Dutch Artists Are More Internationally Active Than Ever
In 2023, over 3,000 Dutch artists and organisations took part in almost 17,500 cultural activities in 120 countries. The artists were more active than in 2022. By mapping artists and their activities worldwide, DutchCulture, the network and knowledge organisation for international cultural cooperation, is able to identify important trends.
Each year DutchCulture follows the work of Dutch makers around the globe. We track artists and cultural organisations from all disciplines and track them in our Cultural Database, to measure and understand the impact of the Dutch cultural and creative sectors internationally.
2023 saw a vibrant year of international travel, with makers once again touring at pre-pandemic levels. Although makers continue to face challenges on a global political scale, they have re-doubled their efforts to work internationally. The result is a bustling map, with 17,493 international cultural activities tracked in 2023.
We tracked 3,157 Dutch makers who travelled across 120 countries to perform, exhibit, teach, discuss, and learn. The number of active makers remained relatively stable compared to 2022, however, artists were on average 18% more active than in 2022, with activity levels similar to pre-Covid years.
Heat map of Dutch cultural activities in 2023© DutchCulture/Erin Chang
Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Belgium and France are the most popular countries for Dutch makers to visit in 2023, based on number of activities.
The artists and cultural organisations hailed from 241 different Dutch cities and towns, mostly from Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven.
Number of internationally active artists per Dutch province© DutchCulture/Erin Chang
As in previous years, music is the most active discipline in terms of number of activities (7,796). However, visual arts had the highest number of active makers in 2023 (1,079).
In tandem with the annual database mapping, DutchCulture also produces factsheets for the focal countries, providing a quick overview of the activities in each country in the previous year.
DutchCulture implemented the activities of Dutch or Netherlands-based makers, cultural professionals and organisations, from 12 different disciplines. To track these activities, we work closely with our partners at the Dutch embassies and consulates, cultural funds and organisations, and directly with makers themselves. Thanks to all our partners who help keep the database accurate and up-to-date.
