We are pleased to announce that Unseen has received one of the first grants from the Blockbusterfonds. The Blockbusterfonds is a new private fund with the aim of financing large cultural events and initiatives in the Netherlands. The fund is a collaboration of four partners: the BankGiro Loterij, the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, the VSBfonds and the VandenEnde Foundation. The new fund is a realization of Joop van den Ende’s plea in his Mandeville lecture at the Erasmus University on 19 May 2011: “Invest in Culture.”

Investing in culture, it is. The fund has chosen to support Unseen due to its innovative character and potential to attract large audiences on both a national and an international level. As a result of the grant and in further collaboration with the Westergasfabriek, Unseen will now extend its programme from the Gashouder building and the Transformatorhuis to other locations on the Westergasfabriek grounds, including the Zuiveringshal West, Openbare Verlichting and the Machinegebouw.

Marloes Krijnen, co-director of Unseen and director of Foam: “It is fantastic that the Blockbusterfonds has chosen to support Unseen. The confidence of various parties, united in the new fund, will allow us to strengthen Unseen as a strong cultural brand from the inaugural 2012 edition. With the contribution of the fund, Unseen can enrich the programme and become more visible internationally, providing a strong home base and attracting a larger international public.”

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