General terms and conditions

The following terms and conditions apply to all grants awarded by the Mondriaan Fund, to visual artists, curators, art observers, critics, institutions and others in the visual arts and cultural heritage field. Specific conditions apply to each of the various types of Mondriaan Fund grants. These are individually described online in the explanations for each type of grant.

Purpose

The Mondrian Fund stimulates the development and visibility of visual arts and cultural heritage through financial grants. In the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, what the marketplace fails to facilitate, or to sufficiently facilitate, in these disciplines is made possible by the Mondriaan Fund. The specific objectives of the various types of grants can be found on the Mondriaan Fund website, in the online explanations for each grant.

Target groups and target areas

Mondriaan Fund grants can be awarded to a range of target groups and for various areas or disciplines. These include visual artists, institutions, organizations, curators, art observers and commissioners of art works in the field of visual art or cultural heritage. What the Mondriaan Fund specifically means by these terms is explained below.

Visual artists

The Mondriaan Fund defines visual artists as all those who work professionally in one or more of the disciplines of drawing, painting, printmaking, graphic art, sculpture, (social) sculpture and installation art, conceptual or performance art, artistic research, non-traditional forms of visual art, photography, audiovisual, digital, sound or (new) media art, visual arts applications or art in public spaces.

Curators and art observers

In this category of curators, art observers, critics and researchers, the Mondrian Fund assumes that the applicant is professionally active in the field of contemporary visual arts or cultural heritage. A curator or art observer carries out projects that lead to the deepening of knowledge, visibility and insight in contemporary visual art or cultural heritage in the Netherlands and/or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.

Cultural Heritage

The Mondriaan Fund defines cultural heritage as all that which has cultural-historical value and collectively forms the material and immaterial heritage of Dutch society. This includes objects in museum collections, archaeological finds and archives, as well as the stories, customs and habits that are associated with them.
Not included here are the conservation and management of monuments, landscapes, the excavation of archaeological objects and activities specifically related to excavations.

Art Platform

The Mondriaan Fund defines an art platform as an organisation with a legal entity, established in the Netherlands or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, which offers a publicly accessible platform for the presentation of innovative or experimental offerings of contemporary visual art, which is not predominantly focused on the management of a collection, which allows programming to take place in a physical space and whose primary purpose is to present contemporary visual art without a sales objective and where profit is not the primary objective.

Gallery

The Mondriaan Fund understands a gallery to be a professional, economically independent space that is open to the public, in which successive (changing) exhibitions are held with the aim of selling the work of living artists from the Netherlands and/or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.

Art Fair

An art fair is an event where suppliers and purchasers of art, such as galleries and art buyers, meet in the presence of the work. At an art fair, galleries with their own stand or exhibition space present themselves and the living artists they represent in the most representative way possible to interested visitors.

Applicants outside the field of visual arts or cultural heritage

Individuals or organizations working in areas other than the visual arts or cultural heritage who nevertheless believe that their activities significantly contribute to these fields can apply to the Mondriaan Fund, provided they adequately describe the visual arts or cultural heritage aspects of their work.

Collaboration

Grants can be applied for by several collaborating parties and/or target groups. Many Mondriaan Fund grants are explicitly intended to stimulate cooperation between institutions, artists, viewers, curators, clients and other private or public parties.

Collaborative projects by artists and/or curators, researchers, etc.

Wherever possible, applications submitted by artists, curators or art observers who are working collaboratively and are submitting applications simultaneously will be assessed at the same time. In this case, each individual applicant must submit their own separate application form, together with all requested appendices. This gives the advisory committee insight into each participant’s share in the collaboration. Applicants are requested to submit their respective application forms at the same time as the other collaborating parties. The same also applies to artists, curators and/or art observers who collaborate with another artist, curator or observer on an one-off basis for the realization or execution of a single project.

Collaboration between institutions/clients and artists/curators/observers

When an institution or commissioning party collaborates with an artist, an observer, or a curator, it is possible for applications to be submitted either jointly or by the institution. In part, this depends on the type of grant being applied for. Please see the detailed descriptions of the possibilities, conditions and consequences for specific grants in the individual grant descriptions.

Collaboration between institutions

When 2 or more institutions collaborate, they can submit a joint application. In this case, there must be a coordinator for the project or projects concerned.

Nationality and place of establishment

Visual artists, curators or observers

In order to be eligible for a grant from the Mondriaan Fund, a visual artist, curator or observer must be artistically active in the visual arts and/or cultural heritage and in that capacity be embedded in the professional practice of visual art or cultural heritage in the Netherlands and/or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.

Applicants who do not have Dutch nationality must include proof of residence from Basisregistratie Personen (BRP – Personal Records Database), less than 3 months old confirming your residency in the Netherlands. This applies to any artists, curators or observers submitting an application, as well as to all artists, curators or observers for whom another party is submitting an application.

