0317 festival in the Torckpark in 2023. Photo Niels Mulder More festivals to make Wageningen a vibrant city, more young people on stage. The municipality is committing two years to this and is also pays for it.
With a subsidy scheme totalling 50,000 euros, the city council wants to offer young creators a platform, rejuvenate existing festivals and lower cultural barriers.
‘Stage for young talent’
The scheme will run until September 2026. The money is intended as an incentive, not as full funding. A maximum of 5,000 euros is available per festival, with the municipality reimbursing half of the costs.
In its explanatory notes, the council emphasises the importance of culture for a vibrant city. According to the municipality, festivals play a key role in this: ‘They offer a platform for young talent and enhance the liveliness of the city centre’.
Well-known festivals back in the queue
Festivals such as Woetstok, Aan Hogerwal, Valley Festival and Rhinegold already received financial support from the municipality under an earlier grant scheme. Woetstok and Valley Festival have already reapplied for the new scheme.
However, there is still little development in completely new initiatives, acknowledges alderman Maud Hulshof. ‘Not yet, but we’ve only just started.’ The subsidy desk has been open for two weeks.
More space for young people
According to Hulshof, there is a growing need in the city for cultural venues where young people really feel at home. ‘It’s quite difficult for young people in Wageningen to find a nice place.’
Ideally, says the alderman, there will be a natural mix of all young people in the city. ‘Where it doesn’t matter whether you’re from Wageningen or a student.’
She cites an initiative such as Wageningen Culture Collective as an example: last autumn, that organisation collected over a thousand signatures in support of a music venue in the city.
Diversity, innovation and accessibility
The new scheme is open to two types of applicants: those who are setting up a new festival in Wageningen and those who are expanding or rejuvenating an existing festival.
It is important that the festival focuses on cultural activities, from music to theatre and from dance to media art. It must also appeal to a wide audience.
When awarding subsidies, the municipality explicitly looks at social value. Diversity and inclusion are not just nice words, but a criterion. Hulshof: ‘People must be able to explain beforehand and afterwards what they have actually done with it.’
In the distribution, 30,000 euros has been reserved for existing festivals and 20,000 euros for new ones. Applications are processed in order of submittal: first come, first served.
This article was previously published in the Gelderlander/Bart Eulen.
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