For whom?
Museums and other publicly accessible heritage institutions in the Netherlands or Caribbean part of the Kingdom that manage collections, in collaboration with a creative maker (such as a designer, artist, theatre maker, journalist or author).
The Mondriaan Fund offers the Heritage Media Digital open call to stimulate the development and execution of presentations and activities involving digital media, in collaboration with creative makers, in order to boost public engagement with historical stories. This concerns stories that are linked to the national history of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
For what?
The contribution is intended for alternative forms of storytelling and digital presentations about historical events, based on heritage archives and collections. This concerns public engagement projects involving digital media, in collaboration with creative makers. Potential projects may involve e.g.: podcasts, a series of short videos for social media, games, VR applications, innovative websites and other public presentations of digital heritage archives.
Applications can also be submitted for development research, e.g. for experimentation, the development of a scaled-down version of a project, or for assessing the feasibility of a project or resonance with the audience. Audience research is focused on exploring the fields of interest of envisaged audience groups associated with a planned digital public presentation.
How much?
The sum is determined per application. For public engagement projects, a contribution can be requested of no more than 40% of the variable project costs. The minimum budget for the project must be above € 10,000, and may not involve recurring expenses.
For development research, a contribution can be requested of no more than 70% of the variable project costs, up to a maximum of €15,000.
The available budget for the open call Heritage Media Digital is € 940,610.
When and how to apply?
Applications for the Heritage Media Digital grant can be submitted twice, using the Mondriaan Fund online application system. Deadlines for the submission in 2025 are 12 June and 18 September, before 16:00 (Dutch time zone) / 10:00 (Caribbean time zone). You need an account before you can submit an application. If you do not already have an account, please apply for one on this website. Keep in mind that a 3-month period is required for processing the applications. No grants are awarded retrospectively.
Conditions
- Applications for support can be submitted by museums and other heritage institutions that are publicly accessible and manage a collection, without a profit motive, in the Netherlands or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. Applications cannot be submitted by art platforms.
- The project must involve a collaboration with at least one creative maker.
- The project must concern one or more historical stories about the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The application should state which historical events relating to the Kingdom of the Netherlands are brought into the limelight in the project.
- It is not possible to apply for support for publications, documentaries, film productions or TV productions.
- If applicants in the Netherlands work with a heritage institution’s digital collection, they are obliged to contact a digital heritage coach. In the Netherlands, collective agreements have been made regarding the digital accessibility of heritage collections, in line with the National Digital Heritage Strategy. This helps to create a network of connected heritage. The applicant works with the digital heritage coach to establish how the project can be developed in accordance with the National Digital Heritage Strategy. See the information about works compatible with the NDHS (in Dutch), and questions can be sent by email to vasb@argjrexqvtvgnnyrestbrq.ay. Once applicants have contacted the digital heritage coach, a confirmation email will be sent to the institution in question. This email should be included with the application. If the digital heritage coach is only contacted once the application has been processed, this email can be added to the dossier at a later stage. For applicants in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, affiliation with the National Digital Heritage Strategy is optional.
- It is not possible to apply for the Heritage Media Digital contribution for recurring expenses or day-to-day operations.
- Institutions for art education and post academic institutions are excluded from applying, as are commercial organisations primarily focused on sales.
- All cultural institutions subscribe to the Fair Practice Code (Dutch only), the Culture Governance Code (Dutch only) and the Diversity & Inclusion Code (Dutch only). Compliance with the Fair Practice Code automatically means that the institution implements the codes.
- If an artist is involved with the plans, a realistic remuneration for the artist is obligatory and must be included in the budget. In the case of temporary exhibitions or presentations with no sales purpose, artists should be paid fairly. In the budget, use one of these two calculators for your fair fee calculations. The debit entry for the remuneration is eligible for subsidy within Heritage Media Digital, and is specified in the budget. When an application is submitted for the Heritage Media Digital open call for support for a project, it is not possible to submit a separate application for the Artist’s Fee grant.
