Culture across the regions

Theme

How are cultural offers spread across the provinces? Where are most venues, libraries, cinemas or museums located? To what extent is culture visited? What is the distribution of cultural expenditure by government and province? This theme page shows provincial developments and is an invitation to explore figures and statistics on regional culture in the Dashboard.

Written by

Maartje Goedhart

Latest update April 21, 2024
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Summary

Discussions around a yet-to-be-established National History Museum with a focus on the regions and ‘national traditions’ (Metropolis M 2024), criticisms towards the top companies that are attracting decreasing numbers of non-Randstad stages (Pama and Van Santen, 2024); regional cultural identities and facilities are at the heart of the cultural debate. What do we know about regional culture, what does the data show us?

Theme Culture across the regions

Table of contents

Introduction and significance of the theme

The debate on the role and importance of regional culture is in full force. Both the Council for Culture (Raad voor Cultuur) and the Interprovincial Council (Interprovinciaal Overleg) (IPO) have commented on the importance of an inclusive cultural policy that takes into account regional differences and needs. The Council's system Access to Culture advice emphasises the need to strengthen the cultural infrastructure in all regions and invest in cultural education (2024). The Council also advocates for a single state cultural fund, with separate departments for each province and the Caribbean part of the Netherlands. The IPO advocates for a joint approach by the state, provinces and municipalities to improve access to culture. The Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG) has also endorsed the Council for Culture's system advice and stresses the importance of a joint effort to make culture accessible to all residents, regardless of where they live (2024). A legal embedding via a framework act on culture is popular among many municipalities and, according to them, can provide tools to do so. Janita Tabak, councillor for culture in the municipality of De Fryske Marren and member of VNG's Care, Youth and Education Committee, explained that ‘the proposal to work with one fund does [offer] opportunities for cohesion between cultural initiatives in the regions’. The performing arts industry associations Association of Dutch Music venues and Festivals (Vereniging Nederlandse Poppodia en Festivals (VNPF)), Association of Theater & Concert Hall Managements (Vereniging van Schouwburg- & Concertgebouwirecties (VSCD)) and the Dutch Association for Performing Arts (Nederlandse Associatie voor Podiumkunsten (NAPK)) also advocate for such legal embedding.

An important aspect of the growing focus on regional culture is the call to ensure access to culture for all, regardless of background or place of residence. Multiple voices stress the importance of creating an inclusive cultural landscape that does justice to the diversity of Dutch society. This implies improving physical access to cultural facilities and promoting diverse and inclusive cultural programming that includes different voices and perspectives. UNESCO's advice (Ir)replaceable advocates measures to protect and preserve cultural heritage for future generations. They call for recognition of the Culture, also called migrant culture or diasporic urban culture. Its forms of expression, such as design, fashion, music, film and art, are influenced by post-colonial migration and strongly rooted in (Afro-)diasporic cultural production. Because of this diasporic base, this cultural ecosystem arises mainly in urban environments and migrant neighbourhoods (Bedaux 2023). This is why recognition of the region and living environment is vital in appreciating and supporting the Culture in cultural policy. In the coming years, the Boekman Foundation will work towards more and better understanding of the scope and meaning of the Culture.

Increasing number of monitoring initiatives

The need for regional cultural data is evident from the growing number of monitoring initiatives at regional and local level. In addition to the provincial culture monitors North Brabant, Zeeland, South-Holland, Gelderland, Drenthe and Flevoland, there are also similar urban initiatives in Groningen, Utrecht and the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region. At the bottom of this page is a (non-exhaustive) overview of what monitoring is available per province.

Back in 2022, the Boekman Foundation's Regional Culture Monitor shed light on the diversity of cultural practices and expressions found across provinces. Visible was the rich diversity of cultural expressions at the regional level, but also the crucial role that regional culture plays in strengthening local communities and promoting social cohesion. This offered insight at the provincial level, but there appeared to be a need to specify this even further. After all, cultural policy largely takes place at the municipal level. From 2024, the Culture Monitor will also be able to zoom in on municipalities (and in future compositions of municipalities - such as in urban regions). We are building municipal data in the dashboard step by step; the Value of Culture pilot serves as an initial exploration for this.

Trends and developments

The theme page Culture in the regions is an invitation to explore the Dashboard and discover striking patterns at the regional level.

Cultural offer

A diverse range of culture can be found scattered across the Netherlands. The Dashboard of the Culture Monitor maps how much on offer each province has and how this relates to the number of inhabitants.

