[artinfo] Sign the petition help de Appel arts centre

[Dorothee Willert]

SIGN THE PETITION: http://deappel.nl/petition.html?section=petition

DE APPEL IS A PLATFORM FOR EXPERIMENTAL AND INNOVATIVE ART
For over forty years
De Appel is a meeting place
For curious people, people who want to be challenged and inspired
For artists, curators, authors, thinkers, aficionados, young and old
De Appel has a key position in the contemporary art field in Amsterdam
and the Netherlands
Known, renowned and loved worldwide
De Appel is the starting point of successful artistic and curatorial
careers
An international network, from Amsterdam to Hong Kong and from New York
to Berlin
De Appel hosts a unique archive about innovative art since 1974
De Appel is an incubator, a researcher, a pioneer
De Appel is proud of what it is

We are shocked. Recently, the Council for Culture published its advice
to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science concerning the
so-called basic infrastructure of the Netherlands. The Council advises
to completely cut the national funding for de Appel for the next policy
period. That would mean the end of de Appel in its current form. Perhaps
even the end of the institution altogether.

De Appel understands the concerns regarding the organisation, given the
dismissal of the former director and subsequent court case. It is a
difficult period in the institute's long existence, for all the parties
involved. But de Appel believes in her resilience. We are confident we
can overcome this turbulent time, with a new director and a new board,
which reflects various positions in the art world. De Appel wants to
continue to fulfil her role in the cultural sector, providing a
signalling and agenda-setting programme that is leading for the
contemporary art field in the Netherlands and abroad.

The Supreme Court will address the lingering labour dispute. The Council
for Culture will address our response to the funding advice to the
Ministry of Education, Culture & Science. The City of Amsterdam will
appoint an advisor who will address the formation of a new board.

There is much to do, on various fronts, and time is pressing. De Appel
argues for a renewed advice of the Council for Culture, which takes the
complexity of the situation into account. De Appel asks for time and
political will. The recent public discussion concerning de Appel shows
the commitment of artists, curators, visitors and tutors to this
institution and underlines its important function within the cultural
field.

Sign the petition on www.deappel.nl [1] and help de Appel in its fight
for a future!

de Appel arts centre


   PRINS HENDRIKKADE 142
1011 AT AMSTERDAM
THE NETHERLANDS

+31 20 6255651
INFO at DEAPPEL.NL