Andrea and Carmen on an interest-free loan from Fonds Kwadraat

interest-free loan

Due to the collaboration between the Fund and Fonds Kwadraat since 2014, there are more financial opportunities for designers. At Fonds Kwadraat, makers and designers can apply for an interest-free loan if they need money for, say, an exhibition, a website or the purchase of equipment. Examples of projects that Fonds Kwadraat has financed can be seen here.

home cinema 2023

Last year, Andrea González Garrán and Carmen Dusmet Carrasco received grants twice from the Digital Culture Grant Scheme and were subsequently able to take advantage of a loan of € 8,000 from Fonds Kwadraat. This allowed them to implement their one-year programme Home Cinema 2023 and develop the platform further in technical terms.

dialogue between digital and physical worlds

Andrea and Carmen: ‘We are both visual makers, and have found our own way through moving images. We specialize in the curation and production of art-film screenings, exhibitions and online streams through our Home Cinema platform. We provide site-specific events and create stories that transcend the boundaries of the screen, by creating a dialogue between the digital and physical worlds. We are interested in screening films that show crossovers between art, graphic design and filmmaking.

In recent years, more and more makers have started working with video, and designers are increasingly using moving images in their work and research. We know from experience and conversations with peers that it is not easy to disseminate and showcase our work. While these works are categorized as video, they are not necessarily classified as ‘film’, and do not receive sufficient exposure in traditional film circuits such as film festivals and streaming platforms. Emerging artists face many obstacles, such as the difficulty of presenting this kind of work in a gallery context, while trying to fit within the context of film festivals.’

expansion

‘With the combined support of the Fund and Fonds Kwadraat, we were able toincrease production levels, maintain and expand technical capacity, carry out further research into screenings and develop streaming. In addition, we enriched Home Cinema through our collaborations with various platforms such as Heartqore, Laak, wysiwyg, Kanaal 40, fanfare and Filmhuis. We organized a year programme in 2023 consisting of four events and several collaborations with the subject Dreams. This subject is a long-term study, reinterpreted through our various events and collaborations.

We received positive reviews about the quality of our online and live programme, and gained international acclaim in addition to national, as evidenced by the responses to our open calls. This has created a network of artists with whom we exchange views on their new work and creative development.’

practical information

Makers and designers who have been positively assessed by the Fund can take out an interest-free loan at any time. In the case of a grant awarded by the Fund up to three years prior to applying for a loan, a project plan does not need to be reviewed by the Fonds Kwadraat committee. The loan can be granted within a week.

An interest-free loan from Fonds Kwadraat can be stand-alone or supplementary to a grant, crowdfunding, sponsorship, or a combination of these. The loan amount is between € 500 and € 8,000. Repayment is in monthly instalments over a maximum of three years. For an amount exceeding € 5,000, security is required.

The loan can be requested for:
- components of proposals supported by the Fund that are not eligible for a grant or as additional funding to the amount awarded by the Fund;
- projects positively assessed by the Fund that are not eligible (or not fully eligible) for a grant due to lack of resources at the Fund;
- the follow-up to a plan or project that was positively assessed by the Fund in the past three years.

Have you not received a grant from the Fund, but would you like to borrow interest-free? There are five application rounds per year. The next deadline is 5 November 2023.

For more information, visit the Fonds Kwadraat website, or contact Gili Crouwel or call 020-6255112.