The Professional Association of Visual Artists (, BBK) is a national organization headquartered in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, founded on May 15, 1945, to defend the interests of professional visual artists. The organization, which strives to increase municipal art ownership and presents itself as a union for artists, currently has about 2,000 members.

History

The Professional Association of Visual Artists (BBK) has an eventful history of collaborations, divestitures and mergers. To begin with, the professional association was founded in October 1945 by artists from the Anti-Fascist Committee of Artists, the Union of Artists in Defense of Culture and the Socialist Artists Circle. Jelle Troelstra was chosen as the first president. The association was based in Amsterdam, and set itself to do:

... to act as a union for all visual artists, to promote the development and practice of the visual arts and to defend and promote both the common and material interests of the professional group as a whole and of the individual artist.Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis. ''Archief Beroepsvereniging van Beeldende Kunstenaars,'' IISG Amsterdam 2017. p. 1

In 1946, the BBK co-founded the established Federation of Artists' Associations, initially forming by far the largest group in it. Over the years, four regional divisions were established: BBK

Drente Drenthe () is a provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen (province), Groningen to the north, and the G ...

, BBK

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

, BBK

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

and BBK

Rijnmond Rijnmond (; literally 'Rhine Mouth', 'Mouth of the Rhine', 'Rhine Estuary') is the conurbation surrounding the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Another term used in this context is Stadsregio Rotterdam (literally 'Rotterdam Urban Region' or m ...

. Partly due to the efforts of the BBK, politicians took notice of the situation of artists, and in 1949 a national scheme Social Assistance for Visual Artists (SBBK), also known as Contraprestatie, came into being. This resulted in the Fine Artists Scheme. By the 1970s, the Professional Association of Fine Artists was known as the main private organization of art craftsmen. They were politically active, organizing various protest actions to call attention to the approximate social status of artists. In 1994, a planned merger between the Beroepsvereniging Beeldende Kunstenaars (BBK) and the visual arts section of The Arts Union of the FNV (FNV Kiem),"Kunstenbond en BBK nu definitief samen"
''Trouw,'' 26 juli 1995. failed at the last minute. During this time, the BBK worked to improve and preserve the BKR. It collaborated on the creation of the Artists' Income Provision Act (WIK) and the Work and Income of Artists Act (Wwik), and then worked to preserve these provisions.

Publications

Teunis Ĳdens (1994). "From artists' resistance to political union: On the development of the BBK in the period 1945-1973." In: Bulletin Dutch Workers' Movement (1994), pp. 81–95

References

External links

* {{Authority control Trade unions in the Netherlands Arts organisations based in the Netherlands 1945 establishments in the Netherlands Organisations based in Amsterdam