Assessment
Mondriaan Fund staff check the submitted applications and attachments to ensure that they are complete. Once an application is complete, it is submitted to the advisory committee that advises on awarding the Heritage Media Digital open call.
A grant can only be awarded if the advisory committee advises to that effect. When making a positive recommendation, the advisory committee can also recommend the amount of financial support to be awarded and the period during which this will be disbursed. The Board of the Mondriaan Fund makes the final decision in this regard.
Due to budgetary restrictions, we are unfortunately not always able to award grants to all applications that receive positive advisories from the committee. In this case, the Mondriaan Fund Board asks the advisory committee to prioritise the positive advisories. This means that an application may receive a positive advisory, but a grant is nevertheless not awarded.
The advisory committee assesses your application on the basis of:
- A plan with a substantive motivation, including an explanation of:
- the importance of the plan within the regional and/or (inter)national context;
- if applicable, other collaborations;
- the way in which historical events involving the Kingdom of the Netherlands are brought into the limelight.
- in the case that communities are part of the history in question: how these communities are involved with the development of the project.
- the organisation’s vision and mission and the involved maker’s past experience.
- the target groups and how they are reached.
- how the envisaged audience groups are involved with the development of the project, how the public engagement plans are assessed in the interim and adjusted to the target groups.
- Budget with quotes and financial plan.
- A factual description of the organisation and the collection, including the vision and mission, and an overview of activities in the past 3 years.
The advisory committee considers the following criteria:
For a public engagement project:
-
The quality of the plan*
- To what extent do the institution and the involvement of the creative maker(s) inspire confidence in the plan?
- Is the plan significant within the regional and/or (inter)national context? Consider collaborations, the location, regional distribution, etc.*
- To what extent does the project contribute to national historical awareness of historical events? In the case that communities are part of the history in question: are these communities involved with the development of the project?
If the advisory committee positively assesses ‘quality of the plan’, it will also assess the below criteria:
-
The quality of the public reach
- Does the presentation plan inspire confidence that the intended target groups will be reached in an appealing manner?
- To what extent are the intended audience groups involved with the development of the project? Does the application inspire confidence that the public engagement plans will be assessed in the interim and adjusted to the target groups?
-
Alliances with other parties
- Does the applicant engage with other parties who represent added value for the plan? E.g. regarding broadening support, regional collaboration, or reaching a new audience.
*Please note that this criterion carries more weight in the decision-making process, as this is a policy focus point within the grant.
For development research:
-
The quality of the plan*
- To what extent do the institution and (if applicable) the involvement of the creative maker(s) inspire confidence in the development research?
- Does the plan clearly explain which questions are being addressed and how these questions are being researched or evaluated?
- Is the plan significant within the regional and/or (inter)national context? Consider collaborations, the location, regional distribution, etc.* [2x]
- Does the planned project contribute to national historical awareness of historical events? In the case that communities are part of the history in question: are these communities involved with the development of the project?
If the advisory committee positively assesses ‘quality of the plan’, it will also assess the below criteria.
-
The quality of the public reach
- Does the plan inspire confidence that the results of the research or the experimental phase will offer insight into the extent to which the planned project resonates with the intended audience groups?
-
Alliances with other parties
- Does the applicant engage with other parties who represent added value for the plan? E.g. regarding broadening support, regional collaboration, or reaching a new audience.
* Please note that this criterion carries more weight in the decision-making process, as this is a policy focus point within the grant.
Checklist
To process your application, the Mondriaan Fund needs information. All of this information can be submitted in the application form itself, together with documentation that you can upload. Here below is a checklist that follows the layout of the application form and contains all the information required.
Tip: collect all your information before you start filling out the online application form. Your attachments should be uploaded as PDFs. Please note: make sure that your documents meet the stated conditions. Otherwise, we will unfortunately not be able to process your request. Do not exceed the number of pages where a maximum is indicated.
Checklist
Recent and current (maximum a year old) extract from the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) register
Information about the institution(s) (max. 4 pages)
Provide a brief description of the institution’s collection and its activities in the past 3 years, including its vision, mission, objectives, target groups, collaborations and audience reach; and a core outline of any other involved parties.
