Boekman Foundation


The Boekman Foundation Institute for arts, culture and related policy is a research institute for Dutch arts and culture policy and practice. It was named after the Amsterdam SDAP politician and alderman Emanuel Boekman, who promoted public support for art and culture in his PhD thesis of 1939.
The Boekman Foundation was established in 1963 by Dutch cultural philosopher Jan Kassies and compiles and analyses statistical and other data on art and culture in the Netherlands for policy purposes. Its main periodical publications are the quarterly Boekman cultural magazine since 2003 and the annual national review report Culture Monitor with an online dashboard resource. The Foundation hosts a free expertise database and library Kennisbank on art, culture and related policy with 85,000 titles in 2024.

Boekman Dissertation Award

Since 2009, the Boekmanstichting and NWO Geesteswetenschappen award the triennial Boekman Dissertation Prize of €10.000 for the best Dutch PhD thesis on art, culture and society. The year following the award the Boekman journal devotes one of its editions to the winning dissertation. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Prize was postponed to 2022.
No.Award yearRecipientPhD ThesisUniversityPublication year
12009Marijke de ValckFilm festivals. From European geopolitics to global cinephiliaUniversity of Amsterdam2006
22012Amanda BrandelleroThe art of being different: exploring diversity in the cultural industriesUniversity of Amsterdam2011
32015Thijs E. LijsterCritique of art. Walter Benjamin and Theodor W. Adorno on art and art criticismUniversity of Groningen2012
42018Hanka OtteBinden of overbruggen? Over de relatie tussen kunst, cultuurbeleid en sociale cohesie University of Groningen2015
52022Yosha WijngaardenSpaces of co-working: situating innovation in the creative industriesErasmus University Rotterdam2019