Additional Biographies - Prince Claus Fund

This Booklet includes the Background Information of the
2011 Cultural Speed Date Participants. These are organized
by discipline in the following order:
Archeology & Design
Cultural Heritage
Film
Literature
Performing Arts
Photography
Visual Arts
Additional Biographies that were submitted at a later date
are also included at the end of the document.

Architecture & Design

Architecture & Design
Tevfik Balcioglu, Architecture Faculty Member at Yasar University, Izmir, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Tevfik Balcioglu is a member of Faculty of Architecture at Yasar University in Izmir, Turkey,
and responsible for the establishment of a design and research centre. He has studied architecture at
Middle East Technical University (1970-6) and completed a PhD on Design Historiography (1993).
He attended the Royal College of Art (1989-90), and has taught at Goldsmiths’ College (1991) and
Kent Institute of Art & Design (1992-2002), UK, where he established and ran the BA (Hons) 3DD
course. Balcioglu moved into Izmir in 2003 and established a brand new faculty, Faculty of Fine Arts
and Design at Izmir University of Economics and directed it as its founding dean until September
2011.
He has organised international conferences and edited several books, including The Role of Product
Design in Post-Industrial Society, and Dancing with Disorder: Design, Discourse, Disaster and has edited a
special issue of Design Journal entitled: A Glance at Design Discourse in Turkey. He is the founder of the
‘Design History Society, Turkey’ (4T: Türkiye Tasarım Tarihi Topluluğu) and its annual 4T
conferences of which proceedings have been published since 2005. He was a columnist for a Turkish
design journal, XXI Architecture, Design and Space and had published essays regularly. Balcioglu is a
member of the European Academy of Design and International Committee for Design History and Design
Studies (ICDHS).
Salma Samar Damluji, Initiator of Cultural Emergency Response programmes, London,
UK & Beirut, Lebanon
Salma is a graduate of the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London (1977) and the
Royal College of Art, London (1987). After that, she worked with Egyptian Architect Hasan Fathy in
Cairo between 1974 and 1975, and from1983 to1984. She did a research Fellowship at the Royal
College of Art in London (1987-1989) and was tutor in the Visual Islamic and Traditional Arts (VITA)
from 1989 to1994. She also was coordinator of the RCA Morocco-Asilah Studios (1994-1996) and
from 1989 to1997 she was senior Tutor at The Architectural Association School of Architecture, in
the Housing & Urbanism department, Graduate School. She was also curator of a number of
exhibitions in London.
She was Advisor to the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Works Department from 2001-2004, and
Director of the Technical Office. During this period, she was responsible for key architectural and
building projects in Abu Dhabi and for inviting international architects and artists to work there
(including Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel, Herzog de Meuron, Paul Andreu, Dale Chihuly, Marc Quinn and
James Turrell).
Since 2005 she has been working on Masna‘at Daw‘an, an architectural rehabilitation site, in
Hadramut, Yemen. She is Chief Architect and founding member of Daw‘an Mud Brick Architecture
Foundation, with its main office set up in Mukalla in 2007. She was partner with the Cultural
Emergency Response and the Prince Claus Fund, in 2007 and more recently (2008-2010) on several
emergency rescue project sites at Masna‘t ‘Urah in Daw‘an and in Sah and ‘Aynat in Wadi Hadramut.
She lives between London and Beirut and spends considerable time travelling.

Emory Douglas, Former Revolutionary Artist of the Black Panther Party, USA
Graphic designer Emory Douglas (USA, 1943) was the Revolutionary Artist of the Black Panther
Party and subsequently became its Minister of Culture (BPP). He created the overall design of the
Black Panther, the Party’s weekly newspaper, and oversaw its layout and production until the Black
Panthers disbanded in 1979–80. His powerful visual language added an important contribution to the
BPP's emancipation of the black community in the US, suffering from poverty, a barbaric police force
and generally poor living conditions. Throughout the ’60s and ’70s, Douglas made countless
artworks, illustrations, and cartoons, which were reproduced in the paper and distributed as prints,
posters, cards, and even sculptures. All of them utilized a straightforward graphic style and a
vocabulary of images that would become synonymous with the Party and the issues it fought for. His
use of thick black lines, collage techniques and the combination of colours and texture are
characteristic for his work.
José Forjaz, Architect and Lecturer, Mozambique
Born in 1936 in Coimbra, Portugal, Jose Forjaz emigrated to Mozambique, with his parents, in 1952,
where he finished secondary school. In 1954 he returned to Portugal to study architecture at the
Fine Arts School of Porto, Portugal, graduating in 1966, after four years of military service, part of
which in Mozambique.
After obtaining a Master Degree in Architectural Science from Columbia University in New York,
returned to África, in 1968, establishing an office in Mababane , Swaziland, where he produced many
urban design schemes, architectural projects and furniture design, until returning to Mozambique, in
1974, called by the revolutionary government to contribute to the reconstruction of the country
after the colonial liberation war.
In Mozambique Forjaz was appointed National Director of Housing, in the Ministry of Public Works
and Housing, and then Secretary of State for Physical Planning with the responsibility of establishing
the basis for the regional and urban planning systems for the country, and was a member of
Parliament from 1977 to 1986. At the same time Forjaz established the training mechanisms and
curricula for the spatial and the architectural disciplines in the country and became director of the
Faculty of Architecture and Physical Planning, which he organised with the assistance of the
University of Rome La Sapienza, and directed until 2009.
Having left governmental duties in 1986, Forjaz was invited as guest lecturer in different universities
(Rome La Sapienza, Venice IUAV, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, University of California
in San Diego, University of Cape Town in South Africa) and lectured in different countries in Africa,
North and South America, Europe and Asia where he had exhibitions and published his design work
and written essays.
His professional activity spans from being a Public Works Department draughtsman in 1954 to the
present, without interruption.
Forjaz is an Honorary Member of the Portuguese Order of Architects, a founding member of the
Mozambique association of architects (Arquitrave) and has received several decorations and
international and national prizes for his work.

Agata Jaworska, Freelancer with Droog Design, The Netherlands
Polish born, Canadian-raised and now Amsterdam based, Agata Jaworska (1979) is freelance content
and project manager at Dutch design company Droog. With close contact with cofounder and
director Renny Ramakers, Agata is leading the Droog Lab series of eight projects (2009-2012). She
has a Bachelor of Interior Design (Ryerson University, Toronto, 2002) and a Master in Design
(Design Academy Eindhoven, The Netherlands 2007). Agata has been awarded nr. 34 best invention
for her ‘Made in Transit’ concept by TIME Magazine in 2008 and Best of Canada for her design of the
official chair of Ryerson University in 2003.
http://agatajaworska.withtank.com/
Diana Krabbendam, Social Designer and Cultural Entrepreneur, Amsterdam, The
Netherlands
Diana Krabbendam is a social designer and cultural entrepreneur based in Amsterdam. She worked
as a designer and creative director for profit and non-profit clients, was international design director
at Randstad, editor-in-chief at design magazine Items.
In 2006 she was co-founder of The Beach, network organisation for creative innovation. With The
Beach core team – and people and organisations from their (international) network – she initiates,
develops and conducts projects that connect design thinking and social innovation. Next to
reflections and research on (international) social design practice, activities of The Beach strongly
focus on social design in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Current topics are (hyper)crafts and agri/culture.
Since 2009 Diana is also partner in PlayReal, a gaming environment for social innovation. She is a
member of the Creative Board of Executive Master in Information Management of the University of
Amsterdam and boardmember of Urbaniahoeve, organization for social design and urban agriculture.
Julie Lasky, Editor of the Change Observer, USA
Julie Lasky contributes to Design Observer, a website about design and visual culture and is editor of
its Change Observer channel devoted to design and social innovation. Prior to that she was editorin-chief
of the magazines I.D. (International Design) and Interiors and managing editor of the graphic
design bimonthly Print. A widely published journalist and critic, she has written for the New York
Times, Metropolis, Dwell, Architecture, Slate, Surface, The National Scholar, and NPR.
Lasky is the author of three books: Borrowed Design: Use and Abuse of Historical Form (written
with Steven Heller), Some People Can't Surf: The Graphic Design of Art Chantry, and Bespoke: The
Handbuilt Bicycle. She has also contributed to books published by Monacelli, Phaidon, Princeton
Architectural Press, Thames & Hudson, and Yale University Press. Honors include a National Arts
Journalism Program Fellowship at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and
the Richard J. Margolis award for writings on the cultural life of postwar Sarajevo. She is a member of
the exhibitions committee of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and an instructor in the
MFA design criticism program at New York’s School of Visual Arts.
Change Observer is a channel of Design Observer (www.designobserver.com) devoted to the many
dimensions of design for social innovation, developed by Winterhouse Institute with support from
Rockefeller Foundation. It provides timely information about design strategies aimed globally at
improving health, education, housing, and the environment, and features reportage, interviews,
opinion pieces, book and exhibition reviews, a photo gallery, and a resource center compiling

Julie Lasky, Editor of the Change Observer, USA (con’t)
information about key organizations and events. Change Observer not only identifies important
people and projects related to design for social change; it also assesses their effectiveness through
investigative reports by renowned journalists.
www.designobserver.com
Chris Luth, Curator of International Projects at the Netherlands Architecture Institute
(NAI), The Netherlands
Chris Luth is the Curator of International Projects at the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI).
As such, he is responsible for the international Debates on Tour programme, in which Dutch speakers
join in debate with their local counterparts abroad. He also curates lectures and debates in the NAI
in Rotterdam and is secretary for the Jaap Bakema Fellowship.
Apart from studying business administration at the University of Groningen and philosophy at the
Erasmus University of Rotterdam, Chris studied architecture at the Escola Tècnica Superior
d’Arquitectura de Barcelona and Delft University of Technology, where he graduated in 2004.
Having worked at Mecanoo Architects, Mei Architecten en stedenbouwers and Claus en Kaan
Architecten, he had his own office from 2008 to 2010.
Chris was granted various awards, including the 1 st prize for Europan 8, the 2 nd prize for
Unorthodocks Rotterdam, a stipend from the Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and
Architecture, and a special nomination for the Nationale Staalbouwprijs for a pedestrian bridge in
2000.
Chris’s work and contributions have been published in Filosofie Magazine, Antipode – A Radical
Journal of Geography, RTV Rijnmond, resonancefm.com, the Rotterdams Dagblad, and Bouwen met
Staal. He is currently part of the editorial team of the forthcoming December issue of A+U
Architecture and Urbanism (Japan) about Architecture in the Netherlands 2000 – 2011.
Chris is fascinated with how cities are produced, and how designers can contribute to more
beautiful, equitable, and ecologically and economically sustainable spaces.
David Mohney, Professor of Architecture in the College of Design, USA
David Mohney is a Professor of Architecture in the College of Design. He served as Dean of the
College from 1994-2007. Mohney has also taught at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies
in New York City, the Graduate School of Design at Harvard, and SCI-Arc in Los Angeles. He was
educated at Cranbrook School in Michigan, Harvard College and Princeton’s School of Architecture.
As a practicing architect, Mohney has designed projects for clients such as SPY Magazine in New York
City and the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey.
Mohney is the co-author of three books: Seaside: Making a Town in America; The Houses of Philip
Johnson, and The Louisville Architecture Guide. Seaside was awarded a Citation for Excellence in
International Book Publishing by the American Institute of Architects. He is presently working on a
book on contemporary design In Rotterdam, with support from the Graham Foundation and the
Sutherland Foundation. He has also curated and contributed to exhibitions in Rotterdam, New York,
and Louisville.

David Mohney, Professor of Architecture in the College of Design, USA (con’t)
Mohney was the Founding Secretary of the Curry Stone Design Prize, a global award for design ideas
that promote a better world.
Chee Pearlman, Design Journalist for and Director of Chee Company, New York, USA
Chee Pearlman is a design journalist and the director of Chee Company, based in New York. She
produces conferences, film, and programming on design issues, and is currently working on a
conference in Detroit called "Urban Craft: Solutions from the Edge." Chee is the Curator of the
Curry Stone Design Prize and a 2011 Loeb Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Design as well as
the former Editor-in-Chief of I.D. Magazine.
Carolien Glazenburg, Curator of Graphic Design at the Stedelijk Museum, The
Netherlands
Carolien Glazenburg (1953) is at the Stedelijk Museum since 1976. Originally educated as a publisher
she came to the Stedelijk to re-organize the book collection in the department of Applied Art. She
studied art history while working as assistant curator. Since 2002 she is the curator of graphic design.
Her main task during the past years that the Stedelijk Museum was not open to the public, was to
disclose and reorganize the voluminous collection of graphic design (70.000 items).
She organized exhibitions on Jan Bons, Walter Nikkels, Werkplaats Nieuwe Typografie, Michel
Quarez, Erasmusprice winner Pierre Bernard. Willem Sandberg in Paris and Wim Crouwel in the Van
Abbemuseum and in The Stedelijk Museum etc.
She was on many jury’s like the Dutch Theatre Poster Award, Chaumont Festival International du
Graphisme, Vlaamse Power of Print.
Floor van Ast, Project manager for The Netherlands Institute for Design and Fashion
(Premsela), The Netherlands
Floor van Ast (1983) works as a project manager for Premsela, The Netherlands Institute for Design
and Fashion. After graduating in 2006 from the Product Design department from Artez, Institute of
the Arts (Arnhem). Floor van Ast worked for Studio Marije Vogelzang, furniture company Arco and
interior design office Concern as project manager and junior designer. In 2011 she joined Premsela
and manages the Designhuis in Eindhoven. Premsela will programme exhibitions, workshops and
events at the Designhuis at least through 2012.
Richard van der Laken, Head of Designpolitie, Graphic designstudio, Amsterdam
Richard van der Laken was born in Amstelveen, The Netherlands, in 1970. He studied graphic design
at the School of Art Utrecht and did a post graduate at the Amsterdam Sandberg Institute. Since
1995 he has been running a design company with his creative partner Pepijn Zurburg, called De
Designpolitie (The Designpolice). Richard has been honoured with various grants from The
Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture (known in the Netherlands as
Fonds BKVB). It is the national body responsible for giving grants to individual visual artists, designers
and architects. Its objective is to nurture excellence in visual arts, design and architecture in the
Netherlands.

