France

France and the Netherlands 
Throughout the centuries, France has been admired by artists and many others for its rich culture and avant-garde trends. For many artists and cultural professionals, the French culture has been and still is an abundant source of inspiration. This is no different for the artists and cultural professionals from the Netherlands who are lucky enough to find themselves only a 3.5-hour train ride away from the French capital city and all its cultural hotspots. The richness of the French culture and its close proximity make France a perfect country for cultural exchange and collaboration with the Netherlands.  

Contemporary culture and the creative sector are vibrant in France. The French regard culture as extremely valuable and treat it very seriously. This is demonstrated quite simply by the fact that, of all of the European Union governments, the French government devotes the largest budget share to culture. France’s age-old and vibrant contemporary culture and creative sector make it a popular destination for cultural professionals from all over the world. 

Mutual curiosity and admiration for art
The ambition to stand out on the French cultural platform is not only felt by individual cultural professionals but is shared by countries as well. As many as fifty countries from all over the world have established a national cultural platform in France to show the French culture and creative sector what they have to offer, culturally and artistically. The Netherlands is no exception, and in 2014 the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Paris initiated the Atelier Néerlandais: a centre in the 7th arrondissement in Paris to host and showcase cultural and creative professionals from the Netherlands.  

The curiosity and admiration for arts and culture from abroad are mutual. In fact, the French public is showing an increasing interest in arts and culture from beyond the French borders. For example, there is a lot of interest in Dutch design, architecture, photography and literature, and hence much scope for international collaboration within these fields. The Dutch embassy in Paris in particular functions as a mediator for cultural professionals from the Netherlands and France who wish to collaborate, and the Atelier Néerlandais functions as a platform within this process. Read more…

Information & advice
Would you like to receive more information regarding opportunities for cultural exchange with France? Feel free to contact our Focal Countries Desk with your questions.

Further reading

Advisor

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Josine Backus
Role
Advisor - Focal Countries | Brazil
Email
j.backus [at] dutchculture.nl

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Minke van Schaik, DutchCulture
Minke van Schaik
Role
Advisor - Focal Countries
Email
m.vanschaik [at] dutchculture.nl
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Year:

France at a glance

PlaceArtist
1004 registered activities in 2023
featuring 546 artists

Calendar
Number of activities
12 months (2023)

Discipline
Activities by
discipline in 2023

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Frequently asked questions

Where can I find funding in the Netherlands?

In the Netherlands, there are various funding opportunities available for artists, cultural practitioners and organisations with international ambitions. You can find a first overview on our Funding page. For a more extensive overview, see our Cultural Mobility Funding Guide.  

Heritage

International Heritage Cooperation is part of the Netherlands’ international cultural policy. The embassies of the Netherlands in the partner countries have a budget for supporting local cultural heritage projects. DutchCulture manages a Matching Fund. Dutch legal entities (companies and registered freelancers) are able to apply for partial funding for an international heritage cooperation project.

DutchCulture supports sustainable Dutch-European heritage cooperation by supporting and facilitating (international) expert meetings and exchanges while underlining the European context of heritage. The Europe + Heritage programme offers advice, a travel grant scheme and a support grant scheme for European heritage cooperation.

Where can I find funding within France?

In France, the cultural policy is formulated by the Ministry of Culture (Ministère de la Culture). Here you find their subventions and other aides. Please note these are eligible only to artists and artistic organisations in France.

The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministère des affaires étrangères) jointly framed an International Cultural Policy. The policy aims to promote French culture abroad and build international relations through cultural exchange. Bilateral exchange happens often in special projects, such as the organisation of a ‘year of France’ in another country or by inviting a guest country to organise a ‘season’ in France.

The national and international cultural policies are executed by the Institut français de Paris. The network of French cultural institutes abroad (both Institut français and Alliance française) diffuse the French language and culture at a local level. In the Netherlands, an Institut français is located in Amsterdam and Groningen. This cultural institution can act as a partner for cultural projects with a French component in the Netherlands, or provide aid if you want to invite French (speaking) artists.

On the website of On the Move, you find elaborate cultural mobility funding guides for France. Here is an overview of the public sector and here is one of private funds.

