Festival Cement
Festival Cement is a Dutch non-profit foundation (Stichting Cement) that runs an annual one-week theatre festival in 's-Hertogenbosch each March, showcasing approximately 20 emerging theatre makers from the Netherlands and Flanders, supported by a professional context programme, residencies, and public subsidies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- Headquarters's-hertogenbosch, Netherlands
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Festival Cement does
Festival Cement is a Dutch non-profit performing arts organization operating as Stichting Cement, founded in 2000 and based in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Its flagship product is an annual one-week theatre festival held each March since 2000, showcasing approximately 20 emerging theatre makers from the Netherlands and Flanders across multiple venues in Den Bosch, including Verkadefabriek, Theater Artemis, Circus Kapel, and Pand 18. The organization is led by artistic director Leonie Clement and program maker Kim Snauwaert, with a small team of 1-10 employees and a Raad van Toezicht (Supervisory Board).
The festival's revenue model is a hybrid of public subsidies and direct ticket revenue. Public funding comes from multi-year grants including municipal subsidy from Gemeente 's-Hertogenbosch (2025-2028) and Fonds Podiumkunsten, with previous support from Provincie Noord-Brabant. Direct revenue is generated through ticket sales (€12-€24 under a Pay What You Can model introduced in 2026), festival passes (€45 under 30, €80 regular), ticketed professional events (BLOK Cement €220, Dag Dramaturgie €15, Dag Scenografie €18-€24), and ancillary food (Bordje Cement €18). The festival participates in the Podiumpas national subscription scheme for free access.
Beyond annual performances, Festival Cement operates a structured portfolio of professional development products: a context programme (Contextprogramma) for professionals and students, Broedplaats 's-Hertogenbosch (artist residency), De Schrijversstudio (writing workshop for emerging writers), Makers Monday (networking support), and Consultatiebureau De Badkuip (research collaboration with Zuyd Hogeschool). The festival maintains extensive co-production and venue partnerships with Parktheater Eindhoven, KAAP, C-mine, Monty, KWP Kunstenwerkplaats, and Theater Rotterdam Productiehuis. Distribution relies on the festival's own website, newsletter, and Substack for audience acquisition, with significant earned media coverage from NRC, de Volkskrant, and Theaterkrant.
Festival Cement firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Festival Cement
- Legal name
- Stichting Cement
- Website
- https://festivalcement.nl
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Festival Cement is a Dutch non-profit foundation (Stichting Cement) that runs an annual one-week theatre festival in 's-Hertogenbosch each March, showcasing approximately 20 emerging theatre makers from the Netherlands and Flanders, supported by a professional context programme, residencies, and public subsidies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Festival Cement industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Performing Arts Festival
- NAICS
- Musical Groups and Artists (71113)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)
Keywords
Where Festival Cement is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- 's-hertogenbosch
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Festival Cement business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Ticket sales: The festival sells individual performance tickets and festival passes to general audiences and professionals. From 2026, all tickets operate on a 'Pay What You Can' model where visitors choose between reduced (€12), standard (€18 recommended), or premium (€24) price points.
- Festival passes: Festival passes are sold at tiered prices: €45 for visitors aged 29 and under, €80 for regular adult passes. These provide discounted access to the full festival programme.
- Context programme and professional events: Contextual programming elements such as Dag Dramaturgie (€15), Dag Scenografie (€24 regular / €18 under 30), and BLOK Cement (€220) are ticketed separately.
- Bordje Cement (food): Pre-sold vegetarian/vegan meal at €18, served at the festival heart before performances, generating ancillary revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | Pay-as-you-go | Pay What You Can - Reduced rate |
| Hybrid | Pay-as-you-go | Pay What You Can - Standard rate |
| Hybrid | Pay-as-you-go | Pay What You Can - Premium rate |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Festival Pass - Under 30 |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Festival Pass - Regular |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Festival Cement product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Festival Cement is an annual performing arts festival held for over a week each March in 's-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch), Netherlands, showcasing approximately 20 emerging theater makers from the Netherlands and Flanders through performances, installations, and public space interventions across multiple local venues. Beyond the festival, Stichting Cement operates a year-round context programme of ticketed professional and student events (Dag Dramaturgie, Dag Scenografie, Dag Compositie, BLOK Cement, Consultatiebureau De Badkuip, De Schrijversstudio), the Broedplaats 's-Hertogenbosch artist residency, and the Makers Monday maker support program.