Richard van der Laken, Head of Designpolitie, Graphic designstudio, Amsterdam (con’t)
The Dutch graphic design studio Designpolitie is celebrated for its fresh, deceptively simple and direct
approach to graphic design, which often implements bright color and sans-serif typeface in a lively and
fun style. Among other projects, Designpolitie (“Designpolice”) is behind the review column ‘Gorilla’
in the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant and weekly magazine De Groene Amsterdammer, in which
the team reacts to current affairs with word-and-image graphics.
Their monograph ‘The ABC of De Designpolitie’ is an index of Designpolitie’s reflections on design,
catalogued in humorously alphabetical order (with failed projects filed under “Damn,” or an account of
their simplified methods under “Rocket Science”). More of a workbook, a process book or an
inspirational resource than a portfolio, The ABC collates Designpolitie projects (implemented and
otherwise), schemes, photographs, musings and articles in a style that is both serious and replete with
irony and self-mockery--a natural extension of the firm’s own ethos. Richard and Pepijn are also the
initiators, curators and designers of a new major international designconference about the impact of
design, called What Design Can Do.
As Designpolitie Richard and Pepijn exhibited in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Graphic
Design Museum Breda, the Design Museum London, the New York MOMA, the San Francisco
MOMA, Institut Neerlandais Paris, Brno Tsjechia and the Milan Triennale.They published their work in
numerous Dutch, European, American, Chinese and Japanese magazines and books. In November
2008 their monograph ‘The ABC of De Designpolitie’ came out.
www.designpolitie.nl
www.thedailygorilla.nl
www.whatdesigncando.nl
Vincent Wijlhuizen, General Manager for Casco, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Vincent Wijlhuizen started as a theatre maker, working in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and
Spain, with experience as director, producer and initiator of plays, musicals, modern dance and
comedy shows. He now works as general manager at Casco, Office for Art Design and Theory in
Utrecht.
Casco was founded in 1990 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, as a platform for experimental art. Since
1996, Casco has developed a critical programme that explores art in the public realm, questioning
the relation between art and its physical, social and political environment. Central to Casco's
approach has been openness and flexibility towards programming, with projects taking multiple
forms; be this in public space, a publication, a discussion, a workshop, exhibition, symposium or
event, always looking for local, national and international partnerships. Since 1996 Casco has also
sporadically published its own magazine, Casco Issues.
www.cascoprojects.org
Ikko Yokoyama, Head of exhibitions, Editions in Craft, Sweden
Born in Japan and now based in Stockholm, Sweden, Ikko Yokoyama is a curator, writer and
producer. She has founded and runs Editions in Craft, an international production platform for
design, art and craft together with Renée Padt. Editions in Craft’s current projects are collaboration

Ikko Yokoyama, Head of exhibitions, Editions in Craft, Sweden (con’t)
with South African rural craft community Siyazama Project. She is also currently head of exhibitions
at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. As a freelance curator she
has worked with institutions such as IASPIS, Liljevalchs Konsthall, 21_21 Design Sight, and the
Embassy of Sweden and is also a frequent contributor to Japanese art and design magazines. In 2009
she wrote a book about the legendary Swedish ceramic artist Lisa Larson, published by Pie Books in
Tokyo. She has started an independent publisher Tree Fruit Press aim to publish art books for
children together with Stockholm based art directors Andreas and Fredrika. Since 2008 she is a
board member of the Friends of Moderna Museet.
www.editionsincraft.com
www.konstfack.se
www.treefruitpress.com

Cultural Heritage

Cultural Heritage
André Alexander, Director of Tibet Heritage Fund, China
André Alexander is director of the Tibet Heritage Fund. The Tibet Heritage Fund (THF) is an
international non-profit organization committed to preservation of architectural heritage in general
and Tibetan heritage in particular, and to improvement of the lives of people living in traditional and
historic settlements through sustainable development. THF also promotes environmentally and
climate sensitive architecture.
Franz Xaver Augustin, Director Goethe-Institut Indonesia and Regional Director
Goethe-Institut SE-Asia/AUS/NZ, Indonesia
Franz Xaver Augustin began his academic career in History, Political Science and Romance Philology
in Freiburg (D), Grenoble (F) and Rome. In the early 1980s he worked as a Research Assistant at the
German Historical Institute in Rome. He also worked as a Lecturer for European Studies/University
of Chicago in Freiburg (D) from 1983-85. Since 1985 he has been involved with the Goethe Institut
in such locations as Madrid, Goettingen, South India, Berlin, and Vietnam. Since 2007 he has worked
as the Director Goethe-Institut Indonesia in Jakarta and is also the Regional Coordinator of the
Goethe Centres in SE-Asia, Australia and New Zealand. His main fields of interest include
Contemporary Dance, Music, Theatre, Documentary Film, Cultural capacity building in
Transformation Countries, and Reflecting political conflicts through cultural initiatives.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Producer and Journalist, Pakistan
An Emmy award winning film producer and journalist who has worked on 14 films for major
networks in the United States and Britain including CNN, PBS, Channel 4 (U.K.) CBC, Arte and the
Discovery channel. Amongst other honors, her work has earned her The Alfred I. Dupont Award,
The Livingston Award, The Overseas Press Club Award, The American Women in Radio and
Television Award, The One World Media Award and the Banff TV Rockie Award.
Sharmeen’s work has taken her to over ten countries around the world where amongst other things
she has worked with refugees, women’s advocate groups and human rights defenders. By bringing
their voices to the outside world, she has often helped them bring about a critical change in their
community. Born in Karachi, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy graduated from Smith College with a bachelor
of arts in economics and government and then went to complete two master’s degrees from
Stanford University in International Policy Studies and Communication. In 2007, after living outside of
Pakistan for more than a decade, Sharmeen helped found The Citizens Archive of Pakistan; a nonprofit,
volunteer organization formed to foster and promote community-wide interest in the culture
and history of Pakistan. At a time when Pakistan’s youth finds itself caught between religious and
state ideology, the organization works with thousands of underprivileged children inculcating critical
thinking skills and instilling a sense of pride in them about their history and identity.

Ganesh Devy, Founder of Bhasha Research and Publication Centre, India
Bhasha, which means ‘voice’ as well as ‘language’, was established by Ganesh Devy in 1996. The main
objective of the organization is to conserve languages, arts and culture of the indigenous communities
and nomadic communities in India. Bhasha has its well developed campus at the Adivasi Academy,
Tejgadh, with an open museum and resource centre. The organization is active in the fields of arts,
languages, healthcare, empowerment, human rights, education and theatre.
It provides education to indigenous communities from school to research degree level. At present,
Bhasha is engaged in carrying out a national survey of languages in India. India has approximately 900
living languages. Bhasha has initiated survey and documentation work so far in approximately 650
languages.
Bhasha Centre has received recognition as a Centre of Excellence from the Central Government of
India and as a Special Autonomous Centre from the National Open University.
Claude Iverné, Founder of Elnour, Sudan (see Additional Biographies for more)
Following my own works in Sudan since 1998, I founded "Elnour" (light in Arabic) with 16 Sudanese
photographers, diplomats and scientists. Elnour is a documentation desk about the country. Our
photographic fund, about 12 000 negatives & vintages prints from 1880 until know, is a unique, an
historical testimony of artistic rebirth of a people from its own culture. It is also a unique view of
one of the least known countries in the world, valued through exhibitions, publications &
conferences. Most of incomes pays the preservation of our vast archives, cleaning, chemical
stabilization of negatives and vintage prints, scans, captions and documentation. Students and
partners helped with the first steps through a number of exhibitions & publications.
elnour@elnour.net
www.elnour.net
Ana Piedad Restrepo Jaramillo, Museo de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
The Museo de Antioquia was established in 1881. It is located in the center of Medellín, one of the
most conflictual cities in the world, and in a country that has long been affected with armed conflict
and tremendous deficits in its development model.
In its 120 years of existence, the Museum has developed an extensive art collection that focuses on
Colombian history (from pre-Colombian to Contemporary art). However, the complex social,
political and economical reality has transformed the Museum into a cultural centre that focuses on
diverse artistic, cultural and social projects. Today, the Museum plays an active role in primarily
addressing issues related to marginalised segments of the communities surrounding Medellín and its
region. It has made the active choice to go beyond the aesthetic dimension and include the ethical,
political and social dimensions in an urgent drive to stimulate multicultural dialogue and critical
thinking. It aim is to contribute to peace building and cultural understanding. Apart from its extensive
art collection the Museum’s tools consist of dynamic activities, programmes and projects that reflect
this vision of working for social inclusion.

Philippe Marquis, Director of DAFA, Afghanistan
The French archaeological delegation in Afghanistan is funded mainly by the French Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. It was created in 1922 and has been working in Afghanistan since then (with an
interruption between 1982 - 2002.) Our main mission is the inventory and scientific exploration of
the rich Afghan historical and archaeological heritage. These last years if we still have an
important scientific activity we have been working mainly on the support of the afghan administration
in charge of archaeology and cultural heritage. We have been helping them in implementing rescue
excavations and in planning the protection and management of the endangered sites.
I am 54 and had been working in Afghanistan since 2004. I am resident there since 2006 and director
of DAFA since 2009. I have been working previously , mainly in Paris as an urban archaeologist but
also in Lebanon, Pakistan, UAE, Sultanate of Oman.
Kamal Mouzawak, Founder of Souk el Tayeb and graphic designer, Lebanon
Founder of Souk el Tayeb, Lebanon’s first farmers market, Kamal is a son of farmers and producers,
who grew up in gardens and kitchens, tasting life, food and land fruits at their source.
After a major in graphic designer, Kamal followed paths of food and travel writing, macrobiotic
cooking teacher, healthy cooking TV chef, etc. That all lead to more involvement towards change and
transformation – social, environmental, personal, etc.
Since its first days in 2004, Souk el Tayeb had the vision of celebrating food and traditions that unite
communities and promoting small-scale farmers and producers and the culture of sustainable
agriculture. Today’s Souk el Tayeb is an institution that includes a weekly farmers market, “food &
feast” regional festivals, “souk @ school” education and awareness programs, el tayeb newsletter,
“dekenet Souk el tayeb” … and the freshest project of “tawlet Souk el Tayeb” a coop kitchen/rest
where a different cook/producer prepares the day’s lunch.
He is also a board member of the Slow Food foundation for biodiversity (2005 – 2007). Kamal was
named New Hero 2008 by MONOCLE magazine, and Arab World Social Innovator 2009 by
Synergos. In 2011 he was an Ashoka fellow.
www.soukeltayeb.com
www.tawlet.com
Yudhishthir Raj Isar, Founding co-editor of the Cultures and Globalization Series
(SAGE), Paris, France
Yudhishthir Raj Isar is an analyst, advisor and public speaker who straddles several worlds of cultural
theory, experience and practice. He is Professor of Cultural Policy Studies at The American
University of Paris and ‘Eminent Research Visitor’ at the University of Western Sydney, Australia
(2011-2013). He is the founding co-editor of the Cultures and Globalization Series (SAGE). Trustee of
cultural organizations in Europe, North America and India; consultant to the European Commission,
the World Bank, the Organization of American States and the European Cultural Foundation.
He was the president of Culture Action Europe (2004-2008). Earlier, at UNESCO, he served notably as
Executive Secretary of the World Commission on Culture and Development, Director of Cultural
Policies and of the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture. In 1986-87, he was the first
Executive Director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and MIT.
He was educated in India and France.

Deborah Stolk, Staff member, Cultural Emergency Response, Prince Claus Fund,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Deborah Stolk holds an MA in Heritage Studies with a specific focus on museums from the University
of Amsterdam and a MA in Social Anthropology from the University Leiden. In Amsterdam she
completed a study on nineteenth century thinking paradigms in the Netherlands on the Dutch East
Indies, focusing specifically on collection of miniatures in different ethnographic museums in the
Netherlands. In Leiden she did a study on the heritage value and authenticity of ‘Airport Art’ in the
Gambia. Living in the Gambia, she experienced firsthand how important cultural heritage is for the
sustainable development of local communities and how culture defines every society, giving it its own
sets of values. After working for the Royal Tropical Institute on several exhibitions, Deborah got
involved in emergency relief for culture after disaster by providing practical and financial aid to
damaged heritage. She joined the Cultural Emergency Response (CER) programme of the Prince
Claus Fund in 2008.
‘The needs for Cultural Emergency Response differ per situation, continent, country and area and
every project needs its own solution. Living up to this challenge every day and safeguarding people’s
cultural assets is one of the most challenging and beautiful jobs in the world. In the end it is culture
that defines society, its needs and rules in any kind of situation, but especially in emergencies.’

