Grant for Programming and Presentation

The Grant for Programming and Presentation supports organisations with programming and presenting professional performing arts in diverse venues: from small concert stages, clubs and village theatres to festivals. The Performing Arts Fund NL aims to achieve two goals:

• To support the programming and presentation of professional performing arts throughout the Netherlands, including the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.
• To create opportunities for professional performing arts that are less commonly staged: new genres, presentation forms and audiences.

To achieve these goals, the grant scheme consists of two components, each with its own focus:

• Component a: focuses on geographical spread
• Component b: focuses on distinctive programming

Total budget: € 1.7 million, for the period starting 1 July 2026 until 30 June 2028.
Grant sum: maximum € 10,000 per year per applicant, for a two-year period.

* See the grant scheme for an explanation of how the grant amount is determined.

The grant scheme is open to a broad group of programming organisations: from a village theatre hall that programmes classical music to a pop music festival in Zeeland, or an organisation that presents hip hop and spoken word performances in an urban environment.

• In the two years preceding the application, your organisation has presented at least 12 professional performing arts activities for an audience (such as concerts, performances or shows). These programming choices should be indicative of future programming.
• Have you presented more than 60 activities? Then you can base your application on a part of your previously presented activities, a specific programme strand for example.
• Applicants must have both artistic and financial responsibility for the programming.
• Independent professionals and collaborative ventures are also eligible, provided they are registered in the Chamber of Commerce Business Register.

Please note: Carefully check the grant scheme and the explanatory notes to see which activities are eligible for support. Organisations receiving multi-year grants through the Venue scheme, the Festival scheme, or the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science are not eligible for this scheme.

Choose the scheme component that best fits your organisation, and read the explanatory notes before you apply:

1. Geographical spread: Does your programming contribute mainly to the geographical spread of the performing arts? Then apply under component a.
2. Distinctive programming: Do you present your programming in an environment whit a lot on offer, but do you make distinctive choices? Then apply under component b.

Please note: it is not permitted to submit applications under both components at the same time.

Continue reading to learn more about the two components described below:

Component a - Geographical spread

This component aims to support the geographical distribution of performing arts in the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, with an emphasis on locations where relatively little programming takes place. So the focus is on areas outside the traditionally prominent, so-called G4 municipalities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht).

When are you eligible?

• You meet the general eligibility conditions.
• You present activities at a venue or venues in areas where relatively few professional performing arts are presented.

Assessment

Applications are assessed within the context of the national regions where the activities take place. There is a separate grant ceiling for each national region.

The national regions are as follows:

• Caribbean part of the Kingdom
• West (Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland, excluding the municipalities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague)
• Central (Utrecht and Flevoland, excluding the municipality of Utrecht)
• North (Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe)
• East (Overijssel and Gelderland)
• South (Zeeland, Noord-Brabant and Limburg)

The following aspects are part of the assessment:

• a light quality assessment of the programming choices
• degree of spread within the national region

For the light quality assessment, external advisers based in the national region will be asked for their advice. The assessment will be based on previous programming and on the brief explanation provided by the applicant about the choices made.

Component b - Distinctive programming

This component supports organisations that add something particular to the existing offer, through distinctive choices in programming, presentation forms, or public reach and outreach.

When are you eligible?

• You meet the general eligibility conditions.
• The programmes you present in the Netherlands or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom are not yet or seldom presented there.

Assessment

The assessment is based on three criteria:

• Programming choices – innovative, experimental, or underexposed programmes.
• Presentation form – use of alternative locations or innovative presentation methods.
• Public reach and outreach – appealing to new or young target groups, reaching out to the public in a distinctive manner.

The assessment will be based on the programming of the past two years and on the explanation provided by the applicant regarding the distinctive aspects of the programmes. A committee of external advisers will be involved in the assessment.

The Grant for Programming and Presentation comes in place of the SKIP and pop festival scheme. Whereas previously, mainly small-scale venues and pop festivals could apply, the new scheme is broader: other programming organisations can also apply for support under this new scheme.

• Read the detailed information about the grant conditions and assessment criteria in the Staatscourant and the explanatory notes attached below (both are only available in Dutch).
• Complete and submit the application form via My Fund.
• Only fully completed applications submitted in time will be processed.

Header image by Michel Schnater