LOOS Foundation waives application for municipal subsidy under the 2025-2029 Arts Plan

The Hague, Sept. 17, 2024

Subject: LOOS Foundation waives application for municipal subsidy under the 2025-2029 Arts Plan

Dear College, Dear Council,

After 20 years of receiving municipal subsidies under the Arts Plan, after a very successful crossover evening with and in Museum Beelden aan Zee last September 6, and with the prospect of the second Hague Sound Art Festival October 19 and 20, the board of LOOS Foundation, in consultation with the director, has decided with pain in its heart, not to apply for the coming period under the Arts Plan.

Why are we taking this drastic decision, which will undoubtedly have consequences for the Foundation, the Studio and its staff, and the artists involved that we cannot yet comprehend in full? We limit ourselves in this letter to you, those who decide on policy choices and grant awards, to the two main reasons.

Strangling subsidy conditions

The Loos Foundation is a small, professional organization for (talent) development in interdisciplinary new music, which wants to be there 100% for the researchers, the makers, the audience. In recent years it has become increasingly clear that realizing our goals and wishes is no longer compatible with the stringent, ever-changing conditions imposed on our organization by the municipality. These conditions are in fact not about the content of the work of LOOS, they are only an administrative burden, such as the ever-changing application and accountability models. LOOS cannot afford the manpower required for this, because we have no money for it. Any effort required to meet the conditions is therefore at the expense of the artistic performance, guidance and facilitation of the creators, the core of LOOS' right to exist. What particularly affects us is that the municipal government, which after all regularly states that it is so eager for its citizens to trust it, apparently does not recognize that this coercive and laborious methodology assumes - or at least gives the appearance of doing so - that the municipality distrusts the applicant organizations.

LOOS obviously wants to be accountable: it is logical for the municipality to demand this accountability. However, the extent to which it is demanded, both in the application and in the justification, we do not consider fair, not reasonable, not in proportion to the size of the organization. For practical clarification: all this work falls on the shoulders of our director, Dr. Peter van Bergen, recently royally awarded a knighthood in recognition of his relentless professional, artistic commitment to LOOS and the development of the field. Surely the director should be able to focus primarily on the artistic performance of LOOS and organizing sufficient events that generate income. Precisely this important work now is frustrated by lack of time, caused by the almost daily administrative obligations of accountability.

In recent years, the lack of a business leader made itself felt more and more acutely. It was included in our 2021-2024 application, but not honored by you.

Again: LOOS is a small organization that cannot afford to expand its staff, due to lack of its own resources and insufficient income.

Fair Pay

The municipality rightly requires from institutions it subsidizes that the artists/makers receive socially responsible compensation for their work.

We assume that you are familiar with the fact that the municipality that requirement, unfortunately does not translate into the allocated subsidy amount.

Partly because of this, the small organization that LOOS is, has insufficient resources to meet that requirement.

LOOS now pays artists as much as possible in accordance with the Fair Pay code, which is expected to lead to a deficit in the annual statement.

Conclusion

As mentioned above, both of the above arguments have made us decide not to apply for the municipal grant under the multi-year Arts Plan. We feel that the required time and commitment that application and justification require “strangles” LOOS.

With this decision, the board and director are choosing an uncertain future. In the coming months we will consider the new situation. LOOS will continue to make use of the possibility to apply for makersubsidies for the artists who join us, so that research and development by young and older makers can continue.

Of course, the board of LOOS has not taken this decision lightly: after all, we are talking about the future of an organization that has been a recognized part of The Hague's cultural environment for more than 40 years and to which, since 20 years, the professionally equipped Studio LOOS has been added, which is experienced as high quality by all users.

The board of LOOS thanks the municipality for the years of financial and substantive support in applying for and justifying the subsidy and last but not least for the appreciation received, including in the form of the royal decoration of Dr. Peter van Bergen.

With kind regards,

The Board of the LOOS Foundation,

Stef de Niet, chairman