Film

Film
John Badalu, Founder of Q-Munity, Indonesia
John Badalu is one of the founders of Q-Munity, an organization who is organizing the only Queer
Film Festival in the predominantly Muslim country of Indonesia. John has been in the cultural field
since 1999 from Jakarta International Film Festival, British Council, Goethe-Institut, Istituto Italiano di
Cultura to finally setting up a few film festivals like Q! Film Festival, V Film Festival and Moonwater
Film Festival. He has been in the jury in various international film festivals. In 2008, He was one of the
recipients of Ashoka Foundation fellowship as Changemakers for Public. Badalu is now teaching at
London School of Public Relations in Jakarta, working as the Southeast Asia delegate for Berlin Film
Festival and producing some films.
Sammy Baloji, PICHA!, Lubumbashi, DRC
Sammy Baloji was born in 1978 in Democratic Republic of Congo, he lives and works in Lubumbashi.
He graduated in Humanities Studies from the University of Lubumbashi. Since the beginning of his
studies, he was interested in film. Later on, he actively dedicated himself to photography and film.
In the past three years he has been analyzing the architecture discipline conceived as ‘trace’, and has
created works about the cultural, industrial and architectural heritage of his country, Katanga. Sammy
has exhibited his works at several international exhibitions in Bruxelles; at Bamako Biennale; at
Musee du Quai Brantly in Paris; and at Cup Biennale (South Afirca). In addition, he has exhibited his
works in his hometown.
In 2007, he received two prizes from Bamako Biennale, namely Prix Afrique en creation (Cultures
France) and Prix pour l’image (foundation Blachere). In 2008, he joined PICHA! (literally, ‘image’ in
swahili), a series of meetings about the conception of images. This project allows local populations to
understand their history through both old images and photos by emergent artists.
Kirsten de Graaff, Staff member for the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK), The
Netherlands
Kirsten de Graaff is a staff member for the Amsterdam Fund for the arts. Kirsten handles all applies
concerning cultural-education. The Amsterdam Fund for the arts supports projects that allow
children within schools to get acquainted with arts and culture.
kdgraaff@afk.nl
Jowe Harfouche, Filmmaker, Lebanon
Jowe Harfouche was born and raised in Lebanon where he studied 3D animation, moved to Montreal
and completed his studies in Film and TV production.
His two first short films were written and produced in Canada, then worked on several feature films
and projects in Lebanon as an assistant director including Circumstance by Maryam Keshavarz

Jowe Harfouche, Filmmaker, Lebanon (con’t)
(Audience Award at Sundance 2011), The Mountain by Ghassan Salhab, Where do we go now by
Nadine Labaki, and Gate #5 by Simon El Haber.
He first started directing music videos (Fasateen by Mashrou’ Leila) and viral video campaigns mostly
for NGOs (Welcome to Lebanon for Migrant Workers Task Force, Laique Hamed for the Lebanese
Laique Pride Movement). He is currently developing his first feature documentary Bint 14.
Heidi Lobato, Africa in the Picture, The Netherlands
Africa in the Picture Film Festival director Heidi Lobato (1961 – Curaçao, Dutch Antilles) has been
organizing festivals and events for almost 30 years now. She started in the 80’s with organizing music
events in the most recognized music theatres of Amsterdam like Paradiso and Melkweg (Milkyway).
After a two-years course in television directing at Migrantentelevisie Amsterdam and Santbergen
(now called Media Akademie), Lobato made her entry (1987) with Dutch national TV broadcasters as
a freelance TV producer, item-director and program maker for Studio IM, Peekel-Stips, John de Mol,
VPRO and RTL 4. Lobato was also one of the first 'coloured' presenters on local television of
Amsterdam (1985).
As producer for Amnesty International, Netherlands, audiovisual department (1994) Lobato founded
the Amnesty international Film Festival (today called ‘Movies that Matter’) in 1995. It was the first
Human Rights Film Festival for Western Europe of which she was festival director until 2000.
From this position, she inspired, programmed and advised in the founding of One World Human
Rights Festival (HRFF) Prague (1997), Watchdogs-HRFF Warschau (2000) and Basic Trust HRFF in
Israel and Palestine – joint venture between Israeli’s and Palestines (2000). Unfortunately, due to the
Intifada in that period, the Basic Trust HRFF had to be organized in exile in the Netherlands, which
Lobato did once in Amsterdam in 2001. Lobato composed a film program on Human Trafficking for
the United Nations meeting on The Fight against Human Trafficking in Vienna (2008). The program
was made available for over 30 countries.
Pascale Obolo, Filmmaker/ Producer/Visual Artist, Paris, France
Pascale Obolo lives and works in Paris. She was born in Yaoundé in Cameroon in 1967. She studied
at the Conservatoire Libre du cinema Français in the field of directing, then obtained a Master of
Cinéma at the university Paris VIII, in the experimental cinema section. As a feminist filmmaker, she is
also interested in the suburban Hip Hop movement, and the role of black women in artistic circles. In
1995 she directed journalistic subjects and documentaries for CRTV (Cameroonais regional
television), before beginning a collaboration in 2000 with Virgin Music France during which she
created several film portraits of artists and musicians. Interested by World Music, Pascale Obolo
began to specialise in music documentary, and was drawn to the cultural heritage of Trinidad Island
it's carnaval and popular music. During this period, and as a result of several visits to Trinidad,
Pascale's first full length documentary is conceived. Calypso at Dirty Jims, a hommage to the stars and
figures of calypso, as well as the soul of the island and the Antilles culture. Calypso at Dirty Jim's has
been selected and awarded in festivals throughout the world.
Pascale Obolo’s passion for graphic arts has led to collaborations with artists from the graffiti
culture, such as Jayone, Shuck, la force alpha, Mac, Samuel Fosso and the Jean-Marc Patras gallery,
Jean-Pierre Bekolo and Ayanna Jackson for the project Leapfrog. Pascale Obolo is also Art
coordinator for the festival ‘Afrique Dans tous les Senses’, June 2011. She is a short film script reader
for the CNC Teacher of scriptwriting and video workshops for the Tribudom association. Obolo

Pascale Obolo, Filmmaker/ Producer/Visual Artist, Paris, France (con’t)
also works as a consultant specialist in aesthetic advice, and economic development for African
cinema, and is editor for art webmagazin: AFRIKADAA. Pascale Obolo is also the originator of
Diasparis, an intellectual and artistic laboratory which seeks to create a dynamic scene in Paris for
artists from diverse backgrounds, and giving visibility to these artists through a varied scope of
events, manifestations and vehicles for artistic expression.
Mehrdad Oskouei, Independent Documentary Filmmaker and Photographer, Iran
Independent documentary filmmaker and photographer, Mehrdad Oskouei was born in 1969 in
Tehran. He received his BA in film directing from University of Arts in 1996. Oskouei started his
artistic career as theater player and filmmaker in 1981 and 1988 respectively. He has passed
educational courses in countries such as England, Poland, France, Holland, Switzerland, and Germany.
As a documentary filmmaker, Oskouei has made 25 films, such as, ‘My Mother's home Lagoon’, ‘The
Other Side of Burka’, ‘Nose Iranian Style’, ‘A Taste Of Iran’, ‘It's Always Late for Freedom’ and ‘The
Last days of Winter’.
Oskouei’s films have been shown successfully in many channels around the world and in more than
300 prestigious national and international film festivals and has received more than 90 prizes up to
now. ‘The Other Side of Burka’ was awarded as the best Iranian documentary and Oskouei was
named the best young Iranian filmmaker of the year in 2004 and 2005. His latest film, ‘It's Always Late
for Freedom’ was awarded many prizes such as the best mid-length documentary award in 2008 ‘Hot
Docs’ International Documentary Film Festival in Canada. ‘The Last Days of Winter’ won ‘Doc U
Award’ in International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (Idfa 2011). Beside holding
educational documentary workshops in Iran and abroad, Oskouei is an active member of
Iran Academy of Arts, Iranian Documentary filmmakers Association, Iranian short film Association,
International documentary film Association and European Documentary Network. He is also the
cultural Ambassador of ‘UCHA’ in humanitarian affairs.
Raymond Walravens, Managing director Filmtheatre Rialto, The Netherlands
Raymond Walravens is director of arthouse cinema Rialto in Amsterdam from 1989. In all these
years Rialto has been strongly involved in world cinema (independent films and filmmakers from Asia,
Africa and Latin America), which by now contains 50% of the regular programming of Rialto. Rialto
organizes the yearly film festival World Cinema Amsterdam, which includes a competition section, a
country focus program and open air screenings from the above mentioned continents.
Next to being manager, programmer and curator, Raymond Walravens is an consultant on project
and audience development in the film and art sector in the Netherlands, Curacao (Dutch Antilles),
Johannesburg (South Africa) and Mexico City. He has been policy and project advisor for several art,
film and media funds in the Netherlands and Media Mundus of the European Union Media program
and supervisory board member of many cultural organisations in the Netherlands.
1989 – to-day: Managing director Filmtheatre Rialto (chairman management team, artistic policy and
programming, Business development and fundraising).
2006 – to-day: Curator and director World Cinema Amsterdam film festival
Nuevo Cine Argentino, (2006) Cinema South Africa (2007), New Malaysian Cinema,
(2008), World Cinema Amsterdam (2010 & 2011).

Raymond Walravens, Managing director Filmtheatre Rialto, The Netherlands (con’t)
Jury member international film festivals:
2011: Jury Semana dos Realizadores, Rio (Brazil).
2009: Jury Doclisboa – National feature lengths documentary competition, Lisbon (Portugal).
2009: Jury Indielisboa – International feature film competition, Lisbon (Portugal).
2004: Jury Europa Cinemas – Directors Fortnight Label, Cannes (France).

Literature

Literature
Bernice Chauly, Writer, Photographer, Actor, Filmmaker, Malaysia
Bernice Chauly is a Malaysian writer, photographer, actor and filmmaker who has worked in the arts
for over 20 years. Of Chinese and Punjabi descent, her works are driven by a desire to tell stories,
and she has worked marginalised communities from sex workers and refugees to indigenous peoples,
in mediums that incorporate film, photography and prose. She has published two collections of
poetry, ‘Going there and coming back’ (1997), ‘The Book of Sins’ (2008), a collection of short stories,
‘Lost in KL’ (2008) and a critically-acclaimed memoir ‘Growing Up With Ghosts’ (2011), an
exploration of personal and political history and bloodlines. Her work has been exhibited, screened,
published locally and internationally. Furthermore, she is also the founder of Readings, a live literary
platform in Kuala Lumpur, now in its eighth year. She recently curated the inaugural George Town
Literary Festival in Penang, the first state-funded literary festival in Malaysia.
Ly Daravuth, Co-founder of Reyum gallery, Phnom Penh. Cambodia
Ly Daravuth was born in Kampong Thom Province, Cambodia. As a result of the violence in his
native country, he was sent to a refugee camp in Thailand in 1980. In 1983, the artist emigrated to
France and eventually studied art history and visual arts at the Sorbonne. In 1995, Ly returned to
Cambodia where he currently lives and works. He lectures in art history at the Faculty of
Archeology of the Royal University of Fine Arts. He is also the co-founder of Reyum, a gallery in
Phnom Penh.
Kanak Mani Dixit, Journalist and Activist, Kathmandu, Nepal
Kanak Mani Dixit is a journalist and civil rights activist based in Kathmandu. He is editor of the Himal
Southasian regional monthly review magazine, as well as publisher of the Nepali language fortnightly,
Himal Khabarpatrika. He has been a journalist since 1971, and worked in the United Nations
Secretariat between 1982 and 1990. Lately, he has been engaged in civil right activism in relation to
peace and democracy in Nepal. Himal was begun as a Himalayan magazine two decades ago, and in
1996 was transformed into a Southasian periodical. Since then, through the pages of the magazine,
Dixit has been involved in the quest to define the Southasian space and identity from a practical and
'non-romantic' standpoint. Beyond journalism, Dixit serves as chair of the following: the Film South
Asia festival of documentaries, the Spinal Injury Sangha-Nepal, the Shikshyak magazine for Nepal's
school teachers. He is also involved in activities related to libraries and archiving, social science
education, public transport, animal treatment and architectural preservation. He is translator of BP
Koirala's Atmabrittanta; Late Life Reflections, and is an acknowledged children's author, including of the
much-translated work, The Adventures of a Nepali Frog. He is presently engaged in completing a nonfiction
work, Dekheko Muluk (The Country I See)

Sylvia Dornseiffer, Director of the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, The Netherlands
Sylvia Dornseiffer is the director of the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts. The Amsterdam Fund for the
Arts stands for the development, strengthening and diversity of the arts in Amsterdam. The fund
realises this by incidental financial contributions to projects of artists, institutions and other initiators.
The Amsterdam Fund for art is arts- and culture broad.
sdornseiffer@afk.nl
Wonder Guchu, Arts and Culture Journalist for Artsinitiates-southern Africa,
Zimbabwe & Namibia
I am 42 years old, and an award-winning Zimbabwean arts and culture journalist. I am the awardwinning
author of two books - Sketches of High Density Life and My Children, My Home. I am also a
playwright, music researcher and blogger. I am also a former teacher of English literature, and
former arts and culture editor and deputy news editor for Zimbabwe's largest circulating daily, the
Herald. I am now based in Windhoek, Namibia as the editor of a business weekly - The Villager
newspaper.
Artsinitiates-Southern Africa was formed in 2007. Initially it was artsinitiates-zimbabwe but when
more people were taken in as members, we decided to change the name. It is a grassroots
organisation that works with both budding and established poets, visual artists, writers as well as
school children. We have a network of artists in all southern African countries.
www.thevillager.com.na
Malu Halasa, Editor and Journalist, London, UK
Malu Halasa is an editor and journalist covering the culture and politics of the region. She has coedited
Creating Spaces of Freedom: Culture in Defiance (2002), Kaveh Golestan: Recording the
Truth in Iran (2007) and The Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie: Intimacy and Design (2008). She is also
Series Editor of Transit, an occasional book series showcasing new writing and images from Middle
Eastern cities, with Transit Beirut (2004) and Transit Tehran: Young Iran and Its Inspirations (2009).
Former Managing Editor of the Prince Claus Fund Library and a founding editor of Tank magazine,
she is Editor at Large for a new biannual journal, Portal 9: Literature and Critical Writing about the
City, from Beirut. Malu lives in London and writes for the British press.
Chris Keulemans, Founder of Tolhuistuin event space, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Chris Keulemans (Tunis, 1960) was a traveling writer and journalist, until he grabbed the opportunity
to set up a new arts centre on the wrong side of the river in Amsterdam: de Tolhuistuin, opening up
in the summer of 2011, aims to be a cultural and social meeting space for all kinds of arts and all
kinds of people. With three halls, two dance studio's, two exhibition spaces, a large cafe-restaurant, a
lovely old park surrounded by four smaller buildings filled with artists, designers, musicians, theatre
makers and architects, with an agenda both very local and very international, we should be able to
lively up this formerly forgotten part of town.