The concentration of cultural offers over the years and in absolute terms is highest in North and South Holland. Among other things, South-Holland has the most bookstore establishments and library branches, while North-Holland has the most cinemas and film theatres, museums, art galleries and exhibition spaces and stages. Because of the high population and the presence of the three largest cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague), the high concentration of cultural offer in these two provinces is not surprising (see ‘Influence of Dutch cities’).

Offer at provincial level

This visualisation shows a selection of indicators in the field of cultural supply per province. The tabs above the figure allow switching between the indicators. See the Dashboard for the regional indicators of the other domains.

The extent of cultural assets varies by province. In Friesland, for example, in 2022 there are almost as many protected town and village conservation areas as in South-Holland. The northeastern part of the Netherlands is also home to a relatively large number of national archaeological monuments . In fact, Gelderland is home to about half of the total number of archaeological national monuments in the Netherlands, specifically 295. The Archaeological Monument Map of the Cultural Heritage Agency (Cultureel Erfgoed)(RCE) shows that the high concentration of archaeological national monuments in Gelderland is mainly centred around the Veluwe.

Cultural offer per inhabitant
In 2022, Zeeland, Groningen and Drenthe have about eight libraries per 100,000 inhabitants. In North Holland, there are four and in Flevoland three. The number of cinemas and film theatres per inhabitant is further highest in Zeeland, North-Holland and Groningen, while South-Holland, Flevoland and Drenthe have relatively the least number of screening venues.

Cultural offer per inhabitant

This visualisation shows a selection of indicators on cultural offers by province. Enable the Per 100,000 Population button at the bottom of the map to see the relative numbers. The tabs above the figure can be used to switch between the indicators. See the Dashboard for the regional indicators of the other domains.

The Dashboard also contains more detailed figures on cultural offers in the provinces, for example on the number of performing arts performances, activities in public libraries or the number of movie screens and seats. Via bar charts and line graphs, the development of these can be followed throughout the years. In 2022, for instance, we see that the number of performing arts performances in almost all provinces is back to its pre-Covid crisis level. And theatre-goers also seem to be finding their way back. In Friesland, South-Holland, Zeeland, Flevoland and Limburg, the number of visits is even higher than in 2019.

Development of performing arts performances

This visualisation shows the development of the number of performing arts performances by province from 2020, 2021 and 2022. Click on a year at the bottom of the charts to exclude a year from display. View the Dashboard for the development from 2005 onwards.

Source: CBS

Influence of Dutch Cities
It is important to note that the profile of a province is strongly influenced by cities with a large cultural infrastructure. This is true, for example, of North-Holland with a city like Amsterdam, which has a large proportion of galleries and venues, and where many performances and concerts also take place, resulting in millions of visits. We see a similar effect in other provinces, such as South-Holland (with The Hague and Rotterdam) and North Brabant (with Eindhoven and Tilburg). Cities in particular receive money for culture.

For more information about the creative industry in Dutch cities, you can look at the Creative Industry Monitor, in which the top 10 Dutch cities and developments in jobs and companies are discussed.

Culture visits

In 2022, Dutch museums were visited approximately 23,8 million times, of which more than 13,8 million visits can be attributed to the 230 museums in North and South-Holland. The two provinces together make up 37 percent of the total number of museums in the Netherlands but are responsible for more than half of the total number of visits to museums. We saw the same distribution in 2019 and 2021.

Visits at provincial level

This visualisation shows a selection of indicators concerning cultural visits per province. You can switch between cinema and museum visits via the tabs above the figure. See the Dashboard for the regional visit figures of the other domains.

Source: NVBF
Source: CBS

Cultural visits per inhabitant
Looking at the cultural consumption of the province's inhabitants, the proportion of library members among the population ranged from 17 per cent in Limburg to 29 per cent in Flevoland in 2022. By contrast, in Groningen, the library is by far the most frequently visited per capita. Library visits are lowest in Zeeland, Limburg and North Brabant, while the proportion of library members in Zeeland is relatively high. The Knowledge Center of Zeeland Society (HZ | Kenniscentrum Zeeuwse Samenleving) concludes that Zeelanders generally have to travel further to reach facilities than residents of other provinces (HZ 2021). Also unique in Zeeland is the large concentration of library bus stops, which are also part of the network of library facilities. More than half of all library bus stops in the Netherlands are for Zeeland's Library Buses.

