[EDIT/GOV: Maastricht, December 14]On Sunday December 14, at Chateau Neercanne, three of Meuse-Rhine’s provinces - the Belgian provinces of Limburg and Liège and the Dutch province of Limburg - signed an agreement. They were represented by Gilbert von Baelen, Paul-Emile Mottard and Odile Wolfs respectively – she had raced home from Venice to be present as a signatory. The agreement signed represented broad themes in cultural life. These were design, communications, museums and Europe’s cultural capital for 2018, for which Maastricht is a candidate. In essence, it means that the provinces are going to support one another.
Design is currently playing a major role with biennial exhibitions in Liège and ongoing programs in Hasselt. In fact the term Design turns up projects in every corner of Meuse-Rhine. Theaters, museums and the whole economy of culture passed review and this is clearly an area in which many synergies are being discovered, with theaters and museums already working closely together. In fact, it is probably what is needed to provide some real content for the Maastricht brand, with its prospect of decoming Europe's cultural capital.
[Added December 16]
A meeting of the Maastricht City Council gave official status to the city's candidacy for cultural capital status on December 16.
http://www.limburg.nl/