Product overview
Festival Cement is an annual theater festival in Den Bosch, Netherlands that operates as a platform showcasing emerging theater makers from the Netherlands and Flanders. The core offering is the annual festival held in March, featuring approximately 20 young makers presenting performances, installations, and public space interventions. The festival is supplemented by a comprehensive context program (Contextprogramma) that includes specialized professional days such as Dag Dramaturgie, Dag Scenografie, and Dag Compositie, as well as BLOK Cement for art students and Consultatiebureau De Badkuip for one-on-one reflection. Additional offerings include De Schrijversstudio for emerging writers, WHAT THE FUCK IS FAIR discussions on fair practice, Broedplaats residency for artistic research, and Makers Monday networking support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Festival Cement (annual festival) Annual performing arts festival in 's-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) showcasing approximately 20 emerging theater makers from the Netherlands and Flanders through performances, installations, and public space interventions over one week in March, aimed at general audiences, professionals, and students.
- Contextprogramma Ticketed context programme for professionals, students, and enthusiasts offering specialised days focused on dramaturgy, scenography, and composition alongside discussions, knowledge sharing, and networking opportunities.
- BLOK Cement
- Consultatiebureau De Badkuip
- Dag Dramaturgie
- Dag Scenografie
- Dag Compositie
- WHAT THE FUCK IS FAIR
- De Schrijversstudio
- Broedplaats 's-Hertogenbosch
- Makers Monday
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 500 makers have performed at the festival across 25+ years of editions.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Festival Cement
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Festival Cement technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Festival Cement partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Podium BlooscorePodium Bloos is a key venue and residency partner in Den Bosch. Frederico Araujo and Augusto Pedraza conducted a three-week residency at Podium Bloos as part of their artistic research into migration. Podium Bloos also supports Tabooboo (mentioned in credits) and is a co-producer of STEL's performances.
- Parktheater EindhovencoreParktheater Eindhoven collaborated with Podium Bloos and Broedplaats Den Bosch to host the three-week residency of Frederico Araujo and Augusto Pedraza exploring migration through artistic practice.
- Broedplaats Den BoschcoreBroedplaats Den Bosch (located at Pand 18) is a residency space where Frederico Araujo and Augusto Pedraza conducted their three-week residency. The Broedplaats also supported Marieke Heerema's preliminary research for 'Born For Nothing' in 2024.
- Theater ArtemiscoreTheater Artemis is one of the primary performance venues for Festival Cement, hosting productions in both its Theaterzaal and Studio spaces.
- VerkadefabriekcoreThe Verkadefabriek is the main festival hub, hosting the largest performance spaces (Grote Zaal, Matzer, Studio, Kleine zaal, Clubzaal, Festivalhart, Atelier) as well as Bordje Cement dining.
- Circus KapelminorCircus Kapel serves as a venue for Festival Cement performances.
- Pand 18corePand 18 (Stichting Broedplaats) serves as both an office location for Festival Cement and a performance venue, hosting Zaal and Studio spaces.
- KAAPminorKAAP is a co-producer of Anne-Laure Vandeputte's 'My Body as a Commodity', alongside C-mine, Monty, and KWP Kunstenwerkplaats.
- C-mineminorC-mine is a co-producer of Anne-Laure Vandeputte's 'My Body as a Commodity'.
- MontyminorMonty is a co-producer of Anne-Laure Vandeputte's 'My Body as a Commodity' and also a co-producer of Lotte Boonstra's 'Eight (or maybe nine) universal truths about human nature'.
- KWP KunstenwerkplaatsminorKWP Kunstenwerkplaats is the production organisation for Anne-Laure Vandeputte's 'My Body as a Commodity' and a co-producer.
- Lectoraat What Art Knows (Zuyd Hogeschool)coreThe What Art Knows research group at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences co-produces 'Consultatiebureau De Badkuip' with Festival Cement, investigating the practice of programming and gatekeeping in the performing arts.
- Platform HorizonminorPlatform Horizon co-organises the 'WHAT THE FUCK IS FAIR' series with Festival Cement, exploring fair payment and alternative economies in the theatre field, with ENT as co-organiser.
- PLAN BrabantcorePLAN Brabant is a talent development programme for performing arts makers in North Brabant. Multiple Festival Cement makers are PLAN makers (STEL since 2025, Lotte Boonstra 2025-2027, Heintz & Kop, Tabooboo). PLAN supports productions and provides resources for makers.
