16/07/2020

Mid-size organisations strategy meeting

Proposed agenda: -Update of conversations -Kunstendecreet workgroup (Alden Biesen) update & debriefing (Yasmina) -SOTA letter (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DCE6WnJrPdQ8--gMrsZzxTMqyTmgYTVriSBv49yQxLk/edit ) -Coordination tool Laura & Jesse umbrella/pressure groups (https://ethertoff.caveat.be/w/external_meetings::14072020_smallsizeorganisations.md) - Next & future steps

People present: Sirah, Katrien, Yasmina, Karel, Vincent, Julia, Jesse (report)

Update of conversations

PAM meeting 3/7

-Next public day: September/October/November Since so much is going on politically, sharing information seems most important at the moment now. Some members see PAM also as a potential pressure group. So this could be a relevant complementary forum to the present 'Mid-size organisations strategy' group

Meeting SOTA/AC with Lyne Viskens

Katrien: on basis of SOTA letter (see below) we met with this CJM functionary, who was very informed & engaged - apparently like many people at administration. Deserves our support vis à vis Kabinet. Jesse: are people in the administration being replaced by Jambon cs? Katrien: no, not that I know, but in Boards of Directors/Administration of large houses, etc, they are. No follow-up meeting scheduled, but we can call upon her when we want. Julia: If administration and cabinet are two different worlds, how do they relate/communicate to each other? Katrien: No law-making mandate, advisory only.

Kunstendecreet focus group

Ann Overbergh invited a very good set of participants. Besides Yasmina: Marie Logie, Joost Fonteyne (Klara Festial), Tom Bonte (Beursschouwburg->AB), Lisbeth Gruwez, Haider Al Timimi (will be replaced by Gorgeous O...), Adinda Van Geystelen, Louise Osieka, Phoebus Foundation, Annick Schramme, Frederik (? Filharmonie?). Lyne was there. Bart De Vos was there for a bit, Jan Jambon also. Luc Delrue? Who else? Meetings will continue next week.
Yasmina: Administration & Kabinet asked delegation from sector for input about Principenota for new Kunstendecreet (to be launched July 2021). Amalgamate of Kabinet's wishes, Administration's wishes, reality check by Administration.... Kabinet is rigid on Kerninstellingen. Only thing we & Administration can do is to be as precise as possible about implementation. The rest of the proposals are very reasonable, it's more about tweaking. Kabinet asked Kunstenpunt to prepare a proposal for nota on 'Landschapszorg': what should the layout/architecture of the sector be like? There will be a commission for this - probably containting presidents of the present commissions. Kabinet will create the Nota Landschapzorg on basis of that, but is free to change anything. Not clear whether this nota will be part of the Kunstendecreet.
Early autumn, meerderheidsoverleg will discuss with sector.

Karel: last part of April Visienota, 5 criteria/points are quite general but also quite problematic/ Yasmina: Visienota has been succeeded by Principenota (internal Administration), which is quite different. Very practicle, reasonable/feasible, not ideological. Working document that Kabinet can use as a step towards new Kunstendecreet. Visienota was still quite formless. The whole part about internationalisation and youth isn't strongly represented now. More about Disciplines and Functions. Karel: "Zelfredzaamheid"? Yasmina: we had a huge discussion about Dynamische Ruimte (projecten + beurzen)....they seem to want to work towards a percentage/cap. Brede veld (structurally funded organisations) is under pressure, because for independent artists it will be more difficult to.... . Luc Delrue (Admin) has ideas about 'fluid' / 'lean & mean' organisations. Sees role for managementbureaus. Enterpreneurship. We (also Marie) had to go against him a lot. Bigger organisations (Fabre, Needcompany, Rosas) take huge parts of budget. Lisbeth Gruwez for instance has little opportunity to grow, new companies can hardly step in.

Annick Schramme (CD&V) is very pro 'verfondsing'. Bart said that that's not for now.

