At the end of 2014, the Dutch Ministry of Culture (OCW) announced a new Art and Culture public fund, The Art of Impact, designating seven million Euros to support art projects that have a distinct impact on society. With this programme, the policy of austerity initiated by minister of culture Halbe Zijlstra enters a new phase. Ideologically, it shifts away from discrediting the arts as a left-wing hobby towards rendering the arts as a tool of intervention and engagement with society. What does it mean to attribute to the artists, designers and art institutions the social, economical and political responsibility of changing and improving the world?

In light of these events, Kunstlicht felt the necessity to initiate a debate about The Art of Impact to question the agendas of cultural policies that ultimately use creativity and innovation to fuel neoliberal agendas and discourses.

The evening consisted of an introduction by this issue’s guest editors Lara Garcia Diaz and Cristina Marques, presentations by guest speakers including Bram Ieven, Ruben Pater, a debate moderated by Sven Lütticken, a performance by Angela Bartholomew and a public discussion on the topic.