Aruna Vermeulen (HipHopHuis) and Indirah Tauwnaar (House of Urban Arts) have been nominated by the jury for the Cultuurprijs Zuid-Holland 2024. The award of the Cultuurfonds Zuid-Holland will be presented by the Queen’s Commissioner Jaap Smit in Theater Rotterdam on 2 July. The first prize of € 15,000 and a second prize of € 7,500 will be announced on this date.
The Zuid-Holland Culture Prize
The Cultuurprijs Zuid-Holland is a mid-career prize for a creator with social significance. The prize is awarded every two years to a maker based or working in Zuid-Holland who excels in a field of activity of the Culture Fund in the field of art, culture and nature. For the 2024 edition, the field of activity dance is in the spotlight.
The power of dance
The working area of dance -from classical dance to hip-hop- is in full swing. Both in Zuid-Holland and in the Netherlands, it is an art form that is growing, especially outside the theatres and the gaze of established art institutes. Dance appeals to an increasingly wider audience, precisely because dance can touch in so many ways. A growing audience is experiencing that dance can express sensations that seem elusive in this day and age. This makes dance an important connector in our polarised society.
Role models
Indirah Tauwnaar and Aruna Vermeulen both represent the dance style hip-hop, in which connection and equality are important values. Besides being dancers, they are also cultural and social entrepreneurs. Aruna was (co)founder of HipHopHuis in 2007 and Indirah founder of House Of Urbans Arts in 2020 (formerly Future in Dance, 2002). Both top Rotterdam professionals now use their skills as dancers to give opportunities to new talents. They make a great impact on their neighbourhood and surroundings with their work and are important role models for future generations of dancers, choreographers and entrepreneurs.
The jury
The jury of the Cultuurprijs Zuid-Holland 2024 consists of Martijn van der Mark (chairman and senior policy advisor creative industry municipality of Rotterdam), Alida Dors (artistic director Theater Rotterdam), Gemma Jelier (director Korzo Theater The Hague) and Peggy Olislaegers (international working dance dramaturge and consultant).
About the Culture Fund
The Culture Fund invests over 40 million euros in culture and nature every year. That money goes to some 3,500 projects throughout the Netherlands, in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom and in Suriname. The fund does so with contributions from the Friends Lottery and Dutch Lottery, from donors and supporters and together with partners. The Cultuurfonds Zuid-Holland is one of 12 provincial departments.
Zestee 