Todd Lester, Founder of freeDimensional (fD) and the Creative Resistance Fund, New
York, USA
Todd Lester is the founder of freeDimensional (fD) and more recently the Creative Resistance Fund.
He currently serves on a special project team for the Astraea Lesbian Justice Foundation. Before
launching freeDimensional he served as Information & Advocacy Manager for the International
Rescue Committee in Sudan. Todd holds a Masters of Public Administration from Rutgers University
and is a graduate of the Refugee Studies Centre’s Summer School in Forced Migration at Oxford
University. Todd is adjunct faculty at several New York City universities including Media Studies at
the New School for Social Research from which he received a Film Production Diploma. Todd is
engaged at the intersection of art for social change; horizontal network as institutional form; culture
funding; cultural exchange & diplomacy; artist mobility & residency programs; and the role of the
artist in policymaking.
As such, Todd is an active advisor to several residencies, artist-led projects and networks – Res
Artis, Gardarev, Sangam House, Pirogue Collective of Gorée Institute, Guapamacátaro
Interdisciplinary Residency in Art and Ecology, HomeBase Project, Esthétique & Handicap, the Flux
Factory’s diversity committee, the Rockwood Leadership Institute’s Arts & Culture Fellowship, and
as a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute.
Samuel Shimon, Editor and Co-founder of Banipal, London, UK
Samuel Shimon, is the editor and co-founder of Banipal, the renowned international magazine of
contemporary Arab literature in English translation since 1998. His is also editor and founder of
www.kikah.com since 2003. In 2000, he and Margaret Obank edited A Crack in the Wall, poems by
sixty contemporary Arab poets. In 2005 he published his best selling autobiographical novel Iraqi fi
Paris, several editions in Beirut, Cairo and Casablanca. It also appeared in English, French and Swedish
editions. In April 2010 he edited Beirut39, an anthology of new Arabic writing, published by
Bloomsbury in UK and USA. A new edition of an Iraqi in Paris come out by Bloomsbury Qatar on
February 2011. A profile in the Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung in 2003 described him as ‘the Initiator’
and ‘a tireless missionary for literary matters’. Samuel was the Chair of judges for the inaugural
International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2008 (known as the Arabic Booker prize).
Samuel Shimon was born into a poor Assyrian family in 1956 in Iraq. He left his country in 1979 to go
to Hollywood and become a film-maker, and got as far as Damascus, Amman, Beirut, Nicosia, Cairo
and Tunis. In 1985 he settled in Paris as a refugee. In 1996 he moved to London, where he has lived
ever since.
www.banipal.co.uk
www.kikah.com
Judith Uyterlinde, Coordinator of Literature Events for Writers Unlimited,
The Hague, The Netherlands
Judith Uyterlinde (Netherlands, 1962) is coordinator of the Literature Events for Writers Unlimited
international literature festival in The Hague, as well as for the Literary Salon, a series of public
interviews with writers in the Public Library of Amsterdam. She began her career as a translator and
worked for many years as an editor and publisher for literary publishing houses such as De Bezige Bij
and Meulenhoff. She also is a writer herself. Her book The Baby Void – My Quest for Motherhood was
an international bestseller, sold to more then 20 countries. The woman who says she is my mother is
Judith Uyterlinde’s second book. The French translation will come out in January 2012.

Mike van Graan, Secretary General of Arterial Network, South Africa
Mike van Graan is the Secretary General of Arterial Network, a pan-African network of artists,
cultural activists and creative enterprises committed to developing the arts in their own right and as
means to contribute to human rights, democracy and the eradication of poverty on the African
continent. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Cape Town-based African Arts Institute
which houses the continental secretariat of Arterial Network, helps to develop leadership for the
African cultural sector and builds regional markets for African artists and their creative work. In early
2011, he was appointed as a technical expert by UNESCO to advise governments on cultural policies
aligned to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural
Expressions. Van Graan is considered to be one of South Africa’s leading contemporary playwrights.

Performing Arts

Performing Arts
Andriamoratsiresy Ariry, Head of RARY Company, Contemporary Dance,
Antananarivo, Madagascar
RARY Company has been running the field of Malagasy contemporary dance for fifteen years. RARY
was officially born on 12 th April 1996 in Antananarivo. Now, there are fourteen artists, lead by
Andriamoratsiresy Ariry, who are working to build all its activities. Its four main activities are:
1. Training: Members of RARY company give dance and music classes in RARY school and in many
other places (private schools, orphan centres, enterprises) in the centre and the periphery of
Antananarivo. The company also organizes workshop open to a more or less wide public.
2. Creation: RARY Company usually proposes a new creation per year which is performed in
Antananarivo. Sometimes the company makes national tour for its creations.
3. Organization of encounters: RARY company is used to organize national and international
workshops (dance, music, traditional arts) and platforms (dance, music or multidisciplinary) to permit
artists to meet and possibly collaborate.
4. Research: Andriamoratsiresy Ariry conducts research about dance and music in order to improve
the dance techniques and the choreographic language of the RARY company. He usually proposes
conference to share his artistic point of view.
Khalid Benghrib, Cie2K_Far, Casablanca, Morocco
From the heart of Casablanca, Khalid Benghrib flourished through choreographic art, first with a
formation in the ENDM of La Rochelle and the Juilliard School, and after as a performer with Carolyn
Carlson, Heddy Maâlem, Regine Chopinot, Jean François Duroure, Fabienne Abramovich, Philippe
Genty, etc. The taste of self-discovery and research of his own singularity were drawn from his
educational approach in France (Normandie, Havre, Haute Savoie, Nièvre, Ain) and Internationally
(Egypt, Italy, Great Britain, New Zealand, United States, Jordan) or along side Philippe Genty in his
various workshops on ‘The oneiric theatrical language’.
The Video Interactive, Theatre, Cinema introduced him to encounter particular personalities such as
Ariella Vidach, Claudio Pratt, and Martin Scorsese. The outcome brings him to the realisation of
several choreographic, cinematographic and visual art creations.
In 2000 Experience, Vision and Savings of Khalid Benghrib and his accomplice Loren Palmer engage
themselves in a Morocco where choreographic creation struggles to find its place as a vehicle for
development of thought. Starting with, first the formation of a certain number of young people left
behind and living on the razor's edge. Four years later, faced with artists, shy stuttering dynamics,
committed, hungry for discovery, reflection of an environment, an expression of what steams, The
Cie2K_Far, writing and rewriting their identity through the scrolling of movements, and minds.
Linda van der Gaag, Staff Member of the Applications Programme at the Prince Claus
Fund, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Linda van der Gaag is a staff member of the applications team, where she researches projects
proposals and coordinating the travel budget. Linda studied theatre in France for a few years before

Linda van der Gaag, Staff Member of the Applications Programme at the Prince Claus
Fund, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (con’t)
she switched to Art Academy in the Netherlands where she graduated in painting and graphic arts.
Linda is interested in all art forms. She has been at the Fund for ten years.
Ibrahima Loucard, Member of the Musical Group Carlou – D, Senegal
Ibrahima Loucard is an outspoken voice from Senegal’s hip-hop generation, Carlou D and his band
bring spiritual roots music, clean living and electric performances straight from Dakar’s ripe music
scene. Born in one of Dakar’s suburbs in 1979, Ibrahima Loucard grew up under the musical eye of
his father, who initiated him into the vast and varied styles of music of that time. Immediately hooked
on the sounds, Carlou D, as he and his band are known, left school at sixteen and started performing
on local stages set up around his neighbourhood.
After a successful single release in 2002 Carlou was noticed by Senegal’s hard-hitting political rapper,
Didier Awadi, who invited him to join Positive Black Soul, the country’s first, and arguably most
successful, hip-hop group. With PBS, Carlou toured the world and adopted a voice which would
speak out about social ills and political situations. ‘The part of hip-hop which I have kept in my music
is the courage to be direct,’ says Carlou. He left the band in 2004, when the members of Positive
Black Soul went their own way.
Now performing as a solo artist for four years, and with a debut album under his belt, Carlou D is a
recognisable figure in his traditional Muslim robes with the image of his spiritual guide around his
neck. Like World Circuit recording artist Cheikh Lo, Carlou belongs to one of Senegal’s spiritual
sects, the Baay Fall, and takes much of his musical inspiration from his spiritual guide, Cheikh Ibra Fall.
But purity, simplicity and above all, respect for others, are the cornerstone of Carlou D’s concept.
Taking the essence of the Baay Fall philosophy, the outspoken qualities of hip-hop, and musical
elements of jazz, soul, rap, and acoustic roots, Carlou D is an illuminating presence on stage. An
exceptional guitarist with a pure voice and infectious sense of rhythm, Carlou D’s second solo album
will definitely make him one of Senegal’s next great musical exports.
Aurélie de Plaen, Falinga Company, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Aurélie de Plaen was born in Brussels, Belgium on May 11, 1981. It was also the day of the death of
Bob Marley and the day after the election of François Mitterand in France. She grew up and attended
school in Brussels. Passionately fond of literacy and theater, she directed herself at the University to
study French and Italian literature as well as drama. She finished her studies with a Diploma in
Teaching (Modern Literature). She then taught French for two years in Brussels. Afterward, she
decided to move to the field of cultural arts. For 3 years she has worked within the ‘Federation
Cartel’ in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) for the Falinga company. Its major activity is the
‘Récréâtrales’, a panafrican place of theatrical writing, creation and research.
Virginie Dupray, Manager of Studios Kabako, Kisangani DRC
Virginie Dupray graduated from French business school HEC in 1994. She worked at the French
Institute in London (1995-1999) as head of Communication and Public relation and at the Centre
National de la Danse in Paris (1999-2003) as head of marketing and communication. Since 2003, she
has accompanied different artists and events in the field of dance (including choreographer Nacera

Virginie Dupray, Manager of Studios Kabako, Kisangani DRC (con’t)
Belaza, Sophiatou Kossoko, and Béatrice Massin) and visual arts (including Kinshasa Scénographies
urbaines 2006-07).
Dupray has served as the administrator of the Studios Kabako since 2003. Studios Kabako is a
performing arts organization based in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo, focused on
providing opportunities for engagement with the performing arts, including physical theatre, music,
and dance. Studios Kabako is a Network Partner of the Prince Claus Fund.
Regina Galindo, Performance Artist, Guatemala
Regina Galindo (1974) was born in Guatemala City. She is a radical and compelling performance artist
who confronts violence, oppression and injustice. Regina uses her body as a metaphor for the
collective social body, and subjects it to acts that resonate and reflect specific local and international
instances of human rights abuse, violent crime, economic injustice and political chicanery.
Her work has been the subject of solo shows and group shows as well at several festivals, galleries
and museums across the world. She has been invited to participate in several Biennales including
those in Sydney, Havana, Moscou, Valencia, Milano and Venice. She won the Golden Lion Award for
young artists in the 51 Venice Biennal in 2005; a residence in ArtPace San Antonio Texas; and a grant
of the Program exhibition entitled 10 Defining Experiments by cifo 2006. Regina is one of the 2011
Prince Claus Laureates.
Victor Gama, Composer, Performer and Musical Instrument Designer, Angola
Victor Gama (Angola 1960) is a composer, performer, designer of innovative musical instruments as
well as an electronics engineer. He is currently finalising an MA in music technology and organology
at London Metropolitan University and has been a guest fellow at the Stanford Institute for Creativity
and the Arts, SiCA, in California. Several of his music works have been recorded on CD including
Pangeia Instrumentos produced by Aphex Twin for Rephlex Records. He has exhibited his
instruments and sound installations and performed extensively in Africa, Latin America, USA, Canada
and Europe having received a Project Development Award by Visiting Arts/British Council for his
exhibition and performance at Ormeau Baths Gallery in Belfast in 2004.
Gama has recently collaborated with the Kronos Quartet who premiered his piece ‘Rio Cunene’ at
Carnegie Hall in March 2010. He has been invited by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to write ‘Vela
6911’ his new piece to be presented at Harris Theatre in Chicago in 2012. He is also writing the piece
‘Rio Cubango’ on commission from the Prince Claus Fund to be presented on the 12th of November
2011 at Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Gama initiated the ‘Berimbau-Ungu’ project with the legendary Brazilian percussionist Nana
Vasconcelos with whom he has toured in Southern Africa. He is part of The Folk Songs Trio with
William Parker and Guillermo E. Brown, a collaboration originated from a commission by the Lower
East Side Tenement Museum in New York.
The FSTrio has since played in the US, Portugal and Austria. Gama has participated at Artificial Africa,
an exhibition in New York curated by Vernon Reid and C. Daniel Dawson. He has recorded and

Victor Gama, Composer, Performer and Musical Instrument Designer, Angola (con’t)
played live with celebrated British sound artist Max Eastley and recently completed a commission for
the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh of four innovative interactive musical instruments now
on permanent display at the new Performance and Lives gallery.
In the early 90’s Gama initiated the Pangeia Instrumentos series of contemporary musical instruments,
devices and installations in which he experiments with the phenomenon of metamorphosis of
instruments and musical crafts that span the period from pre-history to our days. He has since been
developing The Golian Modes Theory, focusing primarily on the Kongo/Angola cosmogony and
religious beliefs originating from Central Africa, which underlie a graphic expression system used
particularly in Angola, the Caribbean and South America.
Gama has introduced in his work technologies such as 3D modelling, finite element analysis, rapid
prototyping, and laser cutting in collaborations with the University of Loughbourough, The Hub
National Centre for Craft and Design, the Rapid Prototyping Consortium, the London Metropolitan
University and Metropolitan Works in the UK.
Jan Goossens, Artistic Director of the Royal Flemish Theatre (KVS), Brussels, Belgium
Jan Goossens has worked as the Artistic Director of KVS, the Royal Flemish Theatre in Brussels,
since 2001. He has established an ambitious artistic programme that embraces the intercultural and
linguistic diversity of Brussels. He is the initiator of cultural exchange programmes between Belgium,
the Congo and the Arab world, and is a Belgian Fellow of the Eisenhower Foundation. KVS stresses
the importance of developing a contemporary Flemish repertoire, but productions with artists from
the Arab and African communities of Brussels have been prominently included in the program.
Furthermore, collaborations with the major francophone theatres in Brussels take place on a
frequent basis. The model on which the cultural collaboration with Congo is based involves
reciprocity. Witness the intense collaboration with Faustin Linyekula and Studios Kabako which has
already resulted in three co-productions, presented in KVS. Since 2009 KVS also organises a festival
in Kinshasa, presenting work from African artists next to European productions.
Eyad Houssami, Theater Maker and Writer, Beirut, Lebanon
Eyad Houssami makes and writes about theatre. He grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, studied
theatre at Yale University, and currently lives in Beirut. He is the editor of the Arabic and English
editions of Doomed by Hope: Essays on the Theatre (2012), a forthcoming book about contemporary
theatre supported by the Prince Claus Fund and Young Arab Theatre Fund. Houssami has directed
seven theatre productions at Yale, performed in dead Byzantine cities in Syria, presented at
international conferences from Capetown to Seoul, and published in peer-reviewed academic
journals. A production of his play, Mama Butterfly, was shut down in Damascus but later presented in
the Between the Seas Festival (2010) in New York. A recipient of Rotary and Fulbright fellowships,
Houssami is the founding director of Masrah Ensemble, a new nonprofit theatre organization
established in 2011, which has thus far organized bimonthly cabarets and staged readings of new
plays.

