The Prince Claus Fund was founded on the conviction that art and culture are basic human needs. This guiding principle was particularly bold given that its financial backing came from the Ministry of Developmental Cooperation in the Netherlands, not the Ministry of Culture. The Fund supports cultural activities in settings that are especially challenging, such as poorer countries and countries that are at war or politically unstable.
As the director of the Fund since its inception in 1997, I created an important mission statement for the organization based on its background and goals: “Culture is a basic need.” It drew on the vocabulary of development aid work but with a twist. Building homes, supporting hospitals, providing food, and setting up tents are activities considered essential in places of need, while efforts to support art and culture in countries plagued by poverty or ravaged by war or natural disaster have too...