“We are champion tolerance in the Netherlands. But we are an acid loser in the field of diversity,” says freelance researcher Nancy Jouwe about the Dutch museum world.

Policy plans, grant conditions and job vacancy texts have been emphasising more cultural diversity for years, but what has this resulted so far? How diverse are Dutch art museums?

My colleague Lucette ter Borg investigated the composition of the staff of the 21 most influential museums. Of the 231 employees in responsible art positions, 6 have a non-western background. That's 2.6 percent. And this while almost 14 percent of the Dutch population has a non-western migration background.

For her impressive longread, Ter Borg also spoke with nine directors of the ten most important art museums. How do they look at 'color' in their organisation? And how do they put that into practice? From ABBE director Charles Esche: “I too had to decolonize my own head.” #cultuur


Of the 231 employees in responsible art positions, 6 have a non-western background. That's 2.6 percent.