The trip has started. The first photo of the group, at the first meal in Sao Paulo. (Source:http://www.flickr.com/photos/willemvelthoven/3320696335/)

The Prince Claus Fund and the Mondriaan Foundation, both cultural organizations based in the Netherlands, have been organising orientation trips for art and design professionals to Asia, Latin America and Africa since 2004. The trips are aimed at exchange and cooperation between visual art and design professionals. This year, the trip will take place from 1 till 13 March. The group will visit museums, galleries and meet people active in the field of contemporary art in Brazil (Sao Paulo), Argentina (Buenos Aires) and Peru (Lima).

In Buenos Aires, Fundación Proa will host the participants in a private symposium, with special invitation of both Dutch foundations.

While the Mondriaan Foundation invites Dutch participants, the Prince Claus Fund invites international guests. Belgian Institute of Audiovisual and Media Art (BAM) invites Flemish art professionals and the Norwegian Organisation for Contemporary Art (OCA) asks art professionals from Norway to participate.

The goal of this orientation travel is to extend international networks and contacts, and to stimulate the international dialogue between art professionals. A selected number of institutions, such as galleries and museums will be visited. With this initiative, the organizations want to contribute to a quality intercultural dialogue, stimulating future exchanges between cultural institutions and individuals in different countries.

As organizsers explain, “The overall aims of the travels are to provide information about the contemporary arts scene in the visited countries; to contribute to a better / or / concrete understanding of cultural; to enable the interaction between professionals from cultural institutions in the Netherlands and cultural professionals in the visited cities; to create a (multi-disciplinary) network for future collaborations between all parties involved; to offer a platform for intercultural debate; to increase the level of dialogue and communication via future joint ventures”.

For more information: auditorio@proa.org
Official trip blog: http://orientationtrip2009.wordpress.com/

Tags: Encuentro de Curadores, Fundación Mondrian, Orientation Trip 2009