Joost Groeneboer, Director of Dans Magazine, The Netherlands
Joost Groeneboer is director of Dans Magazine, a bimonthly Dutch magazine about all kinds of
dance, from ballet to modern dance, urban dance to Bollywood, salsa to tango and bellydance to
flamenco. Groeneboer is working as a theatre and dance historian and has made several exhibitions
about dance. He contributed to major works about the Dutch arts, e.g. 'Een theatergeschiedenis der
Nederlanden', 'Een muziekgeschiedenis der Nederlanden' en 'Cultuur en migratie in Nederland'.
Natalia Kaliada Founding General, Co-Artistic Director, and Executive Producer of
Belarus Free Theatre (BFT), Belarus
The Belarus Free Theatre was founded in 2005 in Europe's last surviving dictatorship, created by the
husband-and-wife team of Nikolai Khalezin and Natalia Kaliada. Joined by director Vladimir Scherban,
the Theatre members have suffered every form of intimidation and harassment. Despite having lost
their official jobs in Belarus’s state theatres, the BFT team has consisted of the same actors and
managers for the last seven years, including Oleg Sidorchyk, Yana Rusakevich, Maryna Yurevich,
Denis Tarasenko, Pavel Gorodnitski and Svetlana Sugako. Young actors and playwrights join the
company even today under severe political circumstances in the frames of the only independent
theatre-studio ‘Fortinbras’ initiated by Nikolai Khalezin, and organized and developed together with
Vladimir Shcherban and Natalia Kaliada.
Performances take place in selected private venues around Minsk with audiences alerted to their
existence by text message or e-mail. Although forced to operate under cover within Belarus, the
Theatre has travelled widely and has gained a growing international reputation with support from a
diverse group of legends such as Tom Stoppard, Harold Pinter, Václav Havel, Kevin Spacey, Jude Law,
Sam West and many other outstanding artists. What is perhaps most astonishing is the ability of the
Belarus Free Theatre to create great theatre under near impossible conditions; its international
performances regularly receive rave reviews by theatre critics and it was awarded the most
prestigious American Off-Broadway OBIE Award in 2011. On June 10, 2011 Belarus Free Theatre
together with two other Belarusian organizations had received the Atlantic Council Award on behalf
of the people of Belarus.
BFT became an OBIE-winning theatre, nominated for a Drama Desk Award as Unique Theatrical
Experience in 2011 and has received the French Republic Human Rights Prize and the Europe
Theatre Prize/New Theatrical Realities/Special Mention and ArtVenture Freedom to Create Prize
when the BFT was called as a Global Artistic Ambassador on Human Rights.
Natalia Kaliada is the Founding General and Co-Artistic Director of the Belarus Free Theatre. She
also works as the executive producer of all BFT’s performances. LSDP named her among 100 Global
Thinkers. She has also taught at the following institutions: European Humanities University, Lithuania
and Das Arts School, Netherlands; California Insititute of Arts named after Walt Disney and within
Chantier Nomades in co-operation with ENSATT, Lyon, France. In February 2010, the Soho Theatre
presented Kaliada’s play They Saw Dreams.
In addition to her other achievements, Natalia Kaliada has started the Global Artistic Campaign Free
Belarus. Kaliada has also initiated a campaign in support of the UN Convention against Enforced
Disappearances by performance Discover Love written in collaboration with Nikolai Khalezin. In May
2011, Discover Love was Awarded as Outstanding Performance of Off-Off-Broadway by Independent
Theatre Bloggers Association in New-York. In 2008 together with Nikolai Khalezin and Uladzimir
Shcherban, Kaliada organized the only underground Arts School Fortinbras in Belarus.

Martha Loughridge, Development Director of SPACES, Cleveland, USA
(See text on Kate Sopko and SPACES.)
Odile Gakire Katese, Former Deputy Director of the University Centre for Arts and
Drama of the National University of Rwanda, Rwanda
As the former deputy director of the University Centre for Arts and Drama of the National
University of Rwanda from (2003 – 2010), Odile Gakire Katese is committed to galvanizing healing
after the 1994 national genocide by creating opportunities for expression, reconciliation and hope via
different forms of arts. As a theatre director, playwright and actress creating artistic works of the
highest quality, her impressive body of theatre pieces include: Des Éspoirs (Wishes For Hope), a
dance/theatre work about rebuilding after trauma; the founding of Amizero Kompagie, Rwanda’s first
professional contemporary dance company; the founding of Ingoma Nshya (Women's Initiative), the
country’s first women’s drumming group breaking the taboo of drums being played exclusively by
men for kings and princes; and Ngwino Ubeho (Come and Be Alive), a dance/theater piece inviting a
return to life through reconciliation with the dead.
Odile also created different festivals: Festival Arts Azimuts (FAAZ), the first international performing
arts festival in Rwanda and Rwanda Drum Festival, the first national festival in Rwanda. As the
founding director of Rwanda Professional Dreamers, she is working on Mumataha, a 3 years project
related to the 20th commemoration of the genocide. Through Rwanda Professional Dreamers, she is
also working on The Book of Life, a project planning to collect and publish in a library – memorial site
consisting of 1,000,000 letters written to the victims of the genocide. Odile is a Sundance Theatre
Lab Alumni, a fellow of Salzburg Global Seminar and the inaugural recipient of the League of
Professional Theatre Women‘s Rosamond Gilder/Martha Coigney International Award.
Kyaw Myo Ko, Co-Director and Creative Director of Mandalay Marionettes Theatre,
Myanmar
Kyaw Myo Ko is Co-Director and Creative Director of Mandalay Marionettes Theatre, Myanmar and
Program Coordinator at sustainable culture travel, Myanmar Upper Land. He is coordinating a
Cultural Emergency Response (CER) project via the Prince Claus Fund. He coordinates the Union
Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA). UNIMA is an organization in which all the people in the
world concerned with the Art of the Puppet Theatre associate voluntarily in order to serve through
their art the idea of peace and mutual understanding without distinction as to race, political ideas or
religion.
Saskia de Leeuw, Dance, Theater and Literature Staff Member for Amsterdam Fund for
the Arts (AFK), The Netherlands
Saskia de Leeuw is a staff member for the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts. Within the fund, Saskia is
responsible for all requests concerning Dance, Theater and Literature. She also handles all trajectory
funds.
sdleeuw@afk.nl

Simone Meijer, Music and Musical Theatre Amsterdam Staff Member for Amsterdam
Fund for the Arts (AFK), The Netherlands
As a staff member for the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Simone attends to all applications that
concern music and music-theater. Simone is also involved in the realization of the Amsterdamprijs.
Each year the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts awards the Amsterdamprijs to three artists or
institutions that make an exceptional contribution to the arts in Amsterdam.
smeijer@afk.nl
Jakob I. Myschetzky, IMAGES Festival Project Manager, The Danish Centre for Culture
and Development (DCCD), Denmark
Jakob has worked for several years with migration, diversity and development in Cairo, Egypt, both as
Managing Director of the NGO Inklusion and Outreach Manager at the American University in Cairo
(AUC). He currently lives in Copenhagen, Denmark, working on cultural exchanges and the IMAGES
festivals.
IMAGES is an international festival that presents contemporary art from developing countries to a
Danish and European audience. Since 1991, eight IMAGES festivals have taken contemporary art and
the most up-to-date examples of cultural expression from developing countries and presented them in
Denmark.
www.images.dk
www.dccd.dk
Loren Palmer, Co-Artistic director of Cie2k_far and Cie Porte L/L, Paris France and
Casablanca, Morocco
Loren Palmer is French by adoption and New Zealander by birth. After studying in France at the
CNDC Angers, she experienced a close encounter with the likes of Karlotta Ikkeda, Dominique
Dupuis, and Angels Marguerite. Palmer follows the obligatory encounter with L’esquisse and Joëlle
Bouvier in parallel international creations in conjunction with Charles Cre-Ange, Christie Heude,
Guillermo Botello, Lionel Hoche, Fabienne Berger, Hela Fatouma, and Eric Lamoureux.
Palmer spends time touring, teaching or creating in Colombia, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium,
Switzerland, Ireland, Morocco, America, Lebanon, Syria, Central Africa Republic, The Democratic
Republic of Congo, Italy, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gabon, Mexico, Poland, Serbia, Austria, Greece,
Hong Kong, Bulgaria, Latvia, Macedonia, Romania and Slovakia.
Born through a reflexion on her experiences as an artist in a multi-cultural, social context of
exchange, Palmer elaborates a personal approach to creation and transmission. Palmer has become
an independent artist developing choreographic works alone or in collaboration. Palmer is currently
participating as a Jury member in institutional and private academies in France. The trajectory has
lead to discovering Khalid Benghrib, founding member and co-artistic director of the Cie2k_far in
Casablanca and Cie Porte L/K in Paris. Signing: Trio (1997), Choir spy (1998), Ladies (2000), Pierre et
Monica or Bière et Monaco (2001), Western Palace (2004), The Smala B.B (2007), Trip-Tik (2008),
Marrakech Toys (2009). With her wealth as an artist, choreographer and pedagogue, diplomas of
dance and yoga.

Emmanuele Phuon, Choreographer, Brussels, Belgium
Emmanuele Phuon is French-Cambodian and lives in Brussels, Belgium. She started her training with
the Royal Ballet of Cambodia at age 5 until 1975. At age 16, she decided to become a dancer and left
for Avignon (France) where she studied and graduated from the Conservatoire National de Danse in
1986.
In New York, she has performed with the Elisa Monte Dance Company from 1989 till 1994,
Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project from 1995 till 2001 and has worked with Martha Clarke,
Joachim Schloemer, Meg Stuart among others. In 2010 she joined the company of Yvonne Rainer in
her latest choreography ‘Assisted Living: Good Sports 2’ and was part recently of the retrospective
of her work at Dia Beacon, New York.
Ms Phuon is a 2009 Asian Cultural Council grantee and is the choreographer of the Khmeropédies
project, a project which started in 2007 and aims to inspire young Cambodian choreographers to
question and re-think their cultural heritage in dance to keep the tradition alive and evolving.
Khmeropedies I & II premiered in New Haven’s Festival of Arts and Ideas. It was presented in
Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, Amsterdam and New Delhi, and was part of the 2011 Spoleto
Dance Festival in Charleston.
Javier López Piñón, Director, The Netherlands
Javier López Piñón was born in Barcelona, lives in Holland, where he graduated in stage-direction at
the Amsterdam Theatre School. He has staged both opera and spoken theatre with the major
companies and festivals in Holland and abroad (France, UK, Germany, Italy, early music festivals of
Utrecht, San Antonio-Texas, Ambronay, St Petersburg a.o.) and he has collaborated with conductors
like Kenneth Montgomery (a.o. Cosí fan tutte, L'Elisir d'amore and Trovatore for Opera Northern
Ireland) and William Christie (M.A. Charpentier / David & Jonathas, Lully / Thésée, Campra /
L'Europe Galante) and Richard Eagarr (Alcina).
Also, he is actively involved in the creation of new opera works and has staged a number of world
premières of new works by young Dutch and foreign composers. As a specialist in 17th and 18thcentury
acting techniques, he gives masterclasses at the Amsterdam Drama School, the Utrecht Early
Music Festival and with Dutch theatre companies. He teaches at both the Dutch National Opera
Academy (the opera department of the Royal Conservatoire and the Amsterdam Conservatoire) and
the Theatre School in Amsterdam. Since 1999 he has established intensive contacts with colleagues in
West and South Africa. In 2005, he has directed at the Ecole Internationale de Théâtre du Bénin in
Cotonou Madame Paradji, with a libretto by José Pliya and music by Angélique Kidjo.
Recently, he staged epic drama based on Ramayana (2009)and Soundjata (2010) in the municipal park
in Holland’s capital using a range of actors, musicians, dancers, puppeteers and visual artists.
Cergio Prudencio Composer, Orchestra Conductor, Researcher and Professor, Bolivia
Cergio Prudencio Composer was born in La Paz, 1955. He studied guitar and flute privately, and
composition and orchestra conducting at the Universidad Católica Boliviana. In 1980 he founded the
Orquesta Experimental de Instrumentos Nativos (OEIN) with which he developed an original
contemporary aesthetics – indeed of strong ancestral reminiscence – in large pieces like La ciudad,
Cantos de tierra, Cantos Meridianos, Uyariwaycheq, Cantos crepusculares, Cantos ofertorios among others.

