SPOT Group Exhibition Funding Scheme

SPOT Group Exhibition is intended to strengthen the visibility and presentation of artists from The Hague at home and abroad. The funding scheme is for the reimbursement of costs for exhibitions and presentations of the work of larger groups of artists and open studio days. This concerns a publicly accessible nature. 

Group presentations can contribute to the positioning of individual artists through strong coherence or in-depth content. They also contribute to increasing the visibility of artists from The Hague at home and abroad. SPOT Group Exhibition can be requested for presentations of work in a professional exhibition space. Presentations at trade fairs, biennales and foreign museums may also be eligible for a financial contribution. These are presentations of a character that is accessible to the public. 

Not eligible: 
Applications for exhibitions that are already in progress. Exhibitions and presentations organised by Dutch museums, or the government and design fairs/exhibitions will not be considered.  

The SPOT Group Exhibition funding scheme has a broad target group and can be applied for by (The Hague) artist groups, non-profit organisations, partnerships, presentation spaces, artists‘ associations, artists’ initiatives and independent curators from in and outside of The Hague.  

In order to apply for this Funding Scheme, at least 4 participants must take part in the exhibition. At least half of the participants must be registered in Stroom's database of artists and have an updated profile (Mijn Stroom). A CV must be submitted for the other participants. 

NOTE! The application of the (main) initiator prevails in a project in which multiple parties participate (such as group exhibitions, demonstrations, etc.). Other participants in the project can only apply after the main initiator has indicated to Stroom that he/she will not be submitting a PRO or SPOT application. 

Not eligible:  
Applications within the context of (art) educational programmes, proposals from or with (art academy) students, courses and workshops with an educational character. Applicants cannot claim the PRO and SPOT funding schemes while following an (art) educational programme (Bachelor's, Master's, postdoc, PhD). Applications for post-academic work periods/residencies (such as at the Rijksakademie, De Ateliers, the Jan van Eyck Academie, and the EKWC) fall outside the framework of the funding scheme system.  

• Stroom makes a maximum contribution of 75% of the budget. 

• It is mandatory to use Stroom’s budget model. Click here to open the budget model.

• The amounts should be entered excluding VAT. If you cannot deduct VAT, you should contact Stroom before submitting your application. 

• A contribution of a maximum of €3,000 (domestic) and €4,000 (foreign) can be requested per application. 

• An applicant can request a financial contribution for a maximum of two group exhibitions per calendar year, up to a maximum annual amount of €6,000. The amount of the SPOT Group Exhibition will not count towards the determination of the individual annual maximum of the participants. 

• For the PRO and SPOT funding schemes, a joint maximum contribution from Stroom of €20,000 per calendar year per applicant (or guest organisation/guest location) applies. 

• The costs that may be raised are: 

  • venue hire;  

  • printed matter, invitation postage;  

  • publicity;  

  • transport costs of the work;  

  • insurance work;  

  • travelling and accommodation expenses for artists; 

  • external experts (designer, writer, technical assistant to the artist); 

  • construction materials for exhibition/presentation, equipment hire.  

• The following costs are not eligible:  

  • artists' remuneration;  

  • daily allowance, living expenses (food, drink) 

  • costs for the opening, catering, attendants, security  

  • materials that are part of the artwork itself 

  • catalogues, publications with substantive content 

  • framing  

  • purchase of equipment 

  • business cards 

  • reimbursements in kind are not financially supported.  

• A grant is only awarded if there is a demonstrable financial shortfall. 

• In the case of grants where a party is not the formal applicant but is an interested party (for example because it is helping to organise or realise the project), the amount granted is considered pro rata when determining the annual maximum contribution from Stroom for this party. 

• The artists' remuneration guideline is a helping hand to both artists and institutions in the Netherlands to achieve a more professional contract and negotiation practice at exhibitions/presentations with no sales objective (see www.kunstenaarshonorarium.nl).  

