PLACEMENT REPORT:
INTERNSHIP AT THE CULTURAL DEPARTMENT OF THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS IN NEW YORK
By Mart Revenberg S2727455 MA PLACEMENT American Studies 10 ECTS
Supervisor lecturer: Dr. Anne M. Martínez Supervisor at CGNY: Vera Kuipers
February 22, 2019 3096 Words
1 Preface
From August 15th, 2018 until February 13th, 2019 I had the opportunity to do an internship at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York. During this period as a Junior Cultural Officer, I learned about the world of bilateral cultural diplomacy and the workings of international creative industries from behind the scenes.
During this internship, I represented the Dutch government and its foreign cultural policy in the United States. Because I have an academic background in American Studies and a minor in International Relations, I knew how important cultural diplomacy can be in bilateral relations. My academic knowledge of and personal interest in cultural differences and nuances in the US contributed to the fact that this internship not only fitted my skillset but also expanded it by putting academic knowledge into practice. The fact that the Consulate is situated in New York benefitted this process: with its cultural and ethnic diversity and its position as the cultural capital of the United States in terms of artistic activity I learned to appreciate and contribute to the comprehensive cultivation of cultural partnerships and exchanges of knowledge between artists, cultural organizations and government institutions from The Netherlands and the US.
In short, my internship did not only fit my academic background, personal interests and skillset, it offered me the opportunity to discover how I can put them into practice in the work field of bilateral governmental cultural policy. The internship has therefore not only contributed to the versality of my MA North American Studies degree, but also to my personal development and familiarity with possible career options.
2 Table of Contents
Placement Organization: CGNY ... 2
Description of Tasks ... 5
Evaluation ... 8
Conclusion ... 11
Appendix/Links ... 12
Placement Organization: CGNY
My internship was situated at the cultural department, formally called the Press & Cultural Affairs Department, of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York.1 Within the Consular network in the US, which consists of the Embassy in Washington and Consulate Generals in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, and San Francisco, the cultural department in New York is the only one of its kind and therefore carries the duty to cover cultural activities throughout the US in its daily tasks and mission. Within the international network of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the US serves as one of eight focus countries that the government deems of invaluable
importance to the cultural diplomatic network of The Netherlands, so the PCZ department in New York is of valuable importance to The Netherlands’ foreign relations.
The Netherlands has approximately 140 posts (embassies and consulates) in foreign nations, but the United States is a priority in The Netherlands’ foreign policy not only culturally
1 I refer to the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as CGNY. I will refer to the department I worked in, Press and Cultural Affairs (Dutch: Pers en Culturele Zaken), as PCZ.
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but also economically and politically.2 The US is the most important trade partner for The Netherlands outside of the EU,3 and has been culturally connected to The Netherlands since colonial settlements in New York (formerly New Amsterdam), Albany (formerly Beverweijk) and in many more places along the Hudson River. Because of the US’s importance and size, The Netherlands represents itself diplomatically in the US through five consulates and several
honorary consuls in major US cities.4 Every consulate in the diplomatic network of The
Netherlands in the US, all of which are coordinated from the embassy in Washington DC, have distinct focusses and tasks. First of all, all Consulates represent the citizens of The Netherlands in the US in the region in which the Consulate is situated, through consular services, travel documents, citizen affairs, and assistance with arrests and accidents. The CGNY is no different and therefore has a consular department that performs these tasks. The CGNY furthermore has an economic department with specific tasks and focusses. First of all, the economic department in New York focusses on helping Dutch startup companies that seek to expand to the US market by providing a platform for these startups to present their ideas through conferences and the economic department’s monthly publication, and by connecting those startups to the right US partners (which are of course abundant in New York as the financial capital of the US). The second focus of the economic department is the offshore wind and circular
economy/sustainability sectors, as The Netherlands is a market leader in these sectors and endeavors to carry out that image. The CGNY choses to devote personal to this specific focus as
2 Rijksoverheid, “Ambassades, consulaten en overige vertegenwoordigingen,” accessed February 27, 2019, https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/ambassades-consulaten-en-overige-vertegenwoordigingen. 3 RVO, “Handel Nederland - Verenigde Staten,” accessed February 27, 2019,
https://www.rvo.nl/onderwerpen/internationaal-ondernemen/landenoverzicht/verenigde-staten/handel-en-economie.
4 Nederland Wereldwijd, “Verenigde Staten van Amerika: Over Ons,” accessed February 27, 2019, https://www.nederlandwereldwijd.nl/landen/verenigde-staten-van-amerika/over-ons.
