Puck Finkers, Silke Veld, Sam de Laat, Rimme Rutten and Nina de Leeuw all became good friends. They met each other at the Academy of Pop Music and are now often found hanging out at the pub together. That’s the place where one evening they started asking each other questions such as: what are you going to do when you graduate? Are you staying in Enschede or are you leaving? Puck: “We all wanted to stay. But at the same time we were missing a music workshop in the city. At the moment, you can still practice music at ArtEZ, but once you’ve graduated you have to make way for a new batch of first-year students.”
Applying for a grant: where to start?
Where to go when you want to start the writing process for a new album, rehearse with your band or brainstorm a concept for a new act? If it is up to Puck, all of this will soon be possible at GrensFrequentie: a musical breeding ground consisting of about fifteen individual spaces that can be rented by musicians for a small fee. It’s just an idea at the moment, but the first step towards realisation has been taken; Puck and her fellow students wrote a project plan for a grant application from the municipality. Puck: “We had no idea this was possible. Rob Kramer, director of ArtEZ Academy of Music, and Pim Kokkeler, coordinator of ArtEZ’ production house PAMM, informed us of the possibility and pushed us in the right direction.”
In the beginning you’re kind of finding your way through the dark. Which chapters should be included in the plan? How do you propose a budget?"
You can entertain an idea in your head, but putting it to paper is something else entirely. Puck knows all about it: “In the beginning you’re kind of finding your way through the dark. Which chapters should be included in the plan? How do you propose a budget? What does the formatting look like? We worked very hard, up to the evening before the deadline for submitting the application, just to make sure it was a good story. Together with Rob and Pim, who helped us with the writing. Nina did the design. Through logical thinking and with the help of enthusiasts from both ArtEZ and the municipality, we ware able to come up with a good plan.”
Collecting signatures
In addition to the project plan, Puck and her friends presented a list of signatures to the municipality. Within three days they had collected seven hundred signatures. Puck sees this as a sign for how much need there truly is for a place like GrensFrequentie: “If you are a music lover in Enschede, you can watch acts anywhere. There’s Metropool, Café Rocks, het Vestzaktheater, Theater Concordia, Tankstation, Sickhouse and Booster Festival. Enschede is a very creative city. But there are still too few places for musicians to actually get to work.”
How musicians find each other
Puck sees it happening all the time. Students leaving Enschede as soon as they have graduated: “During the first few years of the course I thought the same thing: what’s left for me here once I graduate? But now that I’ve built up a network, I’ve been able to make friends and have had great opportunities. I enjoy living here.” Laughing: “It’s also one of the few reasonably affordable places left.” With GrensFrequentie, Puck hopes that the musicality of Enschede will become even more visible and that musical talent will remain in the city: “There are so many great acts coming from ArtEZ, it’d be a shame if they all left. The ideal situation? Building up a network during your studies, becoming part of the lively music scene in Enschede and to be able to continue to do so after graduating. Musicians need to be able to find each other effortlessly.”
The vibe at the Academy
Be the change you want to see. According to Puck, this is a typical mindset for the students at the Academy of Music in Enschede. “At the Academy of Pop Music everybody is venturous. If we want something, we try it ourselves instead of waiting for the phone to ring. You’re studying to become a performance artist. Which will make you realise quickly that if you want an opportunity, you have to create it for yourself. That’s the general vibe here at the Academy — whether you’re following studying at the Academy of Pop Music, MediaMusic, Music Therapy or Music in Education. I always say that as a musician, you want something to happen. People laugh at that, but it’s true. If you want to start a band, for example, you will have to take the first few steps yourself. ArtEZ is very supportive, provided you approach the right lecturers yourself.”
You’re studying to become a performance artist. Which will make you realise quickly that if you want an opportunity, you have to create it for yourself."
Exciting weeks
The grant application for GrensFrequentie is currently with the municipality. Within thirteen weeks Puck and her fellow students are told whether or not it’s been approved*. Puck: “There’s nothing left to do but wait. If the municipality receives a lot of applications, they will draw lots for which applications are considered at all. These are exciting weeks!” So, what if the subsidy isn’t granted? Puck remains positive: “There are probably other possibilities. Maybe a sponsor, or someone who owns property. I’m sure we’ll keep looking for possibilities to realise GrensFrequentie. We’ll just go back to hanging out a gain. At a table in the pub. With a beer.”
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