Values in crowdfunding in the Netherlands

Abstract

Internet-based crowdfunding through websites such as Kickstarter seems to have become a familiar funding arrangement in the cultural and creative sectors. In the Netherlands, cultural politics have looked to this form of private funding as a possible means of re-establishing the connection between the arts and society. This raises the question of whether greater reliance on crowdfunding means different value orientations for arts institutions. This paper presents the outcomes of empirical research on crowdfunding in the Netherlands via the Voordekunst website. This not-for-profit website collaborates with several private and public art funds, providing the largest platform for ‘project makers’ and donors in the arts in the Netherlands. The value orientation of Dutch crowdfunders is researched, using the value sociology of Boltanski and Thévenot.