Publications Boekman Foundation

Sustainability

The research publication Sustainability in the cultural sector which the Boekman Foundation and Bureau 8080 released last October and made available online, provides insight into how the cultural sector is working to become more sustainable and contribute to awareness of the climate crisis. The first quantitative part is based on a survey of some two hundred cultural organizations. The results provide insight into the motivations of organizations to become more sustainable, the way in which they do so, and bottlenecks and needs they encounter in doing so.

In making sustainability a structural part of business operations, many organizations run into bottlenecks

The survey results show that sustainability is considered very important, but that respondents rated the extent to which they actively implement sustainability themselves moderately. The three activities that are currently carried out most often are separating (three or more types of) waste, paying attention to the climate crisis in programming and encouraging employees to travel by public transport. In making sustainability a structural part of business operations, many organizations run into bottlenecks such as lack of money, dependence on other parties and higher priority for other topics. More than half of the respondents indicate that a lack of support from (cultural) policy plays a role in this.

Fair Practice

Also, the publication The Fair Practice Code. Firmly on the agenda, but still a lot of work to be done is available online. Since 2017, the Fair Practice Code has provided the creative and cultural sector with a framework to enable sustainable, fair and transparent business and work for everyone in this sector. Editor and information specialist of the Knowledge Bank of the Boekman Foundation Jack van der Leden consulted various opinions, analyses, policy plans and reactions from the cultural field, looking for past history, implementation and practical experiences as well as the current state of affairs.

Culture and the pandemic

This fall, Boekman #132 was also published that deals with the cultural sector and the pandemic. The corona pandemic hit the sector hard. The measures meant that public activities could hardly take place, if at all, and many creators struggled to cope with the loss of sales. Government-subsidized institutions had an advantage over creators, self-employed and non-subsidized institutions. One positive effect of the crisis was that it created more unity in the sector. For example, over one hundred industry, professional and interest groups united in the Cultural and Creative Sector Task Force. The crisis also challenges us to rethink. How can the sector meet the great challenges of our time? Such as a fairer labor market, reducing social inequality or climate change. What are learning points and what role can the sector play in coping with such a crisis? What are the effects of the crisis on students at art schools and on the practice of makers?