Did we mention that September will be one busy month? On September 13, beginning at 7 PM, the new issue of the VAMA-affiliated journal Kunstlicht will be launched at Framer Framed, IJpromenade 2, 1031 KT Amsterdam.
This issue is dedicated to “Cultural Policies: Agendas of Impact.” From the official announcement:
“This issue, guest-edited by Lara Garcia Diaz and Cristina Marques, delves into the historical grounds and present implications of arts and culture funding policies and programmes in the Netherlands and beyond. It features authors including: Sven Lütticken, Steven ten Thije, Josephine Berry, Bram Ieven and Market for Immaterial Value.
At the end of 2014, the Dutch Ministry of Culture (OCW) announced a new Art and Culture public fund, The Art of Impact, designating seven million euro to support art projects that have a distinct impact on society. With this programme, the policy of austerity initiated by minister of culture Halbe Zijlstra enters a new phase. Ideologically, it shifts away from discrediting the arts as a left-wing hobby towards rendering the arts as a tool of intervention and engagement with society.
In light of these events, Kunstlicht feels the necessity to initiate a debate about The Art of Impact to question the agenda of Cultural Policies that ultimately uses creativity and innovation to fuel neoliberal agendas and discourses. This topic already surfaced earlier this summer at our event in relation to the closing of the SMBA. We would like to use the launch event of our next issue to continue the debate and present you with different perspectives on the topic.
What does it mean to attribute to the artists, designers and art institutions the social, economical and political responsibility of changing and improving the world? The evening will consist of a moderated debate with guest speakers, a performance and a public discussion on the topic.”
This issue comes wrapped in a riso print by artist Wok the Rock, whose comic references Driving School Z, an early “transformation installation” by artist Guillaume Bijl. In his contribution, the essay “Ends of Art: From Nul to Bijl,” Sven Lütticken discussed Bijl’s piece in relation to the artist’s 1979 “Art Liquidation Project” text.
Critical Studies in Art and Culture 
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