Will in all likelihood be 5 year structural round again.

Dynamische ruimte. Beurzen: t hey seem to want to control the beurzen more (now 'wildgroei', according to Luc Delrue). 1 round per year, budget established from the beginning. 2 types: emerging artists (proposal €5000, max 7 years active, can receive twice); established artists (proposal €10.000, can receive three times). Max €40.000 in a lifetime.
Combine with Project funding? Projects with function 'Development' might be combined. But amounts are ridiculously low. Sirah: It would make more sense to allot Beurzen more to younger artists, in order to enter art world.
Katrien: Take care that this doesn't turn into a competition format. There exists an idea to have separate beurzen for international purposes. Residencies etc. Independent of Tussenkomsten presentaties buitenland, and new Internationale presentatieprojecten.

Projects. Proposal 2 deadlines per year. Karel: that's very unpractical compared to 3x, also in terms of timing (September). But especially way too little flexible. Yasmina: No idea yet of percentage of total annual budget (gut feeling: 10-12%, we have the impression that it's up to the sector to propose). 102 million, including Grote Instellingen. Without those: 93 million. Including Kunsteninstellingen: low 100.000s.
Finality is an issue. Especially Ontwikkelingstraject would have afrekening, etc. Projects will be unaccessible for organisations with structural funding.
Jesse: I imagine we are all confronted with a double problem: projects have to be applied for by artists with a detour, and we may be to small in terms of annual budget. Could it be a solution for us to add a certain amount of not-earmarked project money to the yearly budget?
Yasmina: ... Sirah: Are there regulations/guidelines for salaries & transparency? Yasmina: It was on the table, we'll still talk about it.
Jesse: How about Juist is Juist? This is the moment to negotiate, in order to avoid the Dutch checkmate. Perhaps streams of money from outside CJM?
Yasmina: The bigger the institution, the less they seem committed to it. (20 million podium, 5 million visual arts), standardization of salaries. Sirah: difference is huge, in performance one gets paid for work, in visual arts perhaps for a presentation. Loophole for bigger organisations: they don't contract. Artists lose 7% to interimbureaus.
Yasmina: We're afraid of a superelite of organisations (Kerninstellingen) who aren't to be controlled/taken accountable anymore. Everybody knows there are problems at MHKA or Opera but one cannot control them. Karel: Take care that you don't agree to easily, because of all transforms towards Dynamische ruimte, we will have a really shitty job. Also about the budget: we should say we don't agree. Katrien: Who are asking to be Grote Instellingen? KVS, Toneelhuis, NT Gent. Bronx, Kopergieterij, .... Jan De Nolf said: just add group of city theatres to Grote Instellingen, but Kabinet doesn't agree. Political lobbying going on apparently. Yasmina: We feel we're a bit of an excuse, really.

We've discussed Functions a lot. oKo proposed to distinguish 'major' and 'minor' functions within application. Eg, major production, minor development. We should rethink the questions in KIOSK. Commissions will be larger and more continuous. No agreement yet whether they should be (inter/sub)disciplinary.

Katrien: demand about support for infrastructure -> probably part of beurzen. Yasmina: demand that the minister will find money elsewhere for his own preferred projects (Amerikaans Theater?)

Katrien: Ranking? Yasmina: Not completely out. Landschapszorg may want to work with a certain percentage. 28 million for organisations. To be applied, for instance, to organisations that are in a grey zone of subtop.

Grote instellingen: 7 prinsessen. DeSingel, Vooruit, MHKA, ... Kerninstellingen: financial stability for 10 years.

3 main points for Yasmina to take to next week's follow-up: -2 or 3 rounds -amounts of beurzen, and total budget in general -fair practice

There will be a report, publically available. Probably mid August.

Next meeting: 15 August DL report Focus group. SOTA meeting Oostende 7 August. In between those 2? Monday 10 or Tuesday 11?