Young talent shines during the Kunstbende Young Creators Festival
"This is the most beautiful day of my life!" shouts a young guitarist through his microphone. He has just performed with his band at the Kunstbende Young Creators Festival at the Melkweg Amsterdam music venue. His hands are still trembling, and his mouth corners curl uncontrollably upward. He takes a moment to bask in the applause of his audience while the host announces the next act.
A Springboard for Talent
Kunstbende is the breeding ground for young talent in the Netherlands. It is intended for anyone between the ages of 13 and 19 who is involved in or wants to explore content creation, dance, DJing, visual arts, fashion, film, writing, or theater. Through regional preliminary rounds, the most remarkable acts come together each year at the Young Creators Festival. There, their performance or artwork is evaluated by a professional jury that ultimately selects the winners. In various categories, this can mean a performance at a major festival or an exhibition in a museum. This year, the Young Creators Festival took place on September 30th. You can find the complete list of winners on the Kunstbende website.
Proud
In the Max (main hall) of the Melkweg, all participants in the Dance and Theater categories are scheduled to perform. They dance out of passion and share laughter with comedy duos. When the audience is asked for reactions, a young girl bursts into tears, saying, "I'm so proud of my friends!" If the Young Creators Festival demonstrates one thing, it's that the process of individualization in society is far from complete. We are still full of genuine stories, art born out of necessity, and above all, the shared experience of it all.
ArtEZ and Kunstbende
ArtEZ is a proud main partner of Kunstbende. A mini-survey among ArtEZ Instagram followers revealed that a significant portion (29%) of respondents are both ArtEZ students and former participants of Kunstbende. An even larger portion (44%) indicated that they have not participated in Kunstbende (yet), but would like to or wish they had. After all, it's the ultimate opportunity for young talent to gain stage experience and become part of a vast network of like-minded creators. In this way, participants take a beautiful first step toward professionalization."