Province of North Brabant awards grant to The New Vincent

The Province of North Brabant has awarded a substantial grant to the talent program De Nieuwe Vincent, an initiative of Vincents Tekenlokaal and Kunstpodium T of Tilburg. Through the talent program, young people aged 10 to 14 are given the opportunity to further develop their talent for drawing, discover their signature and work on a portfolio. With this grant, the talent program is guaranteed to continue through 2028. Vincents Tekenlokaal is working with the Vincent van Goghhuis in Zundert, De Nobelaer in Etten-Leur and the Van Gogh Village Museum in Nuenen to offer this talent program Brabant-wide.

The provincial Amateur Arts Advisory Committee praised the artistic content quality of the program and rated it "excellent," in part because of the "strong stratification of the trajectory linking Brabant's heritage to the personal development and well-being of young people" (quote from grant decision). It also appreciates the combination of traditional and contemporary techniques. The committee further notes that the talent program has a strong complementary function to the cultural offerings within primary and secondary education.

Formation of talent development
Petra Robben, head of the Tilburg City Museum / Vincents Tekenlokaal is delighted that the grant has been awarded: "Where various provinces, cities and villages have facilities to get children into sports in an accessible and inexpensive way, we see that in the Netherlands there is still little attention to talent development in the field of drawing and painting. From secondary school it is possible to follow art subjects within certain profiles, or to choose an art education. But before that, it depends on the elementary school whether attention is paid to drawing skills and talent development in this area. With The New Vincent we contribute to the formation and talent development of young people and work towards a stronger educational network in the province."

Major inspiration for the talent program is Vincent van Gogh, who lived and/or worked in all participating towns. At the Tilburg HBS (today's Palace-Council House of Tilburg), he took his first drawing lessons as a 13-year-old boy. It is where Vincents Tekenlokaal is housed.

Program content

Participants of The New Vincent engage in an intensive and engaging six-month program with a mix of analog and digital drawing classes, master classes and field trips. They will be guided by teachers and professional artists. Each Van Gogh partner will give its own interpretation of the program within the framework of its quality. For example, Vincents Tekenlokaal has previously offered master classes by Golden Brush winner Djenné Fila and Vincent van Goghhuis Zundert collaborates for workshops with the artist who is a guest within their artist in residency program. Throughout the program, participants work on a portfolio, a selection of which will be shown in a full-fledged final exhibition.

Promoting cultural participation
Over the next four years, The New Vincent will pay extra attention to children in Brabant for whom cultural participation is not a given. "Children can take drawing classes or courses at art centers or private initiatives if they are nearby, but this is (of course) paid and therefore unattainable for many children. We believe that all creative talents should be given space and that is possible at The New Vincent," said Petra Robben.