Cergio Prudencio Composer, Orchestra Conductor, Researcher and Professor, Bolivia
(con’t)
Prudencio has lead artistically and institutionally the OEIN to international projection, performing
concerts in countries like Argentina, Austria, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Corea, Germany, Italy,
México, Switzerland and Uruguay.
Prudencio has also composed music for western conventional instruments, like chamber and
symphonic music, solo pieces and electroacoustic music, performed in different countries of the
Americas, Europe and Australia. He was commissioned pieces by the Donaueschinger Musiktage
Festival (Germany), the Festival of Perth (Australia), Ensemble TaG (Switzerland), Teatro San Martín
(Argentina), Foundation Pro Helvetia (Switzerland), Klangspuren Festival (Austria), CCEBA
(Argentina) and has been composer-in-residence in Perth (Australia 1996), Schloss Wiepersdorf
(Germany), Bellagio Conference Center by the Rockefeller Foundation (Italy). In 2008 he won the
Guggenheim Foundation fellowship. His music is part of almost 50 Bolivian art film and videos’ sound
tracks, some of which were internationally awarded.
Shaymaa Shoukry, Choreographer, Multimedia artist, and Performer, Egypt
From 1984 till date, Shaymaa Shoukry, studied Visual Arts and Theatre in the American University in
Cairo, and Dance at Cairo Opera House School, class of 2006. She also followed the contemporary
dance workshops program at Studio Emad el Dien 2007-2011.
With a focus on choreographing, performing, and creating video art, Shaymaa is a multidisciplinary
artist coming from a visual arts background interested in integrating diverse disciplines in her
creations. She is always motivated and inspired by working collectively, while developing personal
work in an organic build up process where each project is the paving the way for the next. She is
currently interested in researching choreographic writings to present contemporary dance to public
from diverse backgrounds and various landscapes.
Shaymaa had the pleasure to perform, share choreographic work and be hosted as a resident artist
on a regional and international level; To be continued festival, Cairo; L’hivernals, Avignon, Center
national de la danse, Paris; Tanzhouse, Düsseldorf; Danceworks, Rotterdam; and Dancing on the
Edge, Holland.
Kate Sopko, Manager of SPACES World Artists Program, Cleveland, USA
SPACES is a 33-year old nonprofit arts venue in Cleveland, Ohio (USA). Its mission is to be the
resource and public forum for artists who explore and experiment. Rather than ‘shop’ for pre-made
works of art to feature, SPACES converses directly with artists about what they would like to
achieve and how SPACES can facilitate their endeavor. SPACES has presented work by 9,000+ artists
in the visual, performing and interdisciplinary arts.
SPACES World Artists Program (SWAP), a 2-8 week residency, provides artists with an honorarium,
travel funds, materials budget, housing and studio space. Each SWAP artist creates new, experimental
work for the public during the residency. This work can be anything: object-based, sound, video,
performance, social, etc. Each residency culminates with an exhibition and a publication documenting
the work.

Kate Sopko, Manager of SPACES World Artists Program, Cleveland, USA (con’t)
International organizations may nominate artists for SWAP. SPACES’ selections committee reviews
the nominations and invites artists to submit application materials. Kate Sopko is a Cleveland-based
artist and community organizer, manages the SPACES World Artists Program. Martha Loughridge is
the Development Director for SPACES.
Ulrike Quade, Theater Maker, The Ulrike Quade Company, The Netherlands
Ulrike Quade is one of the most outstanding visual theatre makers in the Netherlands. With her
extraordinary and highly acclaimed technique and acting she brings her characters to life. The figures,
with their human features and smooth movements are sculptured creations of Ulrike Quade herself.
They are so real that you forget that they are not of flesh and blood.
The performances of Ulrike Quade are a combination of sculpture and dance, mime and
performance, language and music. Sometimes going solo, sometimes together with other performers
and musicians. And there’s always a story. This theatre is engaged, but also, surprisingly nimble,
surreal, ironic, poetic.
Ulrike Quade was inspired to this theatrical form in Japan, by Hoichi Okamoto and his quirky solo
puppet theater and butoh dance. Since then she has worldwide fame with her performances. The
Ulrike Quade Company performed in venues and at the invitation of festivals in Europe (UK,
Norway, Germany, France, Italy), the United States, China and Taiwan. The Ulrike Quade Company
makes theatre that touches deep in the heart.
Ulrike Quade graduated from the School of the Arts in Utrecht with a Masters in
Scenography. Together with Duda Paiva under the name Quade & Paiva, she made a number of
successful shows like Dead Orange Walk, based on the diary of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and
Two Old Ladies, and based on the bundle with the same name of Toon Tellegen.

Photography

Photography
Shahidul Alam, Photographer and Head of Drik Agency, Bangladesh
Shahidul Alam studied and taught chemistry in London University before taking up photography. He
returned to his hometown Dhaka in 1984, where he photographed the democratic struggle to
remove General Ershad. A former president of the Bangladesh Photographic Society, Alam set up the
Drik Agency, the Bangladesh Photographic Institute and Pathshala, the South Asian Institute of
Photography. He has been a recipient of the Mother Jones, Howard Chapnick and Andrea Frank
awards. Alam is also a jury member in numerous international contests, including World Press Photo,
which he has judged on three occasions. Alam is an Honorary Fellow of the Bangladesh Photographic
Society and the Royal Photographic Society.
Zeina Arida, Executive director & Collection manager The Arab Image Foundation,
Beirut Lebanon
Zeina Arida was born in Lebanon in 1970. She received her M.A. in Literature and Drama Studies
from La Sorbonne, Paris IV (Paris-France). She then worked for one year at the UNESCO (Beirut
office) developing educational and cultural projects. For four years, she worked as a communication
and cultural coordinator at the French Cultural Centre in Beirut.
Zeina Arida was involved in the project of the Arab Image Foundation since it was founded in 1997.
She opened the office and set up the structure in Beirut. She is currently occupying the position of
collection manager and executive director of the Arab Image Foundation. She is charge of developing
projects and exchanges with international institutions.
A non-profit organization, the Arab Image Foundation aims to promote photography in the Middle
East and North Africa by collecting and preserving the photographic heritage of that region and make
it available to the public (exhibitions, publications, web page).
Els Barents, Director of Huis Marseille | Museum for Photography, Amsterdam, The
Netherlands
Huis Marseille, Museum for Photography, was opened on 18 September 1999. In its six exhibition
rooms the museum presents new photo exhibitions every three months. The layered structure of
the house is very much suited to combining different exhibitions and highlighting the relationships
between them.
The programme is diverse, with an emphasis on the visual quality of the works displayed. Huis
Marseille covers a broad range of international photographic genres, including photography of artistic
inspiration but also all imaginable forms of photography from past and present. Work from the
collection of Huis Marseille is also shown regularly.
elsbarents@huismarseille.nl
Keizersgracht 401, Amsterdam, Tel. 0031(0)20 5318989
http://www.huismarseille.nl/

Christine Barthe, Curator of the Photographic Collection at Musée du Quai Branly,
Paris, France
As the curator of the photographic collection at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, France, Barthe is
in charge of acquisitions for historical and contemporary photography. She curates exhibitions : « Le
Yucatan est Ailleurs: Expéditions Photographiques (1857-1886) de Désiré Charnay” and «Camera obscura,
premiers portraits au daguerréotype 1841-1851».
She has taken part in Photoquai 2007, 2009 and 2011, by working on Latin American contemporary
photography. She also co-organized the symposium ‘Le studio et le monde, Enjeux de la création
photographique africaine’ on contemporary African photography last October at the Musée du quai
Branly.
Nabil Boutros, Photographer and Installation Artist, Paris, France & Cairo, Egypt
I was born in 1954 in Cairo (Egypt), and currently live and work between Paris and Cairo. I studied
decorative Arts and lived in Cairo until I came to France to study painting at the Beaux-Arts of Paris.
End of the 1980's, I focused on Photography while I was making set designing.
My artwork has a main concern: Egypt. Accessorily I am involved in Middle East projects (Jordan and
Yemen). All these works were exhibited in international Biennials, cultural institutions and private
galleries. I conducted many workshops in Egypt, Jordan, Yemen and other countries in Africa.
Between 1990 and 1994 I made a large series about Egyptian portraits. I inhabited places all over the
country, which were permanently inspiring. For 7 years I collected documentation on Egyptian
religious rites, Moslems and Christians.
In the late five years I felt more involved with the change happening in Egypt. My work was becoming
less documentary and lapsing into ironical criticism. ‘Egypt is a Modern Country!’ is a statement
about running after ‘Modernity’. Later, I worked on the relationship between Jordan Bedouins and
Modernity. In 2010, working on abusing appearance of people, I disguised myself for the ‘Egyptian’
series. Lately I showed real-false advertising presented on real billboards called ‘Invitation to
happiness’. My stage design experience is leading me now to installation works.
Ton Broekhuis, Director of the Noorderlicht Festival, The Netherlands
Noorderlicht is a multifaceted and international podium for documentary photography. It is a place
for photographers who explore their world and in their work picture its big events and everyday
occurrences, and everything in between. There is scope for all genres of photography in the
program, with documentary photography as the basis.
With a keen eye for developments, but averse to trends and hype, we give attention to photography
of the world and the world of photography. We do this by organizing an annual photo festival, by
programming exhibitions in our photogallery, by issuing specific photography commissions and by
sponsoring activities to broaden understanding, skills and appreciation of photography, such as
discussions, lectures and master classes. Noorderlicht supports an educational program, and in
addition publishes high quality photo books and catalogues. Our exhibitions travel around the world
and have been on show in galleries and museums, festivals in Europe and in, for instance, the United
States, Syria, Australia and Indonesia.

Ton Broekhuis, Director of the Noorderlicht Festival, The Netherlands (con’t)
Through its distinctive and responsive programming and publication of exceptional photography
books Noorderlicht has built up an international reputation as an institution that is able to team
socially engaged content with visual beauty.
Noorderlicht Photography Akerkhof 12, Groningen, The Netherlands
0031(0)50 3182227
http://www.noorderlicht.com/en/
Yves Chatap, Independent Curator and Critic, Paris, France
Yves Chatap is an independent curator and critic based in Paris. He is the founder of a website
interrogating the image in contemporary African artistic practices: Vus d’Afrique. He co-curated Haiti
en Seine (2004) and the On The Roof projects in Arles, then Addis FotoFest (2010) and for the
Photography encounters of Bamako. In 2011, he curated Intimités at Treignac Projet in Corrèze
(France). He is one of the curators of Synchronicity this autumn in Paris. Yves Chatap takes part in
the organization of various exposures in partnership with public institutions and private (for example:
Musée du Quai Branly, Paris Photo, Brighton Photo Fringe).
Vus d’Afrique was born from a wish of making participated, various experiences around the image
creation. The accessibility and the democratization of the filmic creation modify the practices, but
also the spectator’s critical eye. As from a point of view in form or bottom by the creative or the
spectator, the critical invites you to bring a value in different actions on exchange mode.
The association was founded in 2010 to promote and encourage creation and to guarantee the
distribution of photography and video of art in artistic methods notably in Africa. In this purpose the
founders put useful tools in place for the visibility of artists they support.
Elvira Dyangani Ose is Curator, International Art at Tate Modern, London, UK
Elvira Dyangani Ose is Curator of International Art, supported by Guaranty Trust Bank plc. at Tate
Modern. She is a doctoral candidate in History of Art and Visual Studies at Cornell University, New
York and the Artistic Director of Picha Reencounters, Lubumbashi Biennial 2012.
Ayperi Karabuda Ecer, Vice-president of Pictures at Reuters, Paris, France
Ayperi is of Swedish/Turkish origin and is based in Paris. With a unique global experience of working
with visual editorial production and markets, including as Vice-president of Pictures at Reuters,
Editor in Chief at Magnum Photos Paris, Bureau Chief for Sipa Press in New York. Ayperi Karabuda
Ecer is currently heading a global photography project, Picture Today for Tomorrow, with Swedish
foundation Expressions of Humankind.
Ayperi chaired the World Press Photo Jury 2010 and nominated the ICP Infinity Award and Prix
Pictet. She also chairs many local photography initiatives worldwide. She was a teacher at the Joop
Swart master class and has shared her expertise with generations of photographers.
At Reuters she initiated two Emmy award nominated multimedia essays ‘Bearing Witness’ and ‘Times
of Crisis’, as well as the best selling book series ‘Our World Now’.