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the North-Eastern states in the US have a lot of interests in these markets. Other economic departments of Dutch consulates in the US focus for example on agriculture in the Midwest (through the consulate in Chicago) and on tech innovation in Silicon Valley (through the Consulate in San Francisco).
The Press and Cultural Affairs department at the CGNY is the only one of its kind in the US, and the CGNY is therefore the only Consulate that houses a Cultural Attaché next to the Consul General. Because cultural affairs are often narrowly intertwined with public diplomacy and press relations, there is no separate press and public diplomacy department or employee at the CGNY like there is at the Embassy and the other consulates. However, PCZ’s main task is promoting Dutch culture and artistic activities within the US. The main ways to accomplish these tasks is by funding artistic projects such as tours, exhibitions, educational programs, concerts, etc; by hosting receptions and other network events to connect Dutch parties to American ones; and by a pivot in general between American partners and Dutch cultural organizations and artist themselves. To accomplish this, the department has chosen a list of important disciplines in which The Netherlands excels: architecture and design, Dutch Old Master Art, film, literature, performing arts (with an important focus on music), shared cultural heritage and (contemporary) visual arts. As mentioned, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science determine the focus disciplines and other goals through the organization
DutchCulture. At CGNY, the daughter organization of DutchCulture managed by PCZ is DutchCultureUSA. The objectives of DutchCulture in all nations and therefore in the US are threefold:
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1. “[To cultivate] a strong cultural sector, where international exchange and sustainable cooperation ensure increasingly higher quality, and which is recognized and valued abroad.”
2. “[To create] more room for the arts to contribute to a safe, just, future-proof world.”
3. “[To use] culture . . . effectively as a tool of modern diplomacy.”5
DutchCulture also stresses that there is an important focus on shared cultural heritage and creative industries.6 The US is one of the focus countries of shared cultural heritage, as the
colonial heritage of The Netherlands spreads throughout the US, especially in the North-East. PCZ therefore tries to work together with museums, archives, national and state institutions and other cultural and historical organizations to preserve and highlight Dutch heritage in the US.
Description of Tasks
The main tasks of an intern at PCZ is to monitor and collect information about Dutch artistic activities in the US; to provide support and exposure to those Dutch artistic activities; to monitor the press for publicity and reviews about those artistic activities; and to help at events, receptions and other projects undertaken by the department or the Consulate as a whole.
The first task I performed as an intern at PCZ was to monitor and collect information about Dutch artistic activities in the US. The most important document for this task is the Buitengaats, which is a database of all artistic activities in the US with the artist, date, location,
5 DutchCulture, “International Cultural Policy Framework, 2017-2020,” accessed February 27, 2019,
“https://dutchculture.nl/sites/default/files/atoms/files/International%20Cultural%20Policy%20Framework%20201 7-2020%20-%20eng.pdf.
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discipline, and other information.7 This database is shared with and made public by
DutchCulture and is therefore not only important for the government itself as an overview of the impact and size of Dutch culture in the US, but is also available for citizens and the press to critically analyze the government’s international cultural policies. To make sure every Dutch activity was reflected in the Buitengaats, it was important for me as an intern to do research into artistic projects and developments, to communicate with the senior policy officers at PCZ about activities, and to maintain a network of Dutch artists in order to get a good sense of the artistic field.
Because it is DutchCultureUSA’s mission to provide exposure to Dutch art in the US, PCZ hosts its own website: DutchCultureUSA.com. One of the main tasks of the interns was to write blogs for this website to inform its readers of upcoming events, to review and look back upon pasts events, and to share news and other trends surrounding Dutch art and artists in the US.8 During my internship, DutchCultureUSA transitioned to a new website, which gave me the
opportunity to fine-tune the website to better fit its Dutch and American audience of artistic professionals and American-based artists and art enthusiasts that have a connection to The Netherlands. In addition to the website, DutchCultureUSA maintains several social media
channels to increase the exposure of Dutch artists in the US on, among others, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For this purpose, we carefully planned an Editorial Calendar in which we had to consider which activities merited the most exposure, which activities might be culturally
sensitive, and whether for example holidays or historic remembrances necessitated special attention. In addition, because we shared an office with the Consular Department of the
7 All documents or samples of them (Buitengaats, Editorial Calendar, Perslijst and the Press Analysis 2018) are included in the attachments chapter.
8 For links to the website and the social media accounts, please refer to the Attachments/Links chapter of this report.
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Consulate which also maintains its own social media, we also contributed to their content by discussing activities that took place in the region the Consulate in New York covers.
