Felix Meritis -
A European Centre for Arts and Sciences

Felix Meritis

In 1777, when the Felix Meritis Society was established by the citizens of Amsterdam for the advancement of arts and sciences, its founders would surely have been delighted that, over 200 years later, their objectives are still alive and being interpreted in a contemporary way that seeks to influence the future.

The Felix Meritis building was built especially for the society and is an expression of a new engagement with challenging ideas. As Geert Mak suggested in 'A Small History of Amsterdam':

In 1787, the year the foundation stone of Felix Meritis was laid, the political and ideological tension in the Netherlands was acute. There was a characteristic and deep notion that the nation was in decline. Enlightened people like De Pinto and Luzac were engaged with the question of how national recovery could be attained. Amsterdam's citizens had to find their own way in an uncertain age and Felix Meritis played an important role in this. Amsterdam went through hard times but throughout Felix Meritis remained marvelously intact - a landmark of optimism on the Keizersgracht, a lighthouse for freedom, tolerance and (in the most literal sense of the word) reasonableness.

Now Dutch society faces new challenges once again. In many respects the ideals of the enlightened thinkers from 1787 have been achieved, though in ways they could have hardly imagined at the time. The Netherlands have become a nation of citizens. The enlightened citizenry of the late 18th century has been superceded by the individidualistic critical consumer of today who is increasingly searching for meaning and insight that is the equivalent to the ideals of the Felix Meritis founders.

Once again Felix Meritis is a remarkable place for independent thinking, for the transfer of knowledge and enjoyment of the arts. It is a place where opinions are formed and where the results of the exchange of ideas on art, culture, science and society contribute to cultural and political co-operation.At Felix Meritis the practice of art and science, and its impact on society, is a matter for continuous exploration, whether it is through the processes of European integration or the development of international cultural networks (physical and digital).

At Felix Meritis, where there is special attention paid to Dutch and European perspectives, 'Europe' is defined less as a geographical than a cultural term; and so in the current sense North America, Russia and Turkey belong just as much to Europe as the members of the Union.

Internationalisation

The process of internationalisation - always seeing the context and wider application of ideas and so engaging people who reflect that - is of supreme importance in the work at Felix Meritis. In particular, during the coming years the influence of the enlargement of the European Union on conceptions of identity, and social and cultural cohesion, will take centre stage. We will explore and contribute to the transformation that takes place in the Netherlands and in surrounding countries.

The motto of Felix Meritis is Connecting Cultures and it summarises much of what takes place under the foundation's auspices. Felix has initiated many international projects, among them Gulliver, Gulliver's Connect, The People Network, Essay International, The Amsterdam-Maastricht Summer University and The Informal Network of Cultural Journalists. Felix works with many partners abroad, including The Red house (Sofia), The Caucasus Foundation (Tbilisi), The New Theatre Institute of Latvia (Riga), Theorem (Paris), KulturKontakt (Vienna) and the Berlin Conference for European Cultural Policy. In this way Felix Meritis allows Dutch cultural life and artistic enterprise to be visible throughout Europe.

Felix Meritis adds context to content and as a result is naturally considered the international centre for the Netherlands where reflection takes place, artistic production is presented and discussion is conducted.

Public domain

The Netherlands are a particularly suitable country for the establishment of an international platform such as Felix Meritis offers. The Netherlands offer a neutral meeting place for people from areas of the world in crisis. the country has a long tradition of moderating intercultural debates and finding a consensus among conflicting opinions. Felix Meritis continues and enhances this tradition by acting as a free port for ideas, a meeting place for artists, scientists and other thinkers.

Felix facilitates the dialogue between many varieties of cultures - ethnic, national, religious, political and social. It also works between disciplines, within and between the arts and sciences. It is the cross-cutting nature of debates in the public domain that allows new ideas to be developed and spread.

Nationwide role

Culture and society are inextricably bound together, so in a period of increasing social problems art and cultural debate are especially important if these problems are to be undestood and overcome. As well as its international role (which touches all its activities) Felix Meritis has invested considerable effort into national activities, including the development of networks, cultural mobility, continuing education and professional training. This is always done in the context of Felix Meritis's wider European role but its ability to focus strongly on the Dutch perspective within that allows artists and thinkers from the Netherlands to conduct an enriched discourse with each other.

The future

Felix Meritis's role over the coming years will have many functions: stimulating, initiating, facilitating, examining and co-producing as an organisation that is simultaneously thought of as strongly Amsterdam, Dutch, European and Global.
There will be many events and activities too where Felix is the lead producer - of theatre, music, visual arts, literature, digital networks, international meetings, political fora and publications. Felix will exploit all media that carry ideas and be the physical meeting place in Amsterdam that it is impossible to pass through without connecting to those who have most to say about the development of the world around us.