Rena Effendi, Photographer, Azerbaijan, Georgia & Russia
Rena Effendi’s early documentary work focused on the oil industry’s effects on people’s lives in her
own country. As a result, she followed the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline from Azerbaijan through
Georgia to Turkey, collecting stories along the way. This work of six years was published in 2009 in
her first book: Pipe Dreams: A Chronicle of Lives along the Pipeline.
Effendi’s international awards include the ‘Fifty Crows’ Documentary Photography award and the
Getty Images Editorial grant. She participated in the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass in
2005 and 2007, she was chosen by the PDN magazine as one of 30 emerging photographers to
watch. In 2008 Rena Effendi won the National Geographic ‘All Roads’ photography award. Her work
has been exhibited worldwide, including at the ‘Visa Pour l’Image’ Festival of Photojournalism in
Perpignan, the 52 nd Venice Biennale and the Istanbul Biennial. Rena Effendi is represented by
INSTITUTE for Artist Management worldwide and Agency Photographer.RU in Russia. Effendi is one
of the 2011 Prince Claus Laureates.
Ahmed Kamel, Photographer and Multimedia artist, Cairo, Egypt
Ahmed Kamel is interested in domestic and urban life. He uses photography, video and drawing to
address social issues. He was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1981, where he studied painting and received
his BFA in 2003. Kamel is the recipient of a number of residencies including ‘Mediamatic’ Amsterdam,
Netherlands, ‘Prohelvetia’, Bern, Switzerland, ‘Land NRW’, Düsseldorf, Germany and ‘Amongst
Neighbours’, Istanbul, Turkey. He has participated in various solo and group exhibitions in the middle
east and Europe. His work is mainly concerned with how society constructs and idealizes its identity
through means of visual representation that can act as markers of people’s social and cultural
background.
Zaven Khachikyan, Photojournalist, Armenia
Zaven Khachikyan is recognized as Armenia’s top photojournalist. His photos, published regularly in
the Armenian and international media, are acclaimed for their daring, sensitivity, and high level of
artistry. In addition to his pioneering work in photojournalism, Khachikyan has spearheaded a
number of far-reaching training programs and online forums, and curated several film festivals.
Khachikyan is also renowned for his commercial photography, with a distinguished portfolio
representing some of the world’s most prestigious corporations. Khachikyan’s thematic photo series
have appeared in nearly a dozen books and exhibited throughout the globe.
Sofia Vollmer de Maduro, Director and Curator of the Alberto Vollmer Foundation
research facilities, Venezuela
Sofia is Director and Curator of the Alberto Vollmer Foundation research facilities that she founded
in 1995. These contain three significant photographic and documentary archives, embracing key
primary sources of Venezuelan 19 th and 20 th century art history. They include the pioneering
photographic work of Alfredo Boulton, the Vollmer photo collection, and the work of leading
Modernist architect Tomas Sanabria.
Working with international institutions, she has promoted and sponsored publications, exhibitions,
and symposiums dedicated to diffusing the work of Venezuelan artists and enabling the interchange of
expertise in the field of photography and image conservation. Sofia serves as advisor to several

Sofia Vollmer de Maduro, Director and Curator of the Alberto Vollmer Foundation
research facilities, Venezuela (con’t)
private and public photographic archives in South America and France, and is a member of the Board
of Directors of several international non-profit organizations. She read Economics at Cambridge
University.
Marcel Feil, Curator at Foam (Photography Museum Amsterdam), The Netherlands
Foam Photography Museum Amsterdam exhibits all genres of photography: fine art, documentary,
applied, historical and contemporary; a museum with international allure. Along with large exhibitions
of established (world) famous photographers, Foam also exhibits emerging young talent in smaller
short-term shows.
Foam is a museum for photography very suitable for a city like Amsterdam: inspirational, accessible,
uncomplicated, yet critical. Foam is more than a museum. Foam is on Keizersgracht, and elsewhere
too: in Foam magazine, out on the streets, abroad, on tour.
Foam is constant inspiration, presented at different speeds. Major exhibitions interspersed with
small-scale, quickly alternating shows. Foam holds lively discussions about photography, while
providing an opportunity for concentration and study. Foam presents a broad selection of images,
while recognising the importance of detail. Alongside the big names, the museum is a laboratory for
developing unknown talent. Foam features surprising combinations, because it presents the quality of
photography in every form: autonomous, documentary and applied. Historical and contemporary.
Foam collaborates with other organisations and companies. Both to realise the museum's ambitions
and because it fits in with Foam's belief in accessibility. Collaboration provides an opportunity for a
broad public to experience the power of photography. Foam documents and stimulates the
development of photography. It gives photographers, image editors, designers and others in the
profession a place to meet and find inspiration.
Marcel@foam.nl
Keizersgracht 609, Amsterdam
0031(0)20-551 65 00
www.foam.nl
Iris Sikking, Paradox, Edam, The Netherlands
Paradox is based in Edam (20 kilometres north of Amsterdam). The not for profit organisation
develops projects around contemporary issues with documentary authors: photographers,
filmmakers, visual artists, writers and researchers. Paradox does not programme its own exhibition
space but collaborates with venues in the Netherlands and abroad.
Since 1993 Paradox has developed 35 distinctive activities, travelling to more than 100 venues
worldwide. Paradox was founded in 1993 with the aim of stimulating the development in
photography. To reach this, Paradox produces travelling exhibitions, organises symposia and
publishes audiovisual, digital and printed publications. The recording of history as it is unfolding, and
the interaction between social, economic and technical factors, with the changes in society which
flow from them, are recurring aspects in both its thematic and monographic projects.
Within these projects Paradox experiments explicitly with multimedia forms of presentation, and the
interaction between different disciplines (photography, film, audio, writing) as well as platforms

Iris Sikking, Paradox, Edam, The Netherlands (con’t)
(exhibitions, websites, books, DVDs and educational programmes). Its goal is to reach a wide
audience without losing the nuances that social issues require. This is the main reason behind its
multiplatform strategy: one reaches a different audience with different platforms. But the synergy
between different media as well as platforms also creates new experiences for an audience, raises
questions in unexpected ways. But it also challenges the notions and conventions around the
presentation of material leading to experiments with mixes of old and new technology, media and
platforms.
Paradox always seeks partners in realizing its projects, in particular among publishers, designers and
partner institutions in the Netherlands and abroad. In the past, Paradox has worked with Steidl, Mets
and Schilt, Veenman Publishers, Actes Sud, Edition Braus, Episode and post editions on various
books. Exhibition designer and curator Jeroen de Vries and web designer Yvo Zijlstra (Antenna-Men)
have several times been closely involved with the development of projects. Book design has been the
responsibility of Henrik Barends, Mevis & Van Deursen, Yvo Zijlstra, Roelof Mulder, Kummer &
Herrman and others.
Exhibitions are created in close collaboration with different partners and museums and as a result
travel to a broad variety of institutions, both nationally and internationally. Past projects include:
(Alter) Ego Documents (Amsterdam, 1995), Avatar (Amsterdam, 1998), Play (Carel van Hees, 2001,
Rotterdam/Ludwigshafen), East Wind, West Wind (Bertien van Manen, 2001,
Rotterdam/Paris/Chicago,) Go No Go (Ad van Denderen, 2003,
Amsterdam/Vienna/Rennes/Paris/Sofia), Why Mister, Why (Geert van Kesteren, 2005,
Rotterdam/Arles/Krakow/Mannheim), The Wars (Oscar van Alphen, 2008, Rotterdam/Mannheim),
The Last Days of Shishmaref (Jan Louter/Dana Lixenberg, 2008, Rotterdam), So Blue, So Blue – Edges
of the Mediterranean (Ad van Denderen, 2008, Rotterdam/Winterthur) and WATW (various artists,
2009, Beijing).
Until 2009 Paradox was entirely project-financed thanks to a number of loyal funders and sponsors,
including the VSBFund, SNS Reaal Fund, the Prince Bernhard Cultural Fund and the Mondriaan
Foundation. Paradox receives structural support from the Mondriaan Foundation for 2009-2011.
Oorgat 36, Edam, The Netherlands
0031(0)299-315085
http://www.paradox.nl/index.php
Wim van Sinderen, Foto Museum Den Haag, The Netherlands
The Hague Museum of Photography opened its doors in December 2002. It is part of the
Gemeentemuseum The Hague and works closely with the Print Room of Leiden University Library.
Every year the museum organises around six exhibitions covering a wide range of periods, disciplines
and genres in the history of photography, often focusing on the human figure. This wide-ranging
approach – national and international, traditional and contemporary, black-and-white and colour –
has enabled the museum to build up a broad public keen to sample such a varied and outstanding
programme.
Contemporary names such as Desiree Dolron, Gregory Crewdson and Loretta Lux alternate with
classic photographers such as Emmy Andriesse, Edward S. Curtis and Leonard Freed. Little-known
oeuvres, like those of Gerard P. Fieret and Willem van de Poll, or the ‘Dutch period’ of fashion
photographer Erwin Blumenfeld, are placed firmly in the spotlight. Another regular feature is socially
relevant projects by contemporary photographers. Examples include the series on the Yugoslavia
Tribunal by Friso Keuris, the portrayal of eroticism between older people by Marrie Bot, or the

Wim van Sinderen, Foto Museum Den Haag, The Netherlands (con’t)
threatened landscapes of Anja de Jong. The museum is associated with the important prize awarded
each year: the Silver Camera for press photography in the Netherlands.
vansinderen@fmdh.nl
Stadhouderslaan 43, Den Haag, The Netherlands
http://www.fotomuseumdenhaag.nl
Hripsimé Visser, Curator of Photography for Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The
Netherlands
The Stedelijk’s original 1895 building at the Museumplein is currently under major restoration. The
museum will also be extended with the construction of a spectacular new building, designed by
Benthem Crouwel Architekten. The whole operation will give the museum considerable extra space
and enables it to present more of its famous collection than ever before.
The reopening is planned for the second half of 2011. We are awaiting the latest information from
the City of Amsterdam, the commissioner of the building procedure. Plans should be clear upcoming
Spring. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, we are working on the refurnishing of the museum, its shop
and restaurant. 90,000 art works are being moved to a brand new depot and the collection itself will
be restored.
Publications and a new website are also in the pipeline, so that the Stedelijk will soon, once again, be
the place to see classic modern and contemporary art: a platform for deeper understanding, exciting
new ideas, events and encounters.
h.visser@stedelijk.nl
Paulus Potterstraat 13, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
0031(0)20 5732911
http://www.stedelijk.nl/

Visual Arts

Visual Arts
Alessio Antoniolli , Director of Triangle Network, Director of Gasworks, London
Alessio Antoniolli is the Director of Triangle Network, an international network that facilitates
dialogue and exchange between artists around the world, through international workshops,
residencies, exhibitions and public events across Africa, Middle East, Asia, Europe, North and South
America. Alessio is also Director of Gasworks, London, where he runs a programme of residencies,
exhibitions and debates focusing on emerging UK and international artists and practices.
Jonathan Colin & Fernando Arias, Co-Directors, Fundacion Más Arte Más Acción (More
Art More Action), Colombia
The term Más Arte Más Acción encapsulates our mission; to generate artist-led projects and
international exchanges that motivate change. We initiate projects that investigate contemporary
global concerns, often involving educational projects with people from communities silenced by lack
of opportunity. We have a base in Colombia's remote Choco region, a stimulating location from
which to reflect on these global challenges.
By stimulating cultural exchange we strengthen contemporary arts practice in Colombia and we now
plan to reach further into the Global South, by extending our programme in association with new
partners in Latin America, Africa and Asia. We also aim to stimulate our partners in Europe and
around the world by showcasing creative thinking in the Global South in relation to these challenges.
Fouad Asfour, Research associate, Institute for Art Education University of Arts, Zurich
Fouad Asfour is an editor and writer, as well as a research associate at the Institute for Art Education
(IAE), University of the Arts Zurich. He has taught at Market Photo Workshop and Khanya College
in Johannesburg and initiated the publishing project “Pole, Pole Press”. He worked with/for the
following projects: documenta 12 Magazines (2007), dancer and choreographer Anne Juren “Patterns
of Sport and Dance” (2006), “code series” (2005); “Projekt , Migration”, Kölnischer Kunstverein,
Cologne (2002-2005); Secession, Vienna (1997-2001). He has also published texts, newsletters and
catalogues and co/curated exhibitions. He is a member of the artist collective Dead Revolutionaries
Club, and received a grant from the Igor Zabel Award for Art and Culture in 2008.
Defne Ayas, Arthub Asia Director and Curator at Large of Performa, Director of Witte
de With effective 2012, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Istanbul native Defne Ayas heads to Rotterdam from New York, where she has served as a
curator of Performa – the visual art performance biennial of New York City – since 2004, and
from Shanghai, where she has acted as a co-founding director of Arthub Asia – a contemporary
art initiative devoted to art creation and exchange across Asia– since 2007. Ayas was also a
faculty member of contemporary art and new media at the New York University in Shanghai
for the past five years.
Prior to joining Arthub Asia and Performa, she coordinated the New York-based New
Museum of Contemporary Art’s public and new media programming. Ayas has recently served
as a curatorial advisor to the 8th Shanghai Biennale (China), and as a publication advisor to the

Defne Ayas, Arthub Asia Director and Curator at Large of Performa, Director of Witte
de With effective 2012, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (con’t)
8th Gwangju Biennale (South Korea) in 2010. Defne Ayas completed De Appel Curatorial
Programme in Amsterdam and received her Masters degree from ITP – Tisch School of the
Arts at New York University.
Defne Ayas will stay involved with Performa, Arthub Asia, as well as with Blind Dates Project,
an artistic platform which she co-founded, dedicated to tackling the legacy and the rupture of
the Ottoman Empire (1299-1923).
Guus Beumer, Director of Marres / Centrum voor contemporaine cultuur, Maastricht,
The Netherlands
Marres was founded in 1998 under the name Centre for Visual Arts Maastricht. In 2006, a new name
was chosen: Marres, centre for contemporary culture. This refers to the family Marres, the former
inhabitants of the house where Marres is located, and to the specific approach Marres has to the
contemporary field of art and design. Through a more anthropological approach, both disciplines are
positioned in their broader cultural perspective.
The position of the producer contrasted with that of the individual author in combination with
questions surrounding the current fixation on actuality, serve as the basis for the program. This is
brought to the public’s attention through exhibitions, lectures, research, publications and projects.
Other points of interest that inspire the program of Marres are the ways in which the local and
regional relate to the national and international.
Marres also uses the potentiality of the 18th century aristocratic building in which it is located in such
a way that the intimacy of the house and its connected functions - eating, sleeping, working, and
relaxing – offer an additional quality.
info@marres.org
Capucijnenstraat 98, Maastricht
+31 (0)43 3270207
www.marres.org
Joan de Boer, Managing Partner at SPRIGS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands & Prishtina,
Kosovo
Joan de Boer got his BA in Art at St Joost, Academy of Arts, in Breda. After his graduation he moved
to London to work as a photographer. In 1991 he moved to Moscow to study Russian. In the years
to follow he worked as a freelance photographer in travel, study and fashion photography for Dutch
and international magazines. Most of that time he spent travelling. During those years he lived in
Berlin and Paris.
In July 2009 he moved to Kosovo and in the fall met Besa Luci. He wanted to start a blog and portal
and use Kosovo’s talents to reach that goal. Kosovo 2.0 is a Network site that serves as an
interactive generator of stories, commentaries and documentations from Kosovo and the world. De
Boer is responsible for maintaining contact with the board, Promoting Kosovo 2.0, and setting the
strategic course.
In September 2010, together with Bardhi Fejzullahu and Petrit Bytyqi, de Boer founded SPRIGS.
SPRIGS is an IT development office based in Amsterdam and Prishtina, Kosovo. Their Amsterdam