• Stroom endorses the guideline and wants to encourages artists to make joint agreements with institutions in the Netherlands where their work is exhibited. This means that the institution pays the fee and that it cannot be financed by the SPOT Regulations. 

Tip: The Mondriaan Fund offers the ‘Artists’ Remuneration’ funding scheme. The Mondriaan Fund, for example, provides a financial incentive to organisations that pay at least 50 percent of the remuneration mentioned in the guideline. See the Mondriaan Fund website (www.mondriaanfonds.nl). 

Submit your application via the Stroom application portal, which consists of the following steps: 

Applicant details: You can find the conditions under ‘Who is eligible for this Funding Scheme?’ 
Participants: You can find the conditions under ‘Who is eligible for this Funding Scheme?’ 
Basic plan data: You can find the conditions under ‘When can you submit an application?’ Basic plan data consists of a number of questions about the exhibition site. 
 
Exhibition space conditions  

• It is an organisation whose main activity is exhibiting visual art. 

• The location or applicant runs a professional, active and high-quality programme focused on contemporary visual art, is open to the public and has long opening hours. 

• When considering applications for grants, biennales and museums abroad, the quality and professionalism of these places will be examined, as well as how visible the artist's work will be in such a presentation. 

• If outside The Hague, a link to the exhibition space's website or a photo impression. 

• Before applying, you can ask for advice on whether the intended exhibition space meets the conditions. 
  

Plan: The Plan consists of an artistic description of the exhibition (max. 3 A4 pages) with the following components:  

• description of the exhibition, selection of artists, (art) content context, exhibition concept, coherence of content, etc.; 

• reason, background, motivation and significance of the exhibition (for example, does the plan arise from an artistic necessity, does it have to do with developments in art, with social situations or other); 

• the applicant describes how the group exhibition increases the visibility of the work of artists from The Hague; 

• approach to publicity and target group (the applicant provides a description of the target group, which publicity tools will be used to reach them, whether special methods will be used to publicise the exhibition, etc.). 
  

Financial overview: You can find the conditions under ‘What budget can you apply for?' 

Appendix: Appendices are intended solely for additional information regarding your application. All relevant information should be included in the plan, the documentation and the budget and not in an appendix. 
Statement of Agreement: In this step, you agree to all the conditions of this Funding Scheme. 

• Applications can be submitted throughout the year.  

• The available budget for the SPOT Funding Scheme will be divided over four quarters. Once the quarterly budget maximum has been reached, no more applications can be submitted for that particular quarter. The budget for the application falls in the quarter in which the plan's realisation starts. The Stroom Den Haag website indicates which quarters are still accepting applications.  

• The application must be submitted no later than one month before the realisation of the plan commences. Applications submitted less than a month before the start of the programme will not be considered. 

• You cannot apply to PRO and SPOT for the same proposal at the same time. 

• Within Stroom’s Funding Schemes, you can only receive one grant for the same proposal. This condition also applies in the case of proposals that originate or derive from a previously awarded proposal, and that can be traced back to the same plan and/or basis in terms of artistic content. Exceptions to this are plans that, although they originate from a previous (approved) proposal, differ fundamentally from it in terms of artistic content, to such an extent that this includes a new plan with a new artistic and content-based foundation.  

Stroom formally checks the application for compliance with all the conditions of the Funding Scheme. If we require any additional information, we will contact you. 

If the application is formally in order, it will be handled by the Stroom management. The application will then be assessed based on the following assessment criteria:  

• at least 4 artists will participate in the group exhibition. At least half of the participants must be registered in Stroom's database of artists; 

• the exhibition must have a substantive coherence, and its added value must be clear. Each application for such an exhibition is judged on its own merits; 

• quality and professionalism of exhibition space/presentation area; 

• contribution of exhibition/presentation to increasing visibility; 

• degree of visibility and public accessibility of the exhibition/presentation; 

• description of the target group and an effective approach to it; 

• the total budget and the requested contribution are in proportion to the nature of the exhibition/presentation. 
  

After the assessment, the applicant receives a grant or rejection letter. If funding is granted, then the financial contribution is specified in the grant letter. 