For the Dutch governments’ international cultural policy to be effective, it is not only interested in quantitative information about Dutch artistic activities but also in the qualitative impact of those activities. It was therefore important for me as an intern to monitor the press for mentions, reviews and critique of Dutch artistic activities and Dutch art. I collected this data in another database called the Perslijst (Press List), but also evaluated the articles on their tone and impact and reported back to the senior policy officers who used that information to make future decisions about policy priorities and financial support. In early 2019, I wrote a press overview for 2018 which can be used by the senior policy officers at PCZ to determine their budgets and plans for 2019. It will also be featured in official government reports read by journalists and members of parliament.
In addition to the daily tasks as an intern I was also involved in organizing receptions and other networking events at both the Consulate and venues around New York. An example is the visit of Prime Minister Mark Rutte to the launch of the classic music streaming service
Primephonic. The Prime Minister was in New York for the General Assembly of the United Nations, but PCZ endeavored to include a cultural component in his schedule to emphasize the role of culture and the cultural industries in bi- and multilateral relations. The Prime Minister therefore attended the launch of Primephonic and met up with Dutch music director of the New York Philharmonic Jaap van Zweden, which was an interesting component of his program as the Prime Minister is an avid admirer of classical music himself. We as interns made sure that attendees of the launch reception were aware of the particularly Dutch impact on the cultural industry and of the fact that the Dutch government endeavors to encourage bilateral cooperation
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on projects between Dutch and American parties like this Dutch start-up. During another event, we as interns assisted the senior policy officers during a Shared Cultural Heritage round table meeting and workshops, in which we endeavored to provide a platform for American historical societies, state and city archives, and government organizations to discuss and share information about preserving Dutch history and heritage in New York state.
Evaluation Learning outcomes
My first learning outcome was to learn about the interaction between Dutch culture and US culture in the professional workplace. As an American Studies MA student, I have a broad and thorough understanding of US culture and cultural differences within the US. This helped me a lot during my internship, especially when analyzing and evaluating the interaction between Dutch culture and American culture in the media. Through my work on the press list, I gained a more practical understanding of how some cultural differences and how certain ideas, cultural practices and ethics translate to US culture readily while others generated debate. Especially issues such as the colonial history of The Netherlands, its treatment of Native Americans and its role in the transatlantic slave trade often cause commotion in the US media and in response to our social media. I have therefore not only seen my knowledge of these cultural issues in practice, but also learned that The Netherlands can learn a lot about its own history from its shared cultural history program in the US. Another example includes the way in which the entrepreneurial spirit embodied in the American Dream are reflected in the American cultural industries, something that Dutch artists sometimes have a hard time adjusting to in terms of self-publicity and the commercialization of art (which is of course something in which
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DutchCultureUSA plays an important role). Besides learning a lot about cultural differences and the translation of cultural habits and practices, my knowledge also helped me perform my tasks satisfactorily. Especially when writing blogs and social media posts, small phrases have a different cultural impact in the US when compared to The Netherlands, and I was sufficiently skilled to know these differences and adapt my writing accordingly.
The second learning outcome I wanted to achieve was to get a better view of the
professional field and to learn how to manage cultural activities in an international environment in practice. Especially through correspondence and meetings with artists, managers, venues and museums, and by attending receptions with many people from the cultural field I got a good sense of how this field functions, what its complications and obstacles are, and how the US views the Dutch cultural field and vice versa. Furthermore, the Consulate as a government organization is bound by various levels of oversight organization and policy implementation, which gave me an impression of how cultural policy can be put into practice and what the best practices are.
The third learning outcome was to get an insight into the workplace of a diplomatic post like the CGNY, which is a useful experience for my future career path. As one of the two interns, I was an equal peer to the PCZ team with a specific task. This allowed me to work independently and gave me the opportunity to pro-actively come up with new ideas and solution for the website and social media. The other intern and I for example developed a new writing style to fit the new website, and I personally introduced a social media-wall to the Consulate which will now be used in the waiting room and during events organized by the Consulate. I also took the liberty to focus on the discipline of EDM and initiated contact with many managers and DJs which the Consulate will be able to use in the future. Additionally, I was able to attend a meeting with
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Dutch rapper Akwasi together with my internship supervisor Vera Kuipers and connect him to the right organizations and contacts in New York, which was especially interesting to me because of my background in hip-hop studies. Lastly, I think I learned a lot from working with other departments at the Consulate. Many events and projects were multi-disciplinary and therefore required cooperation between several departments, which contributed to my
adaptability and my ability to work together with and integrate different fields of work. All in all, the fact that I had my own specific tasks, that I had the freedom to proactively work on projects, and that we were an equal member of the team made this experience a valuable look into what it would be like to work for the Consulate and similar organizations in the future. This of course also contributed to my career options, as this internship contributed to my professional network in the cultural sector in the US and The Netherlands.
