Stimuleringsfonds

Sixteen cultural institutions will receive support in 2027-2028 from the Creative Industry Activities Programme Grant Scheme. Their two-year activities programmes will contribute to the quality, development and professionalisation of the creative industries in the Netherlands.

22 October 2026

Executive Director Julia Vytopil: ‘It is encouraging that this grant scheme enables us to offer sixteen cultural institutions perspective and financial security for the next two years. For many applicants, including New Order of Fashion (Eindhoven) and Designing Perspectives Foundation (Curaçao), it represents an important step from project-based funding towards a longer-term horizon. That continuity is essential for organisations to develop in a sustainable way.

The large number of applications demonstrates how much knowledge, imagination and social engagement there is within the Dutch creative industries. At the same time, this round once again shows that demand from the sector exceeds the available budget. That is disappointing, both for us and for the applicants.

Nevertheless, we are delighted to award grants to these sixteen programmes. The funding gives organisations room for development and for the exploration of societal issues in the fields of design, digital culture and architecture. The promising plans also include multidisciplinary programmes and valuable crossovers with other domains, such as healthcare. We look forward to seeing the activities and outcomes these programmes will generate over the coming years.’

Strong round with five newcomers

The advisory committee described this as a strong round: 30 of the 47 applications taken into consideration were positively assessed. The committee was struck by how the institutions collectively contribute to developments in the various fields and to innovation across the entire design infrastructure. It is also enthusiastic about the diversity of the programmes, which reach both broad and niche audiences.

The activities programmes selected cover a wide and varied range of themes and fields of research. These run from the regenerative transformation of today’s fashion and textile sectors to the city as a stress landscape, and from questions about energy to art-science tools. One example is Das Leben am Haverkamp, an institution focused on developing experimental and interdisciplinary fashion practices. Its activities programme for 2027-2028 will make room for research, residencies, performances and experimental presentations by young makers. Sickhouse, a playful art and community space in Enschede, will develop four programme strands that critically reflect on developments in digital and popular culture and which will challenge makers to explore, play, meet, experiment and present.

The 16 activities programmes selected include those of five institutions that have not previously received multi-year support from the Creative Industries Fund NL: Captain Hoek, Designing Perspectives Foundation, MacGuffin, New Order of Fashion and STORE. It is good to see that these organisations have continued to develop after receiving support from other grant schemes and open calls from the Fund, such as those for design and festivals.

Limited budget a concern for continuity

With an available budget of € 3.7 million for the next two years, just over half of the positively assessed applications can be supported. At the same time, it is disappointing that 14 strong applications cannot receive grants. Although the advisory committee is satisfied with the outcome, it regrets that institutions with valuable plans for the field will now miss out. This includes institutions that have developed to a good level as well as several that have previously received support. The budget limitations mean they will not have the opportunity to carry out their plans. The committee considers this worrying in terms of sustainability, professionalisation and development, particularly for the continuity of institutions that previously received support.

Selection

Cultural institutions in the fields of design, architecture, digital culture or a crossover between the aforementioned could apply for a total maximum of € 250,000 per institution for two years. The following 16 cultural institutions have been selected (the advice documents are only available in Dutch):

Find the negative advice here, as well as the positive advice for programmes that were not funded following prioritisation.

Assessment

The proposals submitted were assessed by the Creative Industry Activities Programme Grant Scheme’s independent advisory committee, chaired by Pien Houthoff. The committee’s other members were Henk van Dillen, Danique Klijs, Evelien Pieters, Stephanie Schuitemaker, Yağiz Söylev, Donna Verheijden and Jetske Visser.

Five criteria were applied to all the applications:

artistic value
contribution to expertise and social significance
accessibility and audience reach
business activities and organisation
the application’s consistency with regard to objective and set-up.

As the available budget was insufficient to award grants to all positively assessed proposals, prioritisation was carried out. The first consideration was the region, to ensure a more balanced distribution of resources between the five regions in the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. The full prioritisation procedure is described in the grant scheme.

Header image: Stichting Creative Coding Utrecht