- PodiumpasminorPodiumpas is a Dutch performing arts subscription scheme (€38.50/month) that allows holders to attend performances at participating venues including Festival Cement for free.
- Theater Rotterdam ProductiehuisminorTheater Rotterdam Productiehuis is a co-producer of Fariborz Karimi's 'Whispered Dreams', alongside the 0090 platform.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Festival Cement competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Holland Festival: Premier international performing arts festival in Amsterdam with a much broader scale and scope. Comparable as a curated Dutch performing arts festival drawing critical press, but positioned as a broad incumbent rather than an emerging-talent platform.
Direct peers
- Oerol Festival: Annual site-specific performing arts festival on Terschelling featuring theatre, dance, and performance in outdoor and unusual locations. Comparable as a Dutch-language, curated multi-venue festival for new and experimental work, though at significantly larger scale and longer duration.
- CAÇA Festival: Performing arts festival in the Netherlands focused on emerging international and Dutch makers with strong production support. Comparable in mission (launching emerging makers) and in providing co-production and residency pathways similar to Broedplaats.
- Amsterdam Fringe Festival: Annual festival in Amsterdam focused on experimental and emerging performing arts makers. Closely comparable in mission (platform for emerging talent) and format (curated multi-venue showcase with awards), and an existing partner/feeder for Festival Cement makers (e.g., International Bursary Award).
- SPRING Festival Utrecht: Performing arts festival in Utrecht presenting contemporary theatre, dance, and performance by emerging and established makers. Comparable in target audience (performing arts professionals and curious public) and in providing a curated platform for new work, although more dance-focused.
- Karavaan Festival: Amsterdam-based festival presenting young makers at the intersection of theatre, performance, and visual arts. Comparable in targeting emerging talent with a multi-venue, multi-disciplinary format and a similar young-maker curatorial mission.
- Theaterfestival Amsterdam: Annual Dutch-language theatre festival showcasing the season's most notable productions, with a strong focus on Dutch and Flemish makers. Comparable as a curated showcase platform for theatre makers, though oriented toward established rather than exclusively emerging work.
- Boulevard Festival 's-Hertogenbosch: Annual performing arts festival in 's-Hertogenbosch featuring theatre, dance, and music across multiple city venues. Directly comparable as a multi-venue performing arts festival in the same city, competing for the same local audience, venues, and municipal funding pool.
Regional players
- De Parade: Travelling Dutch performing arts festival presenting theatre, dance, and cabaret across multiple cities. Comparable as a multi-venue Dutch performing arts festival aimed at broad audiences, though with a more mainstream programming profile and a touring rather than fixed-city model.
Others
- Fonds Podiumkunsten: National Dutch public fund providing multi-year grants to performing arts organisations and individual makers. Listed as a peer because it is a key funding partner of Festival Cement, shapes the funding environment, and supports comparable festivals and makers.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Festival Cement social profiles
Digital presenceFestival Cement compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Festival Cement financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Festival Cement leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Festival Cement funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Festival Cement M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Festival Cement
What does Festival Cement do?
Festival Cement is an annual performing arts festival held for over a week each March in 's-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch), Netherlands, showcasing approximately 20 emerging theater makers from the Netherlands and Flanders through performances, installations, and public space interventions across multiple local venues. Beyond the festival, Stichting Cement operates a year-round context programme of ticketed professional and student events (Dag Dramaturgie, Dag Scenografie, Dag Compositie, BLOK Cement, Consultatiebureau De Badkuip, De Schrijversstudio), the Broedplaats 's-Hertogenbosch artist residency, and the Makers Monday maker support program.
Is Festival Cement a public or private company?
Festival Cement is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Festival Cement founded?
Festival Cement was founded in 2000. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Festival Cement based?
Festival Cement is headquartered in 's-hertogenbosch, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Festival Cement make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Ticket sales are the primary driver. The others are festival passes, context programme and professional events and bordje Cement (food).
Who are Festival Cement's main competitors?
Holland Festival is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are Oerol Festival, CAÇA Festival, Amsterdam Fringe Festival, SPRING Festival Utrecht, Karavaan Festival, Theaterfestival Amsterdam and Boulevard Festival 's-Hertogenbosch. De Parade is listed as a regional player. Fonds Podiumkunsten is listed as an others.
Does Festival Cement have an API?
No public API is recorded for Festival Cement.
What industry is Festival Cement in?
Festival Cement's product category is Performing Arts Festival. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGAEAG, Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks). Its NAICS code is 71113 and its SIC code is 7900.