The performing arts visits per capita was highest in North-Holland and the province of Groningen in 2022, same as in 2020. The number of film visits per capita is also highest in North Holland, followed by Utrecht and South-Holland.

Cultural visits per inhabitant

This visualisation shows a selection of indicators concerning cultural visits and consumption per province. Switch the button Per 100.000 inhabitantsat the bottom of the map to see the relative numbers. You can switch between the indicators via the tabs above the figure. See the Dashboard for the regional visit figures of the other domains.

Source: KB and CBS
Source: KB

Money flows

In the implementation of Dutch cultural policy, local governments play an essential role. Dutch municipalities bear responsibility for funding local and regional infrastructure, such as libraries, venues and centres for the arts. In 2021 they collectively contributed 54 per cent of the total cost of culture at the government level, the provinces 8 per cent and the state 38 per cent (Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap; CBS 2022).

National
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, in 2022, spent 1.6 billion euros on culture. Of this, almost 250 million went to the institutions in the Basic Cultural Infrastructure (BIS) and about 299 million to the National Culture Funds. In absolute numbers, most of the BIS funds went to North and South-Holland, per capita Groningen comes second (after North-Holland).

National Cultural Funds and BIS

This visualisation shows the grants via the national cultural funds and the basic cultural infrastructure per province. Enable the Per Inhabitant button at the bottom of the map to see the relative numbers.

Source: OCW
Source: OCW

Municipalities
For municipal culture spending, the most recent figures are from 2021. In 2021, municipalities spent a total of more than 2 billion euros on culture. Most was spent the provinces South-Holland, North-Holland and North Brabant (520 million euros, 419 million euros and 270 million euros, respectively). Per capita, municipalities in the provinces North-Holland (145 euros per capita) and South-Holland (140 euros per capita) spent the most on culture.

Cultural expenses for municipalities and provinces

This visualisation shows the cultural expenses of municipalities and provinces, broken down per province. Switch the Per inhabitant button at the bottom of the figure to view the relative numbers.

Remarkably, at the national level, more than half (51 per cent) of all municipal culture costs are borne by municipalities with a population of 150.000 or higher. Yet these cities represent only 30 per cent of the population of the Netherlands. If the same analysis is performed, for example, within the province of North-Holland, we see that 71 per cent of municipal culture costs are borne by the big cities (Amsterdam, Haarlem, Zaanstad and Haarlemmermeer), while 47 per cent of residents live within the borders of these municipalities. We see a similar effect in South-Holland: there, 60 per cent of the accumulated municipal culture costs are borne by the municipalities of Rotterdam and The Hague, while these municipalities house a third of the province's population.

Thus, the average municipal cultural expenditure in a province is driven by the relatively high cultural costs of large municipalities. The urban context is logically an important condition for the development of cultural infrastructure, and surrounding municipalities benefit from the rich infrastructure of these cities. Large cities contribute above average to culture. Thus, for a complete picture of the distribution of public funds, it is necessary to look not only at each province but also at each individual municipality.

Province
In addition to municipalities and the state, provinces naturally also bear culture costs. Within provinces, we generally see a strong interaction between municipal and provincial culture expenditure: where the average culture expenditure of municipalities within a province is higher than average, we generally see a lower budget for culture on the province's balance sheet. And vice versa. For example, the provinces North and South-Holland contributed the least to culture per inhabitant in 2021. The provinces Friesland, Zeeland and Groningen the most. The interpretation of the distribution of costs (between the state, province and municipalities) can therefore differ from province to province. The recommendation for a ‘Culture Framework Act’ in which the concern of the central government, provinces and municipalities for culture is anchored could support this.

Role of the Culture Monitor

It is important that policymakers – national, provincial and municipal – have access to relevant and coherent information. In the Culture Monitor, data at national and regional level are collected, made accessible and comparable.

However, not all national data can be disaggregated at the local level and, at the same time, not all local data translate into national insights. This requires coordination. Which national data can be disaggregated at the local level and what insights does this provide for provincial support organisations and policymakers? What data are available locally and how can these be streamlined so that they remain comparable and inform national insights? Consider, for example, mapping unsubsidised culture or municipal culture costs that better reflect practice. The knowledge and expertise from provincial support institutions ideally also translates into the national Culture Monitor. Ultimately, these two directions should reinforce each other. We will work on this in the coming years together with researchers, policymakers, culture professionals and other stakeholders from all parts of the country.