Plan (max. 20 pages)
Describe how the historical events relating to the Kingdom of the Netherlands are brought into the limelight. Also describe the importance of the plan within the regional and/or (inter)national context, as well as the involved maker’s work and professional practice. In the case that communities are part of the history in question: describe how these communities are involved with the development of the project.
In the case of:
- A public engagement project: also provide an overview of the activities that will be organised, a substantive motivation, a timeline, the substantive responsibilities for the project and the involved makers, partners and the website.
- Development research: also outline the research questions and how these will be answered.
Presentation plan (max. 15 pages)
In the case of:
- A public engagement project: describe how the programme will be presented, outline the target groups, why these target groups have been selected, and how they will be involved with the development of the project. Also state the expected number of participants or visitors.
- Development research: in the case of development research, outline how the envisaged target groups are involved with the development of the project, and how the research provides insight into how the project resonates with these audience groups.
Applying codes
Cultural institutions subscribe to the Fair Practice Code, the Culture Governance Code and the Diversity & Inclusion Code. Compliance with the Fair Practice Code automatically means that the institution implements the codes. Concisely outline how the institution views the codes, and how they are embedded in the organisation.
Itemised budget with financial plan (state: excluding VAT)
Including a substantiation of the requested sum. If third parties are involved in the financing of the plan, please submit the total budget with financing plan, not just the part for which support is being requested from the Mondriaan Fund. See an explanation of the budget for Heritage Digital Media.
If an artist is involved with the plans, a realistic fee for the artist is mandatory, and must be included in the budget. In the case of temporary exhibitions or presentations without a sales objective, artists should receive fair remuneration. For your budget, use the sums from one of the 2 Artist’s Fees calculators.
Letters confirming contributions from third parties
Include all letters in a single PDF.
Declaration from the creative maker(s)
With consent for the application to be submitted to the Mondriaan Fund. Please add all letters in one PDF. See an example declaration of consent.
CV (max. 3 pages per maker)
For each creative maker, include a concise CV with the most important information about their professional practice, with an emphasis on the past 2 to 4 years, such as presentations, events, commissions, awards, publications (with dates). Also mention any ancillary activities, such as teaching and consulting positions. If applicable, please add multiple CVs to one PDF, clearly indicating which CV corresponds to which individual.
Optional:
(Visual) documentation (max. 20 pages)
Make a PDF with work from the last 2 to 4 years. For each creative maker, include no more than 20 digital images/pages in a PDF (maximum size of 100 MB). See the technical specifications.
(in the case of documentation): Documentation list (max. 2 pages)
Please include a documentation list (in PDF) that corresponds to the visual documentation material, containing a description or caption for each image and/or audio/video fragment information about the title, year, dimensions, technique, duration, and any additional information. For example: 01, title of work, 2024, 20×30 cm, material. See the specifications for the documentation list for more examples.
Please note: do not use hyperlinks in the PDF with (visual) documentation material and in the documentation list. We cannot accept hyperlinks (to web pages for example) because the supplied image material may not be adjusted during the processing of the application.
If applicable:
Bank details
We need your bank account number to transfer funds if your application is granted. If you have not previously submitted an application to the Mondriaan Fund or if the account number has changed since the previous application, please upload a recent bank statement clearly stating the name of the account holder and IBAN/bank account number of the applicant. Applicants established in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom can provide a bank statement or other document from the bank stating the name of the account holder and bank account number.
Declarations of consent from participating organisation(s)
In the case that the other participating institutions are not submitting an application of their own, we require declarations of consent from these parties for the submission of this application. Add all declarations in one PDF. See an example statement of consent.
Optional: If the project involves work with a digital collection:
Confirmation of contact with digital heritage coach
The digital heritage coach sends institutions a confirmation email once contact has been made. This email should be included with the application. If the digital heritage coach is only contacted once the application has been processed, this email can be added to the dossier at a later stage. For applicants in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, affiliation with the National Digital Heritage Strategy is optional.