Cultural diversity in programming

Dekmantel festival changed its booking policy by rotating the people who programme it. Over a decade, Dekmantel added lesser-known artists to its line-ups and brought new people into lighting and production.

Amsterdam-Zuidoost is vibrant — street parties are often packed, and many of the city's musicians and artists come from there. But most artists work outside Zuidoost, and the crowd from the street parties has no way into the clubs in the city centre. A participant said some bookers in the city centre do not understand the music the Zuidoost crowd wants.

Participants proposed changing who sits on programming teams. The municipality chose a Zuidoost organisation by open call to run a club. The permit needed a fire exit the municipality could not fund, so the organisation pulled out. Now the municipality prepares the building and gets its permit before choosing an organisation.