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

Prior to the meeting, the members of the advisory committee receive a digital copy of the application form, (visual) documentation material and other attachments. The advisory committee members base their assessment on the information provided by the applicant. The advisory committee members do not have access to the income and residence data of individual applicants.

In preparation of the meeting, the advisory committee members assess the applications using the advisory platform*. In the advice platform they assess the criteria based on questions, and scores are kept according to a ten-point scale. The criteria and associated questions of the relevant grant are also available to the applicant via the website.

During the committee meeting, the applications are reviewed, the results are discussed if necessary and the scores may be adjusted based on the content of the discussion. If it appears during the meeting that the committee has not obtained sufficient clarity, it may decide to request additional information or plan a studio visit. No studio visits are made abroad.

The technical chairman determines, together with the advisory committee members, whether the advisory committee will arrive at a positive or negative result, based on the average final score and the content of the discussion. In the case of a positive result, the average final score must be 6.0 or higher, unless stated otherwise in the explanation of the grant. If it sees reason to do so, the advisory committee can also give advice on the content to the board about the amount to be granted. The secretary records the assessment and the considerations that led to the final result. For readability, the scores are converted into the following words: 1. to 3. significantly insufficient, 4. insufficient, 5. just insufficient, 6. sufficient, 7. significantly sufficient, 8. good, 9. very good and 10. excellent. The result is approved by the technical chairman and the secretary.

The board checks whether the result has been carefully considered. The board then tests the result against the regulations and financial principles. If the application is approved, the board will then decide on the amount of the award. The board may decide to grant a lower contribution than requested in connection with the available budget. After the board of the Mondriaan Fund has approved the advice, the applicant will receive written notification within a week.

*With the exception of the Acquisitions grant and the Vouchers.

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. Here are some audit guidelines for the accountant to follow (Dutch only).

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 falls under the General Administrative Law Act. Under the General Administrative Law Act, an interested party can object to the decision regarding the subsidy application. As an applicant for the subsidy you are automatically an interested party.

In the objection procedure, the board of the Mondriaan Fund reconsiders its decision on formal and procedural grounds. This means that it checks whether all rules and procedures have been followed correctly, the advice of the advisory committee has been carefully made, the reasoning therein is understandable and the conclusions drawn are consistent with this. Please note: this is not a reassessment of (artistic) content.

The documents submitted with the application form the basis for reconsideration of the decision. The objection procedure is not intended to rewrite, supplement or further explain an application – such information will not be taken into consideration.

The period within which you can object is 6 weeks after the day on which the decision on your subsidy application was announced. After that period has expired, you can no longer submit an objection.

If you have requested further reasoning for the advisory committee’s advice and have not yet received it, you must still submit a notice of objection within 6 weeks of the rejection letter, so that the objection period does not expire. You can do this by sending a short letter or email (stating your application number) to the Mondriaan Fund in which you indicate that you are considering submitting an objection (this is also known as a pro forma objection). After you have received further reasoning for the advice from us, you will be given an additional period to substantiate your objection in writing.

The objection with arguments must be signed by the submitter and contain at least the name and address of the submitter, the date, the application number and the grounds for the objection. Please also enclose a copy of the decision against which your objection is directed.

You can send your objection as a PDF file with a signature to vasb@zbaqevnnasbaqf.ay (mentioning your application number), or by regular mail.

If your objection is rejected, an appeal can be filed with the administrative law sector of the District Court within 6 weeks of the decision on the objection.

For questions about the objection procedure or if you have complaints about the Mondriaan Fund, you can 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