Stroom aims to stimulate the visual arts climate in The Hague. To this end, we also want a safe (working) environment for artists, professionals and interested parties. In the case of (serious suspicion of) unacceptable behaviour in which individuals feel their safety is threatened, Stroom reserves the right to take measures such as not processing an application or rejecting registration in the artists' database.  

No rights may be derived from Stroom’s financial arrangements. 

Changes to the plan, both financial and substantive, require the prior approval of Stroom via ‘messages’ in the portal. 

• If substantial changes occur at any time in the plan in the implementation, the budget and the financial plan, the applicant must report this in advance. Whether the allocated contribution can be used for this will be determined based on the proposed changes.  

• If the plan cannot be realised before the end date, the applicant has the option of submitting a request for an extension, including motivation and a proposal for a new end date.  

• If at any time during the planning period the applicant changes residence (for example, if they move away from The Hague and settle elsewhere), the ‘importance to The Hague’ of the proposal may be jeopardised. When moving to a different place of residence, the applicant must also immediately report this in writing. Based on the new situation and the status of the plan, a decision will then be made as to whether the financial contribution can still be utilised, either in part or in full. 

You must submit the final report no later than one month after realisation of your plan in the ‘payment requests’ section of the Stroom portal. The final report consists of a substantive report, a visual report and a financial report. After submitting your final report, you may be selected at random for a financial audit.  

Substantive report  
The substantive report consists of the original summary of the plan and a number of questions: an explanation of the actual implementation of (and changes to) the plan (max. 400 words) and an evaluation of the results (publicity, audience reach, reactions, findings and/or conclusions; max. 400 words).  

Visual report  
The visual report consists of a photo impression, publicity material or a copy of the realised documentation (max. 20 images).  

Financial report  

• Completed overview of the actual income and expenses. It is mandatory to use the budget approved by Stroom for this purpose and to supplement the actual income and expenses in the column next to the budgeted figures. This will create a clear financial overview and insight.  

• The applicant must explain major deviations.  

• The applicant must keep all financial documents as described below under ‘Financial Audit Sample’ available for at least 2 years for inspection by Stroom. 
  

Financial Audit Sample 
If you are selected for the financial audit, you will be asked to submit all financial documents (invoices, receipts, bank statements) relating to the actual expenses. You have submitted the actual expenses with the financial report. You have used and supplemented the approved budget for this.  

Conditions  

• The document submitted must clearly and legibly link the financial documents and cost items. Number the cost items (e.g. 1. material costs, 2. transport costs, etc.) and give the supporting documents the same number.  

• Only clear and legible evidence will be accepted.  

• In the case of own transport, the maximum non-VAT-taxed kilometre price applicable at that time will be used.  

• If you use a rental car, you must submit the rental invoice and petrol receipts.  

• Public transport reimbursement is based on second class travel. 

• The applicant shall ensure that their accountant or trust office cooperates with the (audit) activities carried out by or on behalf of Stroom. 

Under the SPOT Funding Scheme, it is possible to apply for an advance of 50% of the granted amount. This can be requested via a ‘payment request’ in the Stroom portal. 

The final financial compensation is determined and paid out after the applicant to whom it was granted has met the conditions of the final accountability. 

After the final report assessment, the applicant to whom it was granted receives a letter of confirmation in which the financial compensation is definitively established.  

Repayment 

• If it turns out that the grant was awarded incorrectly, Stroom will revoke the grant and reclaim any payments made. 

• If it appears that the final report has not been received for the dates stated in the grant letter and no interim changes have been communicated and approved, any payment will be reclaimed. 

• If it appears that the plan has not been realised within the start and end date and no interim change has been communicated and approved, the entire advance will be reclaimed.  

• If it appears that too much money has been granted, Stroom will reduce the grant and reclaim the excess amount paid out.  

• If other financial contributions/subsidies/forms of financing have been listed in the submitted budget to finance the proposal, Stroom expects the applicant to be able to obtain this financing.