Frisse Start
Project
Frisse Start is a project and publication that aims to counter the media fatigue and bring attention back to the Toeslagenschandaal - a Dutch political scandal around the childcare benefits.
The project, initiated by Growing Pains and developed in collaboration with artists Batya Brown, and Nadine Stijns and a filmmaker and cultural producer Melissa Strangio aims to make the experiences and context of the Toeslagenschandaal accessible to a wider audience. It interweaves research, analysis, personal stories, conversations, and artistic reflection.
We recognize the need for a publicly accessible archive of cases and voices that are part of this story. Although its inner workings are complex and sometimes inscrutable to outsiders, a combination of visual research and an artistic approach to the subject can spark a discussion that appeals to a broader audience.
By placing the discriminatory practices of this specific scheme in their broader context, we show that this is not an isolated incident. Other current and future schemes, if they follow the same patterns, could lead to tragedies once again. Understanding the Toeslagenschandaal and similar forms of discrimination therefore goes beyond this single case. At the same time, it is crucial that, as we unravel these layers, we actively work toward alternative solutions and ways of living together that offer a more just and humane counterbalance to current political trends.
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Importance of collective practice
To address the Toeslagenschandaal in its complexity, we have come together as an editorial team of editors, curators, artists, and activists. Our group includes both people with a personal experience of the Toeslagenschandaal and those who work from an allyship position.
For some, artistic practice has always been a mode of addressing social and political issues; for others, it has emerged later and grown from their activism. There are migrant experiences and many different relationships with the bureaucratic systems and systemic violence. Many in our midst are parents themselves.
Our approach to knowledge production
Our practice and process are constantly developing through conversations and collaboration. And as we go, we try to record, note and archive this constant yet invisible abour of becoming and being a collective.
Having started our conversations in the final months of 2024, we are working together as a six-member temporary collective to produce the elements of the project: events (2026), workshops (2026), newspaper (2026), publication (2027) and its activation events. Yet, we do not view the 2027 publication date as the collective's expiration date. Various constellations of the collective will likely continue beyond 2027, meeting and working at varying densities.
In the projects we develop, word and image often play equal roles, and research and artistic practice coincide.
TitleFrisse Start title both subverts and references the name of the government scheme introduced to improve compensation efforts. While the scheme included the cancellation of government debts and a one-time payment of at least €30,000, its implementation has been widely criticized. Delays, complex and unclear procedures, and the reality that many affected individuals accumulated additional personal debts—left for them to resolve independently—have meant that the scheme has not lived up to its name.
The act of title appropriation is a gesture that points out the contradictions between the legal language used to assess state dominance and power in conversations with affected families, the opacity of the procedure, and the lightness of the title given to the regulation that failed to address the reality and scale of harm and debt it has caused.
Yet, while the word ‘start’ may suggest forgetting the past and starting anew (how is that even possible? we ask ourselves) the word ‘fresh’ still holds a glimse of hope. It is to that hope that we want to hold on to, as we work towards change. Not through forgetting or erasure, but through recognition and reparations that bring real change.
Frisse Start is a project and publication that aims to counter the media fatigue and bring attention back to the Toeslagenschandaal - a Dutch political scandal around the childcare benefits.
The project, initiated by Growing Pains and developed in collaboration with artists Batya Brown, and Nadine Stijns and a filmmaker and cultural producer Melissa Strangio aims to make the experiences and context of the Toeslagenschandaal accessible to a wider audience. It interweaves research, analysis, personal stories, conversations, and artistic reflection.
We recognize the need for a publicly accessible archive of cases and voices that are part of this story. Although its inner workings are complex and sometimes inscrutable to outsiders, a combination of visual research and an artistic approach to the subject can spark a discussion that appeals to a broader audience.
By placing the discriminatory practices of this specific scheme in their broader context, we show that this is not an isolated incident. Other current and future schemes, if they follow the same patterns, could lead to tragedies once again. Understanding the Toeslagenschandaal and similar forms of discrimination therefore goes beyond this single case. At the same time, it is crucial that, as we unravel these layers, we actively work toward alternative solutions and ways of living together that offer a more just and humane counterbalance to current political trends.
Importance of collective practice
To address the Toeslagenschandaal in its complexity, we have come together as an editorial team of editors, curators, artists, and activists. Our group includes both people with a personal experience of the Toeslagenschandaal and those who work from an allyship position.
For some, artistic practice has always been a mode of addressing social and political issues; for others, it has emerged later and grown from their activism. There are migrant experiences and many different relationships with the bureaucratic systems and systemic violence. Many in our midst are parents themselves.
Our approach to knowledge production
Our practice and process are constantly developing through conversations and collaboration. And as we go, we try to record, note and archive this constant yet invisible abour of becoming and being a collective.
