In 2025, the ELJA Foundation will launch the ELJA Art Courts. With this new initiative, the Foundation aims to promote community building for children and young people through art and culture. Four institutions across the country have been selected, each receiving €100,000 over two years to support this goal. The partners are Art-S-Cool (The Hague), Garage TDI (Assen), The Movement (Roermond), and De MuziekSpeelplaats Zeeland (Vlissingen, from April 2025). In addition to financial support, the program includes professional development, impact research, and knowledge sharing. he kick-off took place on Tuesday, February 18, at the Hiphophuis in Rotterdam.
ELJA Art Courts
The ELJA Art Courts are creative meeting spaces where young people feel at home and actively engage with art. Development, interaction, and social connection are central to these spaces. Each partner shapes their Art Court to suit the needs and circumstances of their target group. This can include after-school art activities, school programs, open studios, workshops, talent evenings, or the appointment of a community builder or partnerships manager. Knowledge sharing, professional development, and impact research are also part of the program. The ELJA Art Courts will run from 2025 through 2026.
Astrid Rose, the new director of the ELJA Foundation as of March 1, 2025, said: “With the ELJA Art Courts, the ELJA Foundation is taking a new step in its mission to actively introduce children and young people to art and culture. Inspiring spaces where young people can develop creatively and connect with one another are more important than ever in these times of polarization and loneliness among youth. The four chosen partners are already very active in community building. With this support from the ELJA Foundation, they gain extra room to grow and further professionalize. We look forward to seeing how the projects take shape and how participants develop their creative talents.”
About the Four Partners
Art-S-Cool is an art school located in the Schilderswijk district of The Hague. Founded in 2011 by a collective of (visual) artists and designers, it organizes over 3,000 in- and out-of-school art activities each year, reaching approximately 11,000 unique children, young people, and their communities.
Garage TDI is the youth theater of the Drenthe province. The organization includes a theater company, youth theater school, preparatory program, an extensive educational offering in schools, and the annual youth theater festival Art of Wonder. Garage TDI reaches around 85,000 children and young people each year.
The Movement is an accessible cultural hub in Roermond, bringing together young people, creators, and audiences. The space serves as an incubator for Roermond’s creative community and hosts several youth-focused cultural organizations. Within the ELJA Art Court, The Movement will collaborate with Stichting Nieuwe Helden Next Level to create a cultural program for young people and provide a platform for existing initiatives.
De MuziekSpeelplaats was founded in 2019 by producer Tjeerd Oosterhuis and entrepreneur Michel Koolmees with the goal of creating “a place where all children, regardless of their background, can come together and make music—just as they might go to a nearby sports field.” To date, three MuziekSpeelplaats locations have been established: The Hague, Rotterdam, and Lelystad. De MuziekSpeelplaats Zeeland is a collaboration between De MuziekSpeelplaats and Muziekschool Zeeland. Muziekschool Zeeland, with 2,700 enrolled students and approximately 20,000 school-based participants annually, is one of the largest music schools in the Netherlands with a 70-year history.