The Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is a symbol of Dutch culture and one of the best musical temples in the world.
It was founded in 1811 and is on a par with the Boston Symphony Hall and the Vienna Musikverein.
Every year, countless top musicians perform more than 900 concerts here, with an audience of more than 800,000 people from all over the world, making it the second most listened concert hall in the world.
Elegant, old,with style, these are the portraits of the Royal Concert Hall...
Then, yesterday, it switched to a barbershop.
This is not a picture of P, nor a performance art performance (although in a sense), but a "limited-time hair salon event" run by the Royal Concert Hall.
The concert hall is open to 50 people who need a haircut, and for 2.5 euros, they can enjoy the haircut service on the stage while listening to the orchestra behind them.
In Symphony No. 2, composed by Charles Ives, two professional hairdressers spray, cut and style people with a magnificent melody.
Offstage, there are more than 40 customers waiting for a haircut.
Everyone listened to the music and waited, and when it was their turn, they silently walked up to the stage and said to the barber the hairstyle they wanted.
The haircut at the Royal Concert Hall is professional and the atmosphere is superb,
But why?
Because according to the Dutch epidemic prevention policy, barbershops can operate normally, but concert halls cannot.
On January 14, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced the lifting of the lockdown on shops, barbershops, beauty salons, gyms and nail salons, allowing them to operate every day.
But all cultural institutions, including cinemas, museums, galleries, concert halls, and theatres, remain closed, at least until January 25.
After this news came out, the Dutch cultural circles exploded, believing that the policy was unreasonable and unfair.
(The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam protests the policy on screen)
Compared with the small space of the barbershop, concert halls and theaters with fixed seats and open venues should be safer.
Not to mention museums where people are inherently few.
The external needs of haircuts and fitness can be met, but the spiritual needs of watching pictures and listening to music cannot be met.
Why?
So the comedians Sanna De Vries and Didric Ebbinger led a protest called "Theater to Salon".
There are more than 70 cultural institutions in the Netherlands involved, and the Royal Concert Hall is one of them.
"We've been patient for two years, and it's time for the government to look at cultural institutions more fairly." Simon Reinke, director of the Royal Concert Hall, said.
(Simon Reinke)
"We really don't understand why the policy is the way it is. Over the past two years, we've shown you that it's very, very safe to go to concerts and museums. In fact, we are very professional in crowd management and we know how to deal with large crowds. ”
"It's time to end the unequal treatment of cultural institutions. Through this initiative, we support our industry-wide voice. ”
Along with the protests, the Van Gogh Museum,
It not only cuts hair, but also does nail art.
Against the backdrop of Van Gogh's paintings, two manicurists primed and polished the clients' nails.
In order to conform to van Gogh's theme, they do flower and starry manicures.
Emily Goldenk, director of the museum, said that this was the first time in the history of the Van Gogh Museum that it was very popular with the public.
At the scene, there were also parents who brought three-year-old children to get haircuts.
Although it is to protest the government's epidemic prevention policy, the Van Gogh Museum still follows the basic rules, and all people who come in must show a health QR code and wear a mask to keep their distance.
Goldenke said she believes it's more important to see an exhibition than a nail salon.
"Going to the museum is just as important as going to a nail salon, maybe even more. We don't ask for much, we just want the government to be fair and set the rules in a way that everyone understands. At this point, the government is inadequate. ”
(Emily Goldenk)
"I know the government allows gyms to open, but we also need a mind gym, and museums are places where people come to look for depth and reason to live."
When it comes to finding reasons to open, Dutch cultural institutions are full of creativity.
The Mesdag Panorama in The Hague says they are going to host a "spiritual refreshment," which is the equivalent of a "group psychological consultation."
Of course, the actual "refreshing mind" is to let people see the largest painting in the Netherlands, "Panorama of Scheveningen".
Except for the nominal difference, the others are exactly the same.
The Limburg Museum in Venlo said that in order to let people stretch their muscles and exercise during the lockdown, they converted the museum into a dance hall for citizens and employees to dance Zumba together.
Of course, it's no surprise to visit the museum after the dance.
In Amsterdam, the Cobra Art Museum announced that they were going to switch to a gym, and under the modern abstract paintings, employees led visitors to do yoga together.
The De Barre Theatre, known for its talk shows, plays and debates, went further.
It directly established a religious institution that bypassed all the rules, and the name of the institution was "Philosophical Association - Rational Community".
In the name of religion, it is much more convenient to run talk shows and debates,
Even if someone questions it, they can say that it is an expression of their faith.
However, although the opening of museums and concert halls is well found, the Dutch government is not stupid.
The Dutch government is well aware that they are looking for a pretext, even if the activities are different, the essence is still that concert halls and museums are open for business.
The mayor of Amsterdam called the director of the Van Gogh Museum directly and said she would not allow it.
The curator, Gordonke, said she expected the museum to receive a warning letter and then have to close its doors.
The mayor also warned other cultural institutions that no matter how fashionable what they do, it will not be tolerated.
Some local council officials threatened to block the door without greeting if they continued to open.
One that failed to "change careers" was the Music Clock Museum in Utrecht.
Yesterday, the museum announced that its second identity is actually a gym, inviting visitors to turn the wheel of the music clock to exercise their arm muscles.
Visitors can also dance to accordion music and tour the pavilion while dancing.
It was a good idea, but less than an hour after it opened, people from the city government came and asked them to close the door.
Also banned is the Royal Morretes Gallery, which houses the famous Girl with the Pearl Earrings.
The staff originally wanted to hold a fitness training camp in the museum, but the government banned it, so the group wore clothes with the painting printed on them and went to the entrance of the Parliament Building in The Hague to work out.
Many museums and concert halls are at risk of fines, and they have received many government warnings.
But they don't plan to stop, but still want to rely on this mix-and-match model to try their best to make their exhibitions and music appreciated by more people.
"We just want to play for people, that's the purpose." Dominique Winterlin, managing director of the Royal Concert Hall, said, "In the dark days, we want to inspire people, and that's what music is about. ”
Currently, more than 30,000 new infections are being added daily in the Netherlands, with a total of 3.5 million infections and 21,000 deaths recorded since the outbreak began.
Although the number of hospitalizations is steadily declining, the number of new cases is continuing to set a record due to the emergence of variants of the virus.
But the Dutch could not wait, not only in the cultural institutions, but also in the forbidden restaurants, bars and cafes.
Many restaurants are forced to open directly, ignoring government policy.
Municipal governments in 16 cities support restaurant openings, regardless of what the central government says.
On Friday, a poll found that more than half of Dutch support the opening of restaurants and cultural institutions.
For the Dutch government, this is really difficult,
We want to reduce the risk of the epidemic and restore normal life to the people.
Perhaps, it was an idea for cultural institutions to be open to a small number of people, like the Royal Concert Hall this time, with only 50 spectators participating.
Although there are few people, it is better than nothing,
When social mood is low, something is needed to motivate people...