Institutions, commissioning parties and other legal entities

In order to qualify for a grant from the Mondriaan Fund, an applicant institution, organization, commissioning party or other legal entity must be established in the Netherlands. Exceptions to this are made for the International Art Presentation and International Art Fair grants, for which foreign institutions may apply for an activity involving contemporary visual art from the Netherlands.

Formal assessment

All applications are first checked to ensure they comply with the formal conditions stated in the explanation of the particular grant concerned, as well as with the general terms and conditions of the Mondriaan Fund. Applications that are incomplete cannot be assessed and will therefore either be delayed or not taken into consideration.

Application Procedure

All applications for support from the Mondriaan Fund are submitted through an application form available on the Mondriaan Fund website. For information and advice on filling out an application form and providing the requested attachments, applicants can always contact Mondriaan Fund staff. This practical assistance is entirely separate from the assessment of completed applications by one of the independent advisory committees of the Mondriaan Fund.

When an application is received, it will be checked to ensure that it has been fully completed and that the accompanying documentation and information requested in the explanation and checklist is complete.

Criteria

In deciding whether to award a grant, the Mondriaan Fund applies criteria that are described as thoroughly as possible in our online explanation for each grant category. The starting principle is always an inclusive concept of quality, taking the specific context of each application into account. The Mondriaan Fund aims to contribute to diversity in the visual arts and cultural heritage. Cultural, geographical and other forms of diversity are all duly considered.

What follows below is an explanation of how we assess the quality of the work and the professional practice of a visual artist, curator or observer. These criteria also apply if an institution or other party applies jointly with a visual artist, curator or observer.

Advisory committees

Applications for grants are submitted to one of the Mondriaan Fund advisory committees, each of which consists of experts in visual arts and cultural heritage.

Advisory committee composition

The advisory committees are selected from groups of experts, such as visual artists, art observers, critics, exhibition makers and collectors from the Netherlands and abroad. The committee members have thorough knowledge of contemporary visual art or cultural heritage. They represent specific expertise according to the various disciplines, as mentioned in the section on ‘target groups’. Committee members are appointed for 2 years and can be reappointed twice for a period of 1 year. The composition of each committee changes (partially) each year. Each advisory committee meets under the direction of a permanent chairperson. The names of committee members and chairpersons are listed on the website.
Applicants can influence the involvement of specific advisors in their application by excluding up to one committee member from the assessment of their application in advance. To this end, a substantiated request must be sent to the Mondriaan Fund. Such requests will be treated confidentially.

Working method

Members of the respective advisory committee receive a digital copy of the completed application form, visual and other documentation, and other required attachments in preparation for the meeting. The committee members do not have access to applicants’ financial information.

Applications are reviewed on the basis of the completed application form and associated documentation. It is therefore important that all requested attachments are included with each application. The committee members together view visual documentation on projection screens. The advisory committee then assesses the application according to the criteria mentioned in the explanation of the various grant categories. If, during a meeting, it appears that the advisory committee has not obtained sufficient clarity, they can decide to request additional information or to plan a studio visit. Studio visits are not made outside the Netherlands.

The advisory committee advises the Mondriaan Fund board of directors on whether or not to award a grant. If the advice of the advisory committee is not positive, the board cannot award a grant. The board may also grant a lower contribution than applied for due to the available budget. The applicant will receive written notification within a week after the Mondriaan Fund board has confirmed the advice.

For successful applications

Visibility and transfer of information

For all communications related to the awarded grant, such as press releases, invitations, flyers, websites, publications and accreditations, the name and logo of the Mondriaan Fund must be clearly visible and legible. The logo can be downloaded here.

The Mondriaan Fund asks artists, institutions, curators and observers who are recipients of Mondriaan Fund grants to make themselves available for discussions with other grantees, for contact or advice. In this way, the knowledge and experience gained with the help of public funds can be shared, to the benefit of continued development in the field. Grantees can be approached to participate in a mentoring programme or other programmes developed by the Mondriaan Fund for this purpose.

Ownership of documentation and attribution

If the application is granted, the visual documentation will come into the possession of the Mondriaan Fund. In time, the documentation may be transferred to the Dutch National Archives (Nationaal Archief). The Mondriaan Fund reserves the right to use the documentation for its own publications, website, Facebook and other public channels.

Names and addresses of applicants to whom a grant has been awarded are published in annual reports, newsletters and on the website of the Mondriaan Fund.

