when asked.
5 How will the cultural sector respond to the dissolution of the RRKC?
The report Out of the groove has not been well received in the cultural sector, partly because of the lack of transparency. In addition to anonymity of the respondents, it is also unclear how many and which organizations were interviewed. “I think it’s too weak and poorly substantiated research for such a radical decision,” says Walter Ligthart of Theater Rotterdam. “The alderman draws a conclusion based on a report that does not lend itself to such a conclusion,” says organizational strategist Thomas van Dalen. Several institutions do not want to respond with their name in the newspaper, for fear of a bad relationship with the municipality. “If we are too critical, will we no longer receive a subsidy?” says one. Another: “An institution is dissolved because it has too independent a role, when it exists precisely because of that independent role. I now seriously wonder to what extent we can also be victimized in the future.”
Alderman Kasmi does not want to alter the independence of the advisory role, he says. “Independent advice continues to exist, but you can also organize differently.” How is not yet clear.
The RRKC calls the decision in a official response “faulty” and “administratively negligent”. The Council does recognize that change is necessary, partly due to structural changes. If it is up to the RRKC, the organization will now fall under the municipal secretary, in order to be a little more distant from the alderman. The RRKC also wants to be able to advise the municipal executive and the municipal council.
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