Art Root Collective

What Art Root Collective does

Art Root Collective (Stichting Art Root Collective) is a Dutch non-profit foundation founded in summer 2017 and registered as an ANBI (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling) with RSIN 863638788. Headquartered at Haydnstraat 212 in Tilburg, the organization runs a suite of community music programs for young people aged 18 to 30, with a particular focus on newcomers and refugees living in Dutch asylum seeker centers (AZCs). The core offering comprises five interconnected programs: Art Root Intensive (a week-long residential summer music camp held at buurthuis De Gasterije in Gasteren, Drenthe, culminating in a public concert), Art Root Circle (a 5-day leadership training followed by a 4-day workshop project at an AZC), Art Root Next (a pathway for Circle graduates to initiate projects or take internships as workshop leaders), Art Root Open (monthly jam sessions in Amsterdam, Arnhem, and Rotterdam), and Art Root Women (weekly music sessions for women at AZC Amsterdam Willinklaan). Participants from more than 16 countries of origin are integrated with Dutch-born youth across all programs.

The operating model is facilitation-based, not technology-based. Programs are delivered on-site at partner AZCs and hired community venues (Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam, De Transformatie in Arnhem, Wolphaertstraat in Rotterdam), with registration handled through a self-service Google Form on the website (available in Dutch, English, and Arabic). There is no proprietary software, app, or platform; technology usage is limited to standard web, email, social media (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube), and online forms. The founding team — artistic leaders Geerte de Koe (violist) and Maaike van der Linde (flutist), workshopleiders Kay Ramati, Farzad Omidi, and Lama Rashid, business leader Mascha Zweers, and production leader Caco Verhees — operates with governance from a three-person board (Mieke Koldewee, chair; Theo Andriessen, treasurer; Jawa Manla, secretary).

All programs are free to participants. Revenue is generated entirely from charitable donations (via IBAN NL79 ABNA 0112 0723 5), institutional grants enabled by ANBI tax-deductible status, an informal "Friends" membership solicited by email, and unnamed sponsors and partners displayed as logos on the website. Annual reports for 2022, 2023, and 2024 are referenced. The organization has no parent company, no subsidiaries, no disclosed investors, and no public revenue figures; its addressable scale is regional (single country, Netherlands) and its business model is sustained donor and grant dependency rather than earned revenue.

Name

Art Root Collective

Legal name

Stichting Art Root Collective

Website

https://artrootcollective.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Art Root Collective is a Dutch non-profit foundation running free community music programs — including a residential summer Intensive, leadership training Circle, monthly Open jam sessions, and women-only AZC sessions — for newcomers and Dutch-born youth aged 18–30 across the Netherlands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Music and Refugee Integration Programs

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Service/Support Organizations (Networks, Advocacy, Capacity Building) (BPAGAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Group Music Classes & Ensembles (Band, Orchestra, Choir) (EDAMANAC)

Keywords

• Community music programs
• Refugee integration programs
• Youth music education
• Creative arts workshops
• Newcomer music initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Tilburg

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations: The organization accepts charitable donations from the public. A dedicated Dutch bank account (NL79 ABNA 0112 0723 5 t.n.v. Art Root Collective o.v.v. 'Donatie') is displayed on the website. Donations are described as enabling participants with limited means to travel to program locations, purchase food, and acquire musical instruments.
2. Grants and Institutional Funding: As a Dutch ANBI (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling) registered foundation (RSIN: 863638788), Art Root Collective qualifies for charitable tax benefits and likely relies substantially on grant funding. The website references 'sponsors' and 'partners' via logo display, indicating institutional support. Annual reports for 2022, 2023, and 2024 are available for download.
3. Friends Membership: The website invites visitors to become a 'friend' (vriend) of Art Root Collective by emailing [email protected] for more information. This suggests a recurring membership or subscription-style support model.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Art Root Collective delivers free community music programs for young people aged 18-30, particularly newcomers and refugees living in Dutch asylum seeker centers and Dutch-born youth, including week-long residential music intensives, leadership training for workshop facilitation, monthly jam sessions, and women-focused sessions. Its programs collectively form a progression pathway (Intensive → Circle → Next) that develops participants into volunteer workshop leaders, using collaborative music-making as a tool for integration, creative expression, and community building across more than 16 countries of origin.

Product overview

Art Root Collective offers a suite of music programs for young people (ages 18-30) and newcomers to the Netherlands. The programs include Art Root Intensive (summer music camp), Art Root Circle (leadership training for workshop facilitation), Art Root Next (internship and project development pathway), Art Root Open (monthly jam sessions), and Art Root Women (music sessions for women at asylum seeker centers). These interconnected programs form a progression pathway from participant to workshop leader, using music as a tool for connection, creativity, and community building across diverse backgrounds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Art Root Intensive A week-long residential summer music program where newcomers living in Dutch asylum seeker centers and Dutch-born young musicians (ages 18-30) live together at buurthuis De Gasterije in Gasteren, Drenthe, compose original music collaboratively, and present a closing concert for the village.
• Art Root Circle A leadership training program for graduates of Art Root Intensive, structured for 10 participants per cohort, who develop skills to lead creative music workshops for newcomers and then lead a 4-day workshop project at an asylum seeker center.
• Art Root Next A progression pathway for Circle graduates to initiate and develop their own Art Root projects or undertake internships as workshop leaders or production assistants.
• Art Root Open A monthly mobile jam session held in Amsterdam, Arnhem, and Rotterdam, providing an accessible, registration-free space for music lovers aged 18-30 to connect through music.
• Art Root Women Weekly low-threshold music sessions for women at AZC Amsterdam Willinklaan, featuring singing, music-making, dancing, yoga, breathing exercises, and collaborative songwriting.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 16 countries of origin represented in the participant community
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered founding, minor and core.

