The exhibition Dutch Committees [Nederlandse Besturen] is about a peculiarly Dutch phenomenon: there is a core population that develops initiatives in sectors of society in which government and business are either inactive or ineffective. To get things done in this country, the Dutch surround themselves with like-minded people, go to a notary, and start an association or a foundation. They do this work voluntarily, they do it unpaid, and they are utterly confident that they will succeed. And they’ve been doing this for centuries. One encounters this phenomenon in all layers of Dutch society, irrespective of social, religious or geographic background, and the Netherlands’ ‘newcomers’ are no exception. It has become an inherent part of Dutch identity.

In 2009 Taco Anema started working on a series about Dutch committees. In his words: “The country seemed confused. On the one hand government was asking prominent historians to work out what made the Dutch Dutch, and on the other hand the same government was confidently putting the ‘polder model’ forward in Europe as a realistic solution to the [financial] crisis.” Whether the polder model will indeed provide a solution for today’s economic malaise is open to question, but Taco Anema is showing that it is, in any event, one of the pillars of an undimmed Dutch self-confidence.

In 2009 Huis Marseille showed Hollandse Huishoudens, an exhibition of Taco Anema’s family portraits.

As there are...Election Committee of Groenendael Tennis Club, General Meeting of the Chalk Committee (responsible for football field marking), University Council, Board of Directors, Association Meeting, Advisory Council, Network, Neighbourhood Dads, Advisory Board, Supervisory Board, High Council of Nobility, Editorial Board, Social Committee, Year Club, Students’ Union, Student Senate, Church Community, Classis Synod, Youth Association, Men’s Association, Mosque Administrative Board, Women’s Refuge, Cabinet, Provincial Executive, Municipal Executive, Parliamentary Party, States General, Upper and Lower Chamber, Water Board, Dike Board, private cultural club De Kring...

Taco Anema, Nederlandse besturen, publication in preparation by NAi, Rotterdam