Netherlands/ 8.4 Amateur arts, cultural associations and community centres  

8.4.2 Cultural houses and community cultural clubs

Most of larger cities host artist's societies. There is a long tradition of such organisations, founded in the eighteenth or 19th century, e.g., the Amsterdam visual artist society Arti et Amicitiae, or its counterpart in the Hague, Pulchri. A limited number of non-artists are taken in as members; however, they pay a higher membership fee. Smaller cities or villages often have culture houses which accommodate activities ranging from language and art courses to exhibitions, performances and films. Culture houses often have facilities for children, cafes, restaurants and rooms for reading societies, etc. Occasionally, public libraries - providing information in the broadest sense are physically connected to cultural houses. Municipalities are the main source of funding for cultural houses.