Dutch cultural export 2014 mapping

DutchCulture presents the annual overview of the international cultural presence of artists and cultural organisations from the Netherlands. In an original design format, the Buitengaats | Offshore map uses data visualisation to explore the international dissemination of art and culture from the Netherlands.

DutchCulture has registered the international activities of Dutch artists, creatives and organisations in Offshore (Buitengaats) since 1999. What has caught our eye for 2014?

In 2014, we registered 12,978 activities in Offshore. That is a little less than in the two previous years (13,319 in 2013 and 13,534 in 2012). Music was the sector with the most international performances, with a remarkable increase in the pop/dance genre. And that immediately explains the new number one on the countries chart: the United States. Thanks in part to the tremendous popularity of Dutch DJs, the US elbowed out Germany as most important destination. The United Kingdom, Belgium and France complete the top five.

Overall 65% of the activities took place in Europe and 10% of the activities took place in Asia.

One of the questions we were asked most often in 2014 was: Can you determine what the influence of the cutbacks is on the international activities of Dutch artists and institutes with the help of Offshore?

Fewer activities? Not everywhere
The number of activities in Offshore has been fairly stable for years. A decrease in activities, even for the second year in a row, says little about the extent to which organisations have lowered their international ambitions. The fact is, however, that the number of activities has decreased in almost every discipline, with one big exception: pop/dance, a sector that is less dependent on government subsidies than more traditional disciplines. What is more surprising is a slight increase for dance and photography, where good networks and a favourable reputation seem to strengthen one another.

Fewer artists and organisations?
In times of economising, do fewer artists and organisations go abroad? Compared to 2013, the number of artists and organisations decreased slightly in 2014, but the difference is very small: 3764 in 2014 and 3776 in 2013. Each year we see new ‘frequent travellers’ cropping up, artists and organisations with many international presentations in their discipline. For that matter, we also regularly see names returning, especially with theatre, dance and the visual arts. The contribution of the companies comprising the basic cultural infrastructure of the Netherlands to the total number of international activities has strikingly decreased, however, from 6.7% in 2013 to 4.4% in 2014.

What the figures do not show, however, is how institutes and makers have adjusted their strategies to a new reality and the extent to which a shift is taking place in the offering within and between the disciplines. And what consequences this might have for the international visibility of Dutch art and culture in the longer term.

Download the DutchCulture Buitengaats | Offshore map 2014 (PDF)

Would you prefer a printed copy? You can order one by sending us an email.

The Buitengaats | Offshore map 2014 was made in collaboration with the designers from Catalogtree in Arnhem.

DutchCulture is the strategic advice agency for international cultural cooperation, creating activities worldwide.