Joan de Boer, Managing Partner at SPRIGS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands & Prishtina,
Kosovo (con’t)
office deals with assignments locally, whereas all products are built and developed in Kosovo.
SPRIGS has 12 staff members. From Kosovo 2.0, SPRIGS evolved. De Boer wanted to create a
commercial company that would use the expertise of the people of Kosovo and connect them to the
European market. SPRIGS developed web sites for Kosovo 2.0, Sziget (Europe’s biggest festival), and
Apps for pairing wine with food, that was made “app of the week” at business news radio. SPRIGS is
now developing an app to share information about wanted criminals and unsolved crimes with the
general public. At present de Boer is the Managing Partner at SPRIGS, and is setting its strategic
course.
Jelle Bouwhuis, Director of SMBA (Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam), Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (SMBA) is a project space of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam,
located in the city centre. The objective of SMBA is to present contemporary art from an
Amsterdam context and therefore to create an international platform by organizing exhibitions,
lectures, debates, publications and residency programmes. Jelle Bouwhuis is the current curator of
SMBA.
jelle@smba.nl
Rozenstraat 59, 1016 NN Amsterdam
+31 (0) 20 4220471
http://www.smba.nl/
Anne-Claire Schmitz, Director, Witte de With, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art is an international public institution with
Rotterdam as its home base. Established in 1990, Witte de With explores developments in
contemporary art worldwide and presents this through exhibitions, theoretical and educational
programs, public events and publications.
Our position in the cultural field is unique. Witte de With is an alternative to the more
traditional museums of modern and contemporary art, to artists' initiatives and to commercial
galleries. Our dynamic team enables our institution to be current, innovative, experimental and
flexible. The center often serves as a springboard to a professional career for many beginning
curators, critics, scholars and educators. For over 20 years Witte de With has been
recognized as one of the world's most influential and prestigious exhibition spaces where there
is a place for innovation and quality.
The institution puts great emphasis on creating meaningful partnerships in Rotterdam and on
national and international levels. This is due to the fact that collaboration enhances knowledge,
resources, strength and distribution capabilities and stimulates inspiration and innovation.
Through collaborations with emerging and established artists, curators, scholars and the public
at large, Witte de With has amassed an important and growing national and international
network that is supported and sustained by the institute and the program.
We are proud that the work of many now renowned contemporary artists found early
exposure at Witte de With. Reflection with and input from Witte de With’s public form the
core of our programs. Through educational projects and public events, a wide and diverse
audience is reached and engaged. Moreover, there is often much close contact with artists and

Anne-Claire Schmitz, Director, Witte de With, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (con’t)
other professionals within these programs so that the distance between audience and artists is
short.
http://www.wdw.nl/
Dr. David L. Craven, Distinguished Professor of Art History at the University of New
Mexico, USA
Dr. David L. Craven received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1979). He
has written 10 books and major catalogues. Over 140 articles and review essays by him have
appeared in 25 different countries and in 18 different languages. Craven’s book Art & Revolution in
Latin America, 1910-1990 (Yale University Press, 1 st Edition in 2002 & a 2 nd Edition in 2006) was
nominated by Editors at Yale for the 2004 Mitchell Prize and his 1999 book Abstract Expressionism as
Cultural Critique (Cambridge University Press) has won international acclaim. Art in the New Nicaragua,
co-authored in 1983 for the New York Council for the Humanities, was the 1 st monograph on art &
cultural policy of the 1979 Sandinista Revolution.
Major museums for which he has written catalogue essays include the Tate Gallery in England, the
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Spain, the Museo Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso in
Mexico, the Studio Museum of Harlem in New York City, the Blanton Museum of Art at the University
of Texas, Austin, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe. He has also given public lectures at
numerous museums worldwide.
Dr. Craven became a Distinguished Professor of Art History at the University of New Mexico in
2007; he has taught there since 1993. He has also worked as a Visiting Professor at four other
institutions. In 1980 he was a Visiting Fellow at Princeton University; in 1998/99 he was elected a
Senior Fellow at the Collegium Budapest, Institute for Advanced Study in Hungary; in 2003 he was a
Scholar-in-Residence at the University of Texas at Austin; and in 2007 he was the Rudolf Arnheim
Professor of Kunstgeschichte at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
He has given public lectures in English, as well as in Spanish (20 times) & German (5), in over 100
different universities and museums both in the US and abroad.
His well-known essays are found in over 12 major anthologies, such as, Pollock and After (2 nd ed.),
Reading Abstract Expressionism, The Third Text Reader, Cosmopolitan Modernisms, Value Art Politics, and
Discrepant Abstraction. Guest Editor of the Oxford Art Journal (1994), he is now on the Advisory Board
of six journals, including: Third Text (London), Estrago (Managua), Crónicas (Mexico City), Desformas
(Sao Paulo, Brazil), and Art in Translation (Edinburgh).
There have been over 75 major reviews of his writings in newspapers and cultural journals.
Maria Hlavajova, Director of BAK Utrecht (Basis voor actuele kunst), The Netherlands
BAK, Basis voor actuele kunst, serves as an advocate for contemporary art. It is a venue for
contemporary art production, an open platform for creating, presenting and analyzing significant art
projects. BAK initiates cooperative projects with artists and other professionals to explore the
possibilities and potential of the contemporary arts. BAK stimulates experimentation, the study of
contemporary culture, art education and the search for new audiences in order to make the art of
our own time, and its developments towards tomorrow, accessible.

Maria Hlavajova, Director of BAK Utrecht (Basis voor actuele kunst), The Netherlands
(con’t)
BAK, basis voor actuele kunst is a platform dedicated to thinking, researching, producing, presenting,
and analyzing contemporary art. In its process of becoming, marking a trajectory from a spontaneous
artists’ initiative established in 1989, to today’s contemporary art institute, BAK has served as an
advocate for contemporary art. The philosophy of BAK is to make the art of our own time, and its
developments towards tomorrow, accessible.
It is the combination of the professional dedication of its people, and a middle-field, flexible operation
that makes BAK a distinct place. Our committed team of individuals with different expertise identifies
issues for artistic and intellectual analysis, invites art professionals for collaborations, and offers
personal involvement and engagement.
The activities of BAK are concentrated in three main areas: research/creative production, presenting,
and analyzing.
The area of research and creative production functions both as an extended artist’s studio, and as a
space for gathering valuable data and support resources for contemporary art curators, writers, and
theorists. BAK initiates partnerships and collaborations with contemporary artists, theorists, writers,
curators, and other institutions, who are offered professional support – both in intellectual terms, as
well as in relation to production. All the activities of people at BAK, as well as its resources, are then
synchronized towards each projects’ needs.
Presentation is a public moment in the development of every project. It can realize itself in various
formats accommodating the character of a project. Here BAK functions in the true meaning of its
name - basis – as a support structure, flexible enough to sustain diverse activities such as exhibitions,
workshops, publications, etc.
In an effort to stimulate discourse on contemporary art, BAK devotes a significant part of its work to
the area of intellectual analysis related to its projects, as well as to developments in art and society in
general. Various public and semi-public encounters in form of lectures, conversations, symposia, or
workshops are being organized, for which BAK attracts a large number of respective practitioners on
national and international levels.
BAK provides a basis, which attempts to accommodate various aspects of complex socio-political
situations in the contemporary world, and seeks out their artistic re-articulations. One could see
BAK as a meeting point for various voices about the everyday; should reality fail to provide enough
vision towards the future, BAK tries to create a mental space for examining the potential of art to
conceive the world otherwise.
maria@bak-utrecht.nl
Lange Nieuwstraat 4, 3512 PH Utrecht’
030-231 61 25
http://www.bak-utrecht.nl/
Adriana González Hulshof, Independent Gallerist, The Netherlands
Adriana González Hulshof (born in Mexico-city, raised in Peru and in The Netherlands) is an art
historian specialized in curating art exhibitions and representing international contemporary artists.
Because of her personal as well as her professional background she easily builds bridges between
different cultures and speaks fluently Dutch, English, Spanish and French.

Adriana González Hulshof, Independent Gallerist, The Netherlands (con’t)
Adriana has a broad experience in the world of international contemporary arts, having worked at
Christie’s Amsterdam, as Gallery Director at Paul Andriesse and as Interim Network Coordinator at
the Prince Claus Fund, amongst other important institutions. She has organized many exhibitions and
represented artists in major Art Fairs throughout the world, and worked intensely with a wide range
of well-known artists including Marlene Dumas and Thomas Struth. Contemporary art is also the
main theme she writes about. In collaboration with cultural institutions she developed and
established cultural projects in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Currently Adriana is engaged in preparing the exhibition May Your Wish Come True… at the Arts
Initiative Gonzalez Hulshof. This exhibition is scheduled for Spring 2012 and aims at bringing together
artists from Latin America, the Middle East and The Netherlands.
info@gonzalezhulshof.com
31 6 4833 2931
www.gonzalezhulshof.com
Ronald Huynen, Stroom, The Hague, The Netherlands
Stroom Den Haag (an independent foundation founded in 1989) is an active centre for visual arts and
architecture. Stroom has an active policy for artists from The Hague and also initiates a large number
of (international) activities in the fields of visual arts, art in public space, architecture and design, in
the broadest sense.
Stroom organizes exhibitions, manifestations and lectures, produces publications, has a library on its
premises and develops special projects in the field of art in public space and architecture.
The name Stroom was chosen because it stands for energy and movement.
Stroom Den Haag is supported financially by the city of The Hague. The program 2008 is also made
possible by the Mondriaan Foundation and the Stimuleringsfonds voor Architectuur.
Hogewal 1-9, Den Haag, 070 3658985
http://www.stroom.nl/
Cathy Jacob, head of collection at Museum Boijmans, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has world-class collections of old masters, modern and
contemporary art, applied arts and design. It houses approximately 126,000 objects. In addition to
the displays of the permanent collection, each year the museum organises around 25 temporary
exhibitions and numerous public activities. The museum attracts an average of 200,000 visitors per
year. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has 175 employees and volunteers. Its annual budget is
approximately 12 million euros. Alongside the directorate the museum organisation comprises:
- three sectors: the Collections and Research Sector, the Presentations Sector and the
Operations Sector;
- two staff departments: the Curatorial Departments and the Marketing and Communications
Department.
Museumpark 18, Rotterdam
010 4419538
http://www.boijmans.nl/en/

Renee Jongejan, Director of De Appel, Amsterdam
De Appel is and internationally oriented arts centre in the centre of Amsterdam. Since it was
founded in 1975 it has served as a leading platform for research and the presentation of
contemporary art. De Appel has a programme of exhibitions and performances by visual artists,
choreographers and theatre directors. In addition, under the title Appel, it organizes a very broad
programme of events, ranging from introductory talks to conferences lasting several days. As a
publisher, de Appel publishes artist books and monographs, periodicals and anthologies of essays.
De Appel has also organized the eight-month Curatorial Programme since 1994. During this
exploratory process, young curators from different parts of the world are taught a range of skills and
offered various experiences which can be used as a source for their further professional career. The
programme comprises theory lessons, workshops, excursions, assignments and educational
confrontations. The thematic focus is on “context-responsive curating” and the presentation of art in
the public space.
rjongejan@deappel.nl
Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat 59, 1001 ET Amsterdam
020 6255651
http://www.deappel.nl/
Susan Katz, Program Director, CEC ArtsLink, Russia
Program Director Susan Katz is based in St. Petersburg, Russia and manages CEC ArtsLink’s programs
in Russia and Central Asia. She has more than 15 years experience in the field of international cultural
exchange and since 1998 has been directing the Global Art Lab program, exchanges in contemporary
art and music, which bring American and international artists and curators to Russia and Central Asia
to conduct workshops, participate in exhibitions and concerts, and give lectures and master classes.
CEC ArtsLink is an arts organization with offices in New York and St. Petersburg that facilitates and
produces programs that encourage and support exchanges between visual and performing artists and
cultural managers in the United States and other parts of the world. We believe that the arts are a
society’s most deliberate and complex means of communication, and that the work of artists and arts
administrators can help nations overcome long histories of reciprocal distrust, insularity and conflict.
Besa Luci, Editor-in-chief of Kosovo 2.0, Kosovo
Besa Luci is editor-in-chief of the Kosovo 2.0 website and quarterly magazine. Kosovo 2.0 is a
generator of stories, commentaries and narratives from Kosovo and the world through writing,
video and photography. Kosovo 2.0 uses new media as a tool of engaging young Kosovars in
commenting and sharing their views and stories on developments throughout Kosovo, while it aims
to help place Kosovo's youth in the world map. Besa also works as a researcher with the Foreign
Policy Club think tank, based in Prishtina, Kosovo, which conducts research and analysis of
developments and processes linked to Kosovo’s foreign policy, opportunities and progress in Euro-
Atlantic integration, and trends that impact the daily political and economic developments in
Kosovo. Besa holds a BA in political science/international relations and journalism/mass
communications from the American University in Bulgaria, and an MA in journalism/magazine writing
from the Graduate School of Journalism, University of Missouri, Columbia.

Beral Madra, Critic and Curator, Director of the BM Contemporary Art Centre,
Istanbul, Turkey
Beral Madra is a critic and curator living and working in Istanbul, Turkey. She directed Gallery BM
from 1984-1990 and since 1990, has served as director at the BM Contemporary Art Centre. Since
1984 she has organized more than 250 local and international artists in her art centre and in other
official art spaces in Istanbul. Madra coordinated the 1st (1987) and the 2nd (1989) Istanbul Biennale
as well as curated exhibitions of Turkish artists in the 43 rd , 45 th , 49 th , 50 th and 51 st Venice Biennales.
Madra also co-curated the following exhibitions: Modernities and Memories-Recent Works from the
Islamic World in the 47th Venice Biennale; “Interstices”, Central Asia Pavilion, 53rd Venice Biennale,
(2009); Next Wave, Exhibition of 17 Women Artists from Turkey, Berlin Academy Pariser Platz
(2009). From 2008-2010 she served as Visual Arts Director of Istanbul 2010 ECOC. In 2011 Madra
worked as the Advisory Curator of the Pavilion of Azerbaijan at 54th Venice Biennale. Madra has
represented the