22-03-15 16:35 pm – Source: Het Parool
The MC Theater © Reuters
Opinion
The inglorious end MC Theater shows once again that Amsterdam is investing too much in stone and not in content, warn Annette Schautt and Lene Grooten
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Nothing new under the sun, unfortunately again a bright spot less. The MC Theater is bankrupt. An inglorious end, everyone will say, ‘own fault thick hump. ” The bankruptcy of the MC Theater imposes structural problems exposed: the proportion of cultural buildings in relation to the artistic range and the loss of diversity in it
A few years ago the MC Theater decided to move to entirely cultural. entrepreneurship. The decision was welcomed and rewarded by the town with a bag of money. Culture transfer to the market seemed a wonderful creed. In addition, it was irrelevant whether the MC of the plan had actually succeed.
In 2004, granted Westerpark district municipality guarantee to developer MAB for the development of the former gasworks to realize the “cultural destination” of the buildings. With that destination is unfortunately somewhat lax handled.
The land has lost all vibrant cultural features such as Art House, the Children’s Festival and Picnic. And now the MC Theater. Too bad, say the residents. Market development, said the municipality.
mix
How Westergasfabriek guarantees a nice mix of art and events that site so special? This question is the disappearance of MC relevant than ever and the church should view the history certainly a role to play in this.
Then on the amount of art buildings in Amsterdam. In 2007 the Amsterdam Arts Council warned that Amsterdam is too much invested in stone and too little content. Yet there seemed to be a gestoelde need its own building for the MC Theater. The municipality paid 3 million for the renovation of the theater, which opened in late 2010, 2.5 million thereafter was the golden handshake to leave the arts plan. Reason enough to keep a finger on the pulse, you might think.
It was already all but a surprise that the operation of the buildings is a major stumbling block for cultural institutions. There’s more money out the door than it earns. The MC Theater does not stand alone: it also played at Felix Meritis, Tropentheater, Bellevue and The Little Comedy varying degrees. The ratio of artistic programming versus rental is moved. The building is the biggest expense in many a budget while subsidies decline tremendously.
Focus
Strangely enough, the town itself is often landlord and it collects more and more a ‘competitive’ rent. Commercial rental of the building for cultural institutions often become core business, otherwise you do not survive.
And let it just not the greatest quality of many cultural institutions. While these institutions undoubtedly had great artistic qualities in the house. Which then unfortunately also go under. And what did the church?
The next few years should therefore be the focus of the Amsterdam art policy lie in programming, not in extra chairs and buildings.
Responsibility
The city of Amsterdam has a responsibility to the diversity of cultural offerings. Especially when the support for government grants to the cultural sector has fallen. There should be scope for innovative and different tendencies within the established order. For twenty years, attempts are being made to have a multicultural voices in the stage sector. There are venues that program a bit ‘multicultural’. But with the disappearance of the MC Theater is the only place in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, who disappeared explicitly dealing with diversity.
That will not notice the many is no reason that it has no right to exist. On the contrary: why are the TV programs of the public broadcaster in the Netherlands actually as ‘white’? Why the audience is in (music) theater so one-sided? The change must come from within
The sector that desperately need renovation -. Amsterdam is indeed a multicultural city. Hopefully tackle other theaters in this loss of programming, perhaps in cooperation.
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(By: Annette Schautt and Lene Grooten).
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