History

The Society of Arts is the voice and conscience of the arts and will revitalise the relationship between the arts and science/scholarship through its encounters with members of the Royal Academy and The Young Academy at the Trippenhuis complex. 

This relationship was embedded in the structure of the Royal Academy at the time of its founding in 1808. 

Unlike various other countries, the Netherlands did not at that time have a society akin to the Royal Academy that welcomed artists based on their artistic merit and a quality assessment by their peers. Various artists and scientists considered this a regrettable situation, and so in 2014, the Royal Academy established a Society of Arts to function as a platform for artists working in all artistic disciplines. 

Why is the Society of Arts part of the Royal Academy? 

The work of a scientist or scholar and the work of an artist have much in common. In both, passion and a sense of wonder are the main drivers for attaining excellence, and creativity is a crucial medium in the pursuit of this ambition. In both the sciences and the arts, practicality is not a necessity, whereas originality is. 

It therefore makes sense to bring the worlds of science/scholarship and the arts together in the Trippenhuis complex. As the voice and conscience of the arts, the Society of Arts aligns itself with the Royal Academy's similar tradition in science and scholarship. The emphasis is on encounters with outstanding peers, professionals in other sectors of society and the general public. Other interests centre on exploring innovation and reflecting on one's own domain and possible crossovers. Initiating debate furthermore builds bridges between the arts and society at large. The Royal Academy’s Learned Society has an organisational structure ideally suited to incorporating the Society of Arts. 

In her letter to Parliament (Spring 2013) entitled Cultuur beweegt. De betekenis van cultuur in een veranderende samenleving [Culture in transition. The meaning of culture in a changing society], the Minister of Education, Culture and Science embraced the Royal Academy’s proposal to establish a Society of Arts. In her view, it was precisely this new Society that would be able to articulate, through its activities, the connection between cultural advances and trends and developments in society and in science and scholarship. She also recognised the value of revitalising the relationship between the sciences and the arts.  

The Minister provided the Academy Board with three years of financial support to set up the Society of Arts. In 2016, following an evaluation, the Royal Academy resolved to maintain the Society of Arts. The Academy Board was of course aware that establishing this new body could give rise to tensions. After all, good art, even more than good science, generally eschews any form of institutionalisation or regulation; moreover, quality assessment is of a different nature in the arts. 

Which activities does the Society of Arts undertake? 

The Society of Arts functions as a forum for the arts in society, as the Royal Academy does for science and scholarship. Although the Society of Arts is part of the Royal Academy, it is at liberty to shape that function as it sees fit. Themes explored during forum meetings may include: interdisciplinarity in the arts and sciences, the relationship between trends and developments in the arts and culture, society, and the sciences, and the art of experimentation. Additionally, the Society chairperson’s annual address may draw attention to ‘the state of the arts’ and consider current trends and developments in the sciences and society from the perspective of the arts.

How did the Society of Arts get started and who were its first members? 

In the first year of its establishment (2014), the Academy Board appointed 14 members. A selection committee chaired by the then president of the Royal Academy, Hans Clevers, and consisting of Academy members Mick Eekhout, Ivo Giesen, Willem Frijhoff, Andries Meijerink and Kitty Zijlmans, submitted the names of candidates to the Academy Board based on nominations received from prominent institutions and educational programmes in the arts and culture sector

Candidates were selected for membership on the following criteria:

• they had distinguished themselves artistically, for example by winning awards and international recognition; 
• they were capable of thinking beyond the boundaries of their own discipline and, based on this open-minded attitude, able to develop relevant programming with a view to cross-fertilisation between artistic disciplines and between the arts, the sciences and society; 
• they were willing and able to cooperate on setting up and building the Society of Arts; 
• they were a major source of inspiration for rising talents. 

The Academy Board selected the first set of Society of Arts members after consulting key stakeholders in the arts and after reviewing the accuracy and validity of the selection procedure. Following a series of interviews, the Board invited a number of members to serve on the Board of the Society of Arts. 

How is governance of the Society of Arts embedded in the Royal Academy organisation?  

The Society of Arts is an independent entity within the Royal Academy. It develops its own work plan and is responsible for its own activities. The Academy Board and the Board of the Society of Arts consult regularly. The Board of the Society of Arts accounts for its activities and finances every year by submitting a report that is then included in the Royal Academy's annual report.

How is the Society of Arts funded? 

For the first three years of its existence, the Society of Arts was funded jointly by the Royal Academy, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and the six Dutch public cultural funds (Mondriaan Fund, Performing Arts Fund, Dutch Foundation for Literature, Netherlands Film Fund, Creative Industries Fund NL and Cultural Participation Fund). The Royal Academy has been the sole source of funding for the Society of Arts since 2017. The Academy makes an annual budget available to the Board of the Society of Arts.