Overview of regional culture monitors

Below is an overview of the partial analyses per province by the Regional Culture Monitor and other available monitors. Is a monitor missing from this overview? Then we'd love to hear about it!

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Friesland

Gelderland

Groningen

North-Brabant

Utrecht

Zeeland

Would you like to know more about the theme of Culture in the regions?

View more regional data in the Dashboard of the Culture Monitor. 

All publications that the Boekman Foundation itself produces on this theme can be found via the online dossier Culture across the regions.

More literature on the theme of Culture across the regions can also be found in the Knowledge baseof the Boekman Foundation.

An earlier edition of the text on this theme page can be found here:
2022

Sources

Atlas Research and Boekman Foundation (2018) Regional Culture Index. Amsterdam: Atlas Research and Boekman Foundation.

Atlas Research and Boekman Foundation (2021) Culture Monitor Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (MRA). Amsterdam: Atlas Research and Boekman Foundation.

Berg, N. van den et al. (2022) Regional Culture Monitor. Amsterdam: Atlas Research and Boekman Foundation.

Bedaux, LL (2023) 'Create cultural policy that does justice to diversity in the Netherlands'. On: www.unesco.nl, November 16.

Blaker, N., Veldkamp, ​​J., Beijersbergen, A., Booij, HM and Niessen, K. (2023) Museum figures 2022. Amsterdam: Museum Foundation, Museum Association

Broers, B., B. van Dalen, H. Vinken, J. Harings, R. Brom and R. Smeets (2020) Value of culture: the state of the cultural sector in North Brabant 2020. Tilburg/Amsterdam: PON & Telos, Pyrrhula Research Consultants, Kunstloc Brabant and Boekmanstichting.

Broers, B., B. van Dalen, H. Vinken, R. Brom and M. Goedhart (2022) Zeeland Culture Monitor: baseline measurement. Tilburg/Amsterdam: PON & Telos, Pyrrhula Research Consultants and Boekmanstichting.

Brom, R. and H. Vinken (2020) Culture in Gelderland: a brief benchmark. Amsterdam/Tilburg: Boekmanstichting and Pyrrhula Research Consultants.

CBS (2020) Detail of cultural burdens for municipalities and provinces. The Hague/Heerlen: Central Bureau of Statistics.

CBS (2022) Detail of cultural burdens for municipalities and provinces. The Hague/Heerlen: Central Bureau of Statistics.

Daamen, M. (2024) 'There are plenty of theaters in the region; still a paying audience'. On: www.nrc.nl, February 18.

Interprovincial Consultation (2022) 'Provinces face challenges together in the cultural sector'. On: www.ipo.nl, December 15.

Metropolis M (2024) 'Art in the Third Reich – Does this propaganda art also offer lessons for today?'. On: www.metropolism.com/nl, April 2, 2024.

Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (2020) 2019 annual report. The Hague: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (2022) 2021 annual report. The Hague: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

Nijboer, R. and A. van de Horst (2022) What are we doing it for? Reporting on the development of urban regions. Amsterdam: DSP group.

Pama and van Santen (2024) 'No more to Drachten: the top in theatre and dance often skips smaller cities'. On: www.nrc.nl, 31 March.

Raad voor Cultuur (2017) Culture for city, country and region: the role of urban regions in the cultural system. The Hague: Raad voor Cultuur.

RCE (2022)'Complete and relatively intact Roman sanctuary discovered in Gelderland'. On: www.cultureelerfgoed.nl, 20th of June.

UNESCO (n.d.) Irreplaceable. The innovative power of the Culture. On: www.unesco.nl.

Uslu, G. (2022a) Presentation of advice 'Irreplaceable and Indispensable' from the Committee for the Collection of the Netherlands. The Hague: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

Verberk, B. (2019) 'Culture in the provincial coalition agreements 2019-2023'. On: www.lkca.nl, September 2nd.

VNG (2024) 'System advice: Access to culture'. On: www.vng.nl, January 27.

Wijn, C., B. Vinkenburg, W. Wierenga, A. van Heerwaarden and M. Terwisscha (2022) Towards repositioning. Utrecht: Berenschot.

Justification text and image

Editorial note: An earlier version of this page was written by Maartje Goedhart and Sabine Zwart.

Graphics and design: Sonsbeek20→24 in Arnhem / Photography: Martijn Baudoin (via Unsplash).

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