• De Nederlandse Fluit AcademiefoundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Co-founded the pilot Intensive program in summer 2017 at Akoesticum. De Nederlandse Fluit Academie (the Dutch Flute Academy) provided artistic expertise and institutional backing for the founding of Art Root Collective. The collaboration produced the organization's first public concert at the Grachtenfestival.
• Stichting de VrolijkheidfoundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Co-founded the pilot Intensive program in summer 2017 as part of the founding collaboration that gave rise to Art Root Collective. Stichting de Vrolijkheid (Foundation for Joy/Cheerfulness) works at the intersection of art and social impact.
• Geerte de Koe, Maaike van der Linde, Kay Ramati (Founding Workshopleiders)foundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Three individual workshopleiders (Geerte de Koe, Maaike van der Linde, and Kay Ramati) co-designed and delivered the 2017 pilot Intensive. They continued to build the organization, with Geerte and Maaike now serving as Artistic Directors. These individuals are now core team members of Art Root Collective.
• Sponsor/Partner Logos (unnamed)minorOthersThe website displays a 'Gesponsord door' (Sponsored by) section and an 'Onze partners' (Our partners) section with multiple logo images. The names of these sponsors/partners are not provided in the website text. Annual reports (2022, 2023, 2024) are referenced and available for download.
• AZC Amsterdam WillinklaancoreOthersArt Root Women runs weekly sessions at the AZC Amsterdam Willinklaan Music Room. This is an ongoing operational partnership delivering Art Root programs directly to women asylum seekers at the center.
• AZC ApeldoorncoreOthersArt Root Circle participants conduct their 4-day workshop project at AZC Apeldoorn as part of the leadership training program. An Art Root Next photography project was also initiated at this center.
• AZC ArnhemcoreOthersArt Root Circle conducted its 4-day workshop project at AZC Arnhem in November 2023. The center serves as a key site for hands-on leadership training delivery.
• Tolhuistuin (Amsterdam)minorOthersTolhuistuin is the regular venue for Art Root Open monthly jam sessions in Amsterdam. It is a community cultural venue on the north side of Amsterdam (Tolhuisweg 3).
• De Transformatie (Arnhem)minorOthersDe Transformatie in Arnhem is listed as a regular venue for Art Root Open monthly sessions alongside Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
• Buurthuis De Gasterije (Gasteren)minorOthersThe annual Art Root Intensive is hosted at community center 'De Gasterije' in Gasteren, Drenthe. The village of Gasteren (literally 'Gast Eren' — to honor guests) has embraced the program, with local residents cooking for participants and attending concerts.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Brass for Africa: Uses brass-band music education for psychosocial support and youth development in African communities. Comparable music-as-social-development methodology and emerging-leader progression, but different geographic focus and beneficiary population.
• Playing for Change: Global movement connecting musicians across cultures through collaborative recordings and performances, with significant refugee/newcomer involvement. Shared cross-cultural music-creation thesis and global brand presence, but oriented to broadcast/content rather than on-the-ground workshop delivery.

Direct peers

• Musicians without Borders: International non-profit using music-making with refugees and conflict-affected communities to build connection. Direct peer: same "music + newcomer integration" model, similar workshop and leader-training approach, but larger geographic footprint (MENA, Africa, Europe).
• De Nederlandse Fluit Academie: Art Root Collective's Dutch founding partner (2017 pilot); a music-education institution providing high-level flute training. Directly comparable on artistic-pedagogy expertise, with shared institutional origins through Geerte de Koe and Maaike van der Linde.
• Sound Connections: UK charity supporting diverse music-making for social change, with a focus on supporting practitioners working with marginalized young Londoners. Comparable community-music workshop and facilitator-development focus.
• Stichting de Vrolijkheid: Art Root Collective's Dutch founding partner; runs arts and creative activities for refugees and asylum seekers at AZCs across the Netherlands. Same beneficiary population, similar artistic-activities methodology, directly comparable delivery sites.
• Music in Detention: UK charity running music workshops in immigration-removal settings and for people in asylum accommodation. Highly comparable beneficiary population and creative-music workshop methodology, with similar on-site delivery at institutional partner locations.

Regional players

• Pharos: Dutch knowledge center focused on health disparities and refugee/newcomer integration, commissioning arts-based interventions. Overlaps on beneficiary population and Dutch institutional funding channels, but Pharos operates as funder/research hub rather than direct delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Big Noise (Sistema Scotland): Large-scale social-impact orchestral program for children in disadvantaged Scottish communities (Raploch, Govan, Dundee, Aberdeen). Same "music as social transformation" thesis but at much greater scale and longer-running, with intensive in-school delivery rather than workshop/retreat model.
• The Yehudi Menuhin Foundation: International foundation promoting access to music for social cohesion, particularly for children in challenging circumstances. Wider portfolio across many countries and broader social-impact remit, but overlapping mission of using music as a tool for integration and equity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCn64ByYffG2tEklmXpCHaIA
• Facebookfacebook.com/ArtRootCollective
• Instagraminstagram.com/art_root_collective
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/art-root-collective

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Art Root Collective