ABSTRACT
Quality and diversity are key concepts of cultural policy in the Netherlands. Honoring both concepts equally is quite a challenge in Amsterdam, as a shortage of space puts an even higher pressure on the limited financial resources available for the arts. The run on resources has had an impact on artistic diversity in particular, in the sense that opportunities for artistic experimentation without harmful financial consequences have become scarce. The alternatively governed music venue Splendor, in the heart of Amsterdam, successfully meets the need of artists to be creative in the most unrestricted form. To understand the specific field dynamics that are at work in Amsterdam, Splendor’s fresh and seemingly sustainable model will be contrasted with an orchestra so deeply rooted in the city’s cultural history that it has dodged the sledgehammer of the recent austerity measures: the Royal Concertgebouworkest.
