Dear relation,
The MOB complex, our home base and creative core in Tilburg, will disappear for us after 2025. Without this place, we cannot survive. Therefore, we make an urgent appeal: support us and help preserve this cultural breeding ground for Tilburg and the province.
Since our start in 2013, Draaimolen has grown into a leading international platform for electronic music, visual arts, nature and social reflection. We work completely independently, without sponsors or investors, but with a team that lovingly and passionately tries to make the impossible possible, which is rare in our field. We create space for experimentation and innovation and have become an example for other festivals worldwide. Visitors and press underline this time and time again; Draaimolen is a unique phenomenon that touches and inspires people. As one regular visitor aptly put it:
‘Draaimolen is not a festival, it is a visionary work of art in motion.’
Every year, we welcome 26,000 visitors from more than 30 countries. International media like MixMag, Indie Magazine and 3voor12 call us one of the cultural crown jewels of the Netherlands. And not without reason. 70% of our line-up consists of emerging talent; artists and makers who get their first big stage at Draaimolen, often resulting in international breakthroughs. At the same time, we offer established names room to take risks and experiment. That combination is rare and widely recognised. As MixMag wrote:
“At Draaimolen, there’s always an element of surprise… It encourages people to scratch beneath the surface. Who knows what wonderful things you will find.”
But our impact extends beyond culture alone. Draaimolen provides a direct economic boost to Tilburg and the surrounding area. More than a quarter of our visitors travel from abroad, stay at our campsite or local hotels, and contribute to Tilburg’s image as a progressive cultural city. We work with dozens of local suppliers and build our festival socially, sustainably and with a keen eye for the environment.
Precisely that environment, the MOB complex, now forms the core of the threat. Since 2019 this has been our home base and it became inseparable from our identity. Our presence on this nature site gives a positive boost to local biodiversity; based on independent ecological research by Brabant Eco, we take targeted measures that strengthen biodiversity and improve the habitat for plants and animals. From the start, we have been working with municipal ecologists and independent agencies such as Tauw and Sweco. Their reports are clear: Draaimolen causes no damage, but actually increases the ecological value of the area. If we disappear, that positive boost also disappears. Yet we risk being denied access after 2025.
The end of Draaimolen also means the end of a cultural infrastructure that has been invested in for years, by Kunstloc, Gemeente Tilburg, Brabant C and Stimuleringsfonds. A place that launches young makers, strengthens Brabant’s cultural profile and puts Tilburg on the map internationally. Thanks to support from provincial funds, we have grown to economic independence. And just now, at the moment when that investment is proving its worth, Draaimolen is in danger of disappearing due to the lack of support from the same authorities.
This is why we appeal to you. As a partner in the cultural sector, you know what Draaimolen already means. With a stable future, we can put Tilburg stronger on the world map, deepen local collaborations and further grow the quality and professionalism of our breeding place. With your signature on our declaration of support, we show the province and municipality that Draaimolen should continue to exist.