Are there funding opportunities within Europe?

Creative Europe

Creative Europe (2021-2027) is the seven-year support programme by the European Commission for the cultural and audio-visual sector and consists of two subprograms: Culture and MEDIA. The Creative Europe Desk of the Netherlands is part of DutchCulture. Be aware that there are many strict conditions to be considerate before applying for this program. The project has to be a cooperation between at least three European countries, e.g. a cooperation between only France and the Netherlands is therefore not eligible.

For an extensive overview of the funds available see the CulturEU Funding Guide.

Further funding opportunities

These two funding guides can help you on your way: Fund-Finder a guide to funding opportunities for arts and culture in Europe, beyond Creative Europe (published by IETM in English) and the EU Subsidiewijzer (published by Creative Europe Desk NL in Dutch)

What rules and regulations do I need to consider (visa, social security, taxation)?

Visa

EU citizens do not need a visa to work in France. If you have a passport from outside the EU, it is wise to check the rules with your country's representatives in the Netherlands. The French organisation MobiCulture offers information for cultural professionals in France. Read more here on visa regulations when visiting France as a non-EU artist.

Disclaimer: The information given above is mainly provided by the French authorities. In case of any doubt or further questions, please contact the French Embassy in The Hague. 

Social security

PEARLE* Live Performance Europe, a European performing arts employers’ organisation, wrote a guide on social security in an international context, as part of their series The Ultimate Cookbook for Cultural Managers in 2016. The guide offers a detailed but accessible explanation of how social security works for namely those working in the performing arts within the EU, with a wealth of practical tips and illustrative examples. The guide can be found here.

The website of the Dutch Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) offers a lot of information on social security when working internationally, with specific information for artists. The information is available in five languages.

Your Europe is an extensive knowledge database about living and working in the EU, with specific information on working across borders available in all 24 official European. Specific information on social security cover in the EU can be found here, as well as a very useful Frequently Asked Questions page. Direct enquiries can be submitted to the team of legal experts from Your Europe Advice.

Taxation

As artists are highly mobile these days, there are specific rules to avoid that one would not pay taxes. Everyone needs to pay income taxes, but when you have earned your income in different countries in which country should you pay? And how can you avoid double taxation? The above mentioned organisation PEARLE also published a guide on artist taxation in an international context. This booklet provides information on special tax rules for (performing) artists, both for the country of work or performance and the country of residence.

Above that, the Netherlands has tax treaties with a number of countries. In many cases this means that the taxes you pay in one of the countries are deductible from the taxes you owe in another country, or that you are exempt from paying certain taxes. Here you can find an overview of the countries with which the Netherlands has a treaty. Very many matters in the EU are centrally regulated, but taxes differ in each country, and some countries have signed bilateral tax treaties. For information about existing tax treaties between specific European countries, go to the website of Your Europe.

How can I promote my work in France?

It is a good idea to engage local publicists, that have an understanding of your art discipline, audience and region. The cultural department of the Dutch Embassy in Paris can help you find a network or promote your work through their channels. By becoming a member of the Atelier Néerlandais, a cultural space founded by the Dutch Embassy in Paris, you can use the space and facilities to show work or meet French peers. The Atelier also has a large network and connects Dutch to French artists and creatives.

Make sure to contact the embassy to let them know about your projects. Do not forget to create a My DC account, where you can add your activities to our Cultural Database. This way you will be included in our database and become part of our network.

How can I find a residency, stage to perform, an exhibition space?

Through the DutchCulture database, you can find out which artists from the Netherlands have worked at which venues, and start your research there. Go to the search icon on the upper left corner of the website, and search by discipline, country, and city.

For residencies, DutchCulture's TransArtists is a great research tool. In order to successfully build an international career, and in order to find sustainable partners in a country, it is always wise to spend more than a few days somewhere. Residencies, which can last from a couple of weeks up to several months, can help you achieve this.

How can I keep up to date with any news concerning cultural work in France?

To keep up to date on cultural activities of artists and cultural professionals from the Netherlands in France, you can subscribe to the newsletter of the embassy and follow the embassy on Facebook and Twitter.