A fourth learning outcome which I had not predicted beforehand was the experience of living in New York for six months. During my stay I had the opportunity to visit poetry slams, late night shows, concerts, and other activities that further excited my interest in American culture. I had also met people from the US and from the broader Americas when walking down the street, at events, when going out, etc., which greatly contributed to my personal development and world view. I lived in an international house with people from several countries in Europe, Australia, Asia and South America in Hells Kitchen, a neighborhood that is known for and proud of its LGBTQ-friendly atmosphere: this also helped me get into contact with New Yorkers with diverse backgrounds and identities.
11 Value for the Placement Organization
Certainly, my internship did not only benefit me as a student and as a future professional, but also helped the placement organization vice versa. First of all, I believe my colleague-intern and I helped to streamline the work-process for interns by updating and improving the internship-instructions that are passed down to every new cohort of interns. Secondly, we also build the new DutchCultureUSA-website from the ground up and provided a fundament from which the
website can continue to improve and serve its purpose of promoting Dutch culture and art in the US. Lastly, as our social media audience increased in the six months my colleague and I were interns (especially because we decided to selectively focus on certain subjects and platform, for example on Instagram), which I believe is a good indicator of our contributions to the PCZ team considering our main tasks.
Conclusion
To sum up, my internship fitted my academic background in American Studies and International Relations remarkably. My academic background helped me function independently, pro-actively and cooperatively as a valuable member of the PCZ team. Especially my knowledge of US culture and politics, with all their nuances and subtleties, was essential for successfully carrying out the tasks of an intern at the Consulate. This experience also helped me understand how I can academic knowledge in practice in my future career and has doubtless expanded my career opportunities. Lastly, living in New York, a diverse metropolitan melting pot, was not only beneficial to my work experience, but also contributed to my personal development as an academic, as a young professional, and as a person.
12 Appendix/Links
Social Media Links:
http://www.dutchcultureusa.com https://www.facebook.com/DutchCultureUSA https://twitter.com/DutchCultureUSA https://www.instagram.com/dutchcultureusa/ Other links: http://www.dutchculture.nl
13 Appendix 1: Buitengaats sample
14 Appendix 2: Editorial Calendar sample
15 Appendix 3: Perslijst sample
16 Appendix 4: Press Analysis (Dutch Only)
Persanalyse 2018
Disclaimer
De resultaten zoals hieronder weergegeven zijn afkomstig uit onze perslijst - een lijst
samengesteld door de stagiaires op de afdeling PCZ van het Consulaat-Generaal in New York. De data is grotendeels tot stand gekomen door middel van Google Alerts op basis van
specifieke zoektermen, zoals ‘Dutch culture, Jaap van Zweden, en Dutch DJ’. Hierdoor zullen er ongetwijfeld veel persberichten onopgemerkt zijn gebleven, wanneer deze niet expliciet de opgegeven zoektermen bevatten. Desalniettemin verschaft de onderstaande persanalyse enig inzicht in Nederlandse kunst en cultuur in de Amerikaanse pers.
Media Artiest/Onderwerp Disciplines
The New York Times 174 Rem Koolhaas 191 MU 846
Broadway World 106 Jaap van Zweden 167 AR 427
Dezeen 94 Ivo van Hove 137 OM 341
Billboard 71 Michiel Huisman 109 FI 250
designboom 50 Iris van Herpen 103 HE 229
The Guardian 48 Vincent van Gogh 86 FA 152
Architectural Digest 33 Martin Garrix 72 TH 147
Blouin Art Info 33 Rembrandt 69 DE 144
Artnet News 31 Johannes Vermeer 57 VA 91
The Washington Post 31 Amsterdam Dance Event 52 LI 48
Forbes 29 Glennis Grace 37 PH 44
Dallas News 27 Joris Laarman 34 MD 36
Playbill 27 Afrojack 29 DA 35
Arch Daily 24 Louis Andriessen 25 OP 16
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EDM.com 24 Daan Roosegaarde 22
Vogue 24 Hardwell 20
Rave Jungle 23 Iwan Baan 20
The Hollywood
Reporter 23 Johan de Meij 19
EDM Tunes 19 Nicky Romero 19
Your EDM 19 San Holo 19
The Groove Cartel 17 Tulip 19
The Wall Street Journal 17 MVRDV 18 EDM Identity 16 Amsterdam Dance Event 17
Curbed 15 Ian Buruma 15
DJ Mag 15 TEFAF 15
Resident Advisor 15 Oliver Heldens 14
My Modern Met 14
Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra 14
Wallpaper 12 Armin van Buuren 13 Architect Magazine 11 Frans Hals 13 Digital Journal 11 Old Masters 13
Opera Wire 11 Tiësto 13
The Architects
Newspaper 11 Anne Frank 12
Artsy 10 Sander Lak 12
Variety 10 Escher 11
Totaal aantal geregistreerde vermeldingen in Amerikaanse pers door CGNY: 2014: 547
2015: 664 2016: 1.089 2017: 1.664 2018: 2.817
18 Trends & opvallendheden
● Sinds 2014 is de bijgehouden pers ieder jaar gestegen. Zeker in de laatste twee jaar is het aantal vernoemingen in de pers exponentieel gestegen. Het monitoren van de pers wordt beter bijgehouden middels Google Alerts en onafhankelijke zoekacties.