Determining the amount of subsidy

Mondriaan Fund grant stipends are awarded as advance payments. If the plan for which an advance has been transferred changes, the applicant must provide advance notice of this in writing. Changes can only be made after approval by the Mondriaan Fund. If that is not the case, the grounds for awarding the grant expire and the grant is no longer valid. Changes in the general financial situation of the applicant must also be immediately made known to the Mondriaan Fund. For most awards, a maximum of 90% of the total amount awarded is transferred. The remainder follows after the completion of the project and the approval of the substantive report and the financial accounts.

If it turns out that the grant has been made wrongly, or for an excessive amount, the grant will be withdrawn or reduced. In that case, the excess amount paid will be reclaimed.

Contributions can only be paid into a bank account in the name of the applicant.

Taxes for individual applicants

Grant stipends are paid as gross amounts. No taxes or national insurance premiums have been deducted from them. The grant amount counts as income and must be reported as such on the recipient’s tax return. Professional expenses incurred can be deducted, so that an applicant only pays tax for that part of the grant that was not used to cover professional expenses.

Final Accountability

Mondriaan Fund grant recipients must upload a substantive justification within three months of the end date of the activities involved, including an evaluation, copies of any publications, and in the case of individual contributions, visual documentation of the relevant activities. This justification and documentation become property of the Mondriaan Fund. The Mondriaan Fund is entitled to publish or otherwise present reports or parts thereof, including documentation submitted. Applicants are requested to take this into account when preparing their final accounts.

For grants of €25,000 or more (with the exception of Artist Basic grants, formerly Stipends for Established Artists), the Mondriaan Fund must receive a financial account of the total income and costs within 3 months of the end date of the activities concerned, in a form which can be easily compared with the initially approved budget.

For grants of €125,000 or more, the Mondriaan Fund must receive a financial statement from the recipient within three months of the end date of the activities, accompanied by an approved auditor’s report from an independent accountant, in accordance with the model that can be downloaded here (Dutch only).

Please note that if personnel costs, for example, the applicant’s own personnel or temporary staff are included in the application, the accountant must also have looked at the hours spent on the project. Without this confirmed information, the auditor may withhold his opinion for that segment of the stipend. Financial accounts and substantive reports must be submitted separately.

In the case of non-awarded applications

Further justification

In the case of a negative recommendation and if the recommendation is not included in the decision, the applicant can request a justification of the recommendation within 14 days. This justification is a short summary of the assessment of the advisory board.

Objection procedure

The Mondriaan Fund is an independent administrative body and is subject to the Dutch General Administrative Law Act (Algemene Wet Bestuursrecht). This means that if an applicant disagrees with a decision, they can lodge an objection. This is possible if an application is rejected, or if the Mondriaan Fund awards a different amount than requested. An objection can also be made if the definitive grant amount is determined at a different level from that which was promised. The term within which an applicant may lodge an objection is 6 weeks after the date on which the decision was announced. Once that period has expired, it is no longer possible to submit an objection.

If further explanation or justification is requested, a notice of objection on ‘grounds to be submitted’ may be submitted within 6 weeks after the date of the decision. The grounds for the objection must then be submitted within 6 weeks after the further justification being sent.

A notice of objection must be signed by the objector and must at least contain the name and address of the objector, the date, the reference of the application and a written motivation for the objection. A copy of the decision being objected to must be submitted together with the objection.

The grounds stated for the objection are central to the assessment of the objection, in addition to the explanation given at a possible hearing. In assessing an objection, an important factor is whether the party concerned can provide information that could shed new light on the application. This information will be taken into consideration in making the decision on the objection. The objection procedure is not intended to change or supplement an application. Such information will be disregarded in the assessment.

If the objection is rejected, an appeal may be lodged with the administrative law sector of the District Court within 6 weeks of this decision.

For questions about the objection procedure, or if you have any complaints about the Mondriaan Fund, please contact Sandra Nicolai (see contact details at the bottom of the page).

Applying (again) for a (different) grant, and when not to apply

No application can be made for the same plan for which a previous application was rejected. If a new application does not relate to a specific plan, but, for example, to an Artist Basic grant, no new application can be submitted within 12 months of the date on which an advisory committee of the Mondriaan Fund issued a negative advice about the quality of the institution or the quality of the artist’s oeuvre.

Documentation

If an application is rejected, the submitted documentation will be returned to the applicant. If the documentation accompanying an application is simultaneously part of the report on a previously awarded grant, the documentation becomes the property of the Mondriaan Fund.

And finally…

Liability

Although all documentation material is handled with the utmost care, the Mondriaan Fund cannot be held liable for damage or loss.

Privacy Act

The General Data Protection Regulation (AVG) applies.

These General Terms and Conditions are based on the Mondriaan Fund General Regulations 2021 (in Dutch).

Questions & contact

For questions about the objection procedure, or if you have any complaints about the Mondriaan Fund, please contact Sandra Nicolai.

Sandra Nicolai

project officer and legal officer Send a message Or call +31 (0)20 523 1551