Having started our conversations in the final months of 2024, we are working together as a six-member temporary collective to produce the elements of the project: events (2026), workshops (2026), newspaper (2026), publication (2027) and its activation events. Yet, we do not view the 2027 publication date as the collective's expiration date. Various constellations of the collective will likely continue beyond 2027, meeting and working at varying densities.
In the projects we develop, word and image often play equal roles, and research and artistic practice coincide.
TitleFrisse Start title both subverts and references the name of the government scheme introduced to improve compensation efforts. While the scheme included the cancellation of government debts and a one-time payment of at least €30,000, its implementation has been widely criticized. Delays, complex and unclear procedures, and the reality that many affected individuals accumulated additional personal debts—left for them to resolve independently—have meant that the scheme has not lived up to its name.
The act of title appropriation is a gesture that points out the contradictions between the legal language used to assess state dominance and power in conversations with affected families, the opacity of the procedure, and the lightness of the title given to the regulation that failed to address the reality and scale of harm and debt it has caused.
Yet, while the word ‘start’ may suggest forgetting the past and starting anew (how is that even possible? we ask ourselves) the word ‘fresh’ still holds a glimse of hope. It is to that hope that we want to hold on to, as we work towards change. Not through forgetting or erasure, but through recognition and reparations that bring real change.
Toeslagenschandaal
The Toeslagenschandaal is a Dutch political affair that arose from unfounded suspicions of fraud involving childcare benefits and a strict recovery policy by the central government. As a result, thousands of families were wrongfully accused and pushed into severe financial hardship, causing profound and lasting disruption to their lives and futures.
Despite the Tax and Customs Administration's long-standing denial of institutional racism, the affected parents share common characteristics: (1) the majority are women, (2) many of them are single parents, (3) many have a second nationality or a non-Dutch nationality or surname, and (4) they are often associated with low-income households. It has been found that discriminatory risk profiles are used, not only in the context of childcare allowances, but also in areas such as housing allowances, income tax, and various other government policies and departments.
Between 2004 and 2019, approximately 40,300 families and more than 70,000 children were affected. Many were driven into debt and poverty, losing their jobs, homes, and savings. Over 2,000 children were placed in foster care, often under circumstances that did not meet established standards for child welfare and safety.
After the Toeslagenschandaal became public, various reports were drawn up, published, and shared with the media and politicians; a minister resigned, and the cabinet (Rutte III) fell over its handling of the affair. Despite all the information made public by the whistleblower and the many journalistic investigations, the government continues to deny any allegations of ethnic profiling. Without such an admission, however, there is no guarantee that its other services are truly social and non-discriminatory.
Young people from families affected by the Toeslagenschandaal often remain invisible and unheard. Many were compelled to grow up quickly, taking supportive roles within their households through extremely difficult times. By failing to safeguard the welfare of these children, the state has neglected its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). This neglect further underscores the systemic failures that have compounded the trauma experienced by affected families. Despite the enormous impact the scandal has had on their lives, their voices and perspectives are largely absent from public debate.
The Toeslagenschandaal is a Dutch political affair that arose from unfounded suspicions of fraud involving childcare benefits and a strict recovery policy by the central government. As a result, thousands of families were wrongfully accused and pushed into severe financial hardship, causing profound and lasting disruption to their lives and futures.
Despite the Tax and Customs Administration's long-standing denial of institutional racism, the affected parents share common characteristics: (1) the majority are women, (2) many of them are single parents, (3) many have a second nationality or a non-Dutch nationality or surname, and (4) they are often associated with low-income households. It has been found that discriminatory risk profiles are used, not only in the context of childcare allowances, but also in areas such as housing allowances, income tax, and various other government policies and departments.
Between 2004 and 2019, approximately 40,300 families and more than 70,000 children were affected. Many were driven into debt and poverty, losing their jobs, homes, and savings. Over 2,000 children were placed in foster care, often under circumstances that did not meet established standards for child welfare and safety.
After the Toeslagenschandaal became public, various reports were drawn up, published, and shared with the media and politicians; a minister resigned, and the cabinet (Rutte III) fell over its handling of the affair. Despite all the information made public by the whistleblower and the many journalistic investigations, the government continues to deny any allegations of ethnic profiling. Without such an admission, however, there is no guarantee that its other services are truly social and non-discriminatory.
Young people from families affected by the Toeslagenschandaal often remain invisible and unheard. Many were compelled to grow up quickly, taking supportive roles within their households through extremely difficult times. By failing to safeguard the welfare of these children, the state has neglected its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). This neglect further underscores the systemic failures that have compounded the trauma experienced by affected families. Despite the enormous impact the scandal has had on their lives, their voices and perspectives are largely absent from public debate.