● De starpower van Rem Koolhaas en Ivo van Hove in de VS blijkt dit jaar wederom van grote omvang; Ivo van Hove kreeg veel persaandacht rondom zijn musical Network in de tweede helft van 2018. Ook Michiel Huisman blijft relevant door zijn Game of Thrones-verleden, en krijgt veel media aandacht voor zijn films en de succesvolle serie Haunting of Hill House.
● Belangrijkst is natuurlijk de hoge positie die Jaap van Zweden op de lijst inneemt: ook al waren de reviews soms gemixt, belangrijke publicaties zoals de New York Times en Broadway World schrijven veel en over het algemeen positief over zijn eerste jaar bij de New York Philharmonic en de stukken van Louis Andriessen die van Zweden aan het programma heeft toegevoegd
● Muziek (846) blijft de meest populaire discipline in de Amerikaanse pers met
lijstaanvoerder binnen de artiesten Jaap van Zweden (61). Er is met name belangstelling voor zijn aanstelling als de nieuwe musical director van de New York Philharmonic en zijn opening seizoen. Verder zijn grote DJs zoals Martin Garrix, Afrojack en Hardwell populair, maar maakt ook San Holo een indruk met zijn nieuwe tour.
● Architectuur (427) blijft ook een belangrijke discipline in de media: Rem Koolhaas en OMA zijn daarbij de meest besproken onderwerpen in publicaties zoals Dezeen, designboom en Architectural Digest.
● Old Masters zijn weer in populariteit gestegen (van 132 -> 341), wat waarschijnlijk vooral te maken heeft met de Old Masters exhibitions bij de Met (In Praise of Painting, Van Gogh) en de vele Rembrandt tentoonstellingen die 2018 kende zoals in oa DC, Ohio en Denver. Dit onderwerp blijft ook echter een onderwerp dat besproken wordt losstaand van tentoonstellingen, met name op het gebied van auctions, VR technieken, en algemene analytische stukken (met name Rembrandt en Vermeer zijn daarin de meest voorkomende namen).
● Modeontwerpster Iris van Herpen heeft wederom veel persaandacht in de VS (103), doordat ze in de Haute-Couture wereld zich toch steeds weet te profileren en bekende Amerikanen haar dragen. Sander Lak in deze categorie met toch aanzienlijk minder aandacht (12), wat aangeeft hoe belangrijk van Herpen is als Nederlandse
vertegenwoordiging in deze scene.
● Veruit de meeste persaandacht komt uit The New York Times (174). Hieruit kunnen we concluderen dat New York de belangrijkste plek is voor culturele evenementen en veel aandacht besteed aan de kunsten. Hetzelfde kan gezegd worden van Broadway World (106), wat voornamelijk veel aandacht geschonken heeft aan Jaap van Zweden en Ivo
19 van Hove, waardoor het dit jaar Dezeen (94) van de tweede plek heeft gestoten als belangrijkste bron.
● De minst genoemde discipline is performing arts (6), wat hoogstwaarschijnlijk te maken heeft met het feit dat vele onderwerpen in deze discipline worden gecategoriseerd als Dance en Theater in de Perslijst. Voeg je deze onderdelen samen, dan kom je op 188 artikelen.
● Het gemiddelde aantal artikelen dat gepubliceerd is per dag is dit jaar 7,70, wat een bijna 40% stijging is van vorig jaar (5,56). De persanalyse is dus een stuk completer geworden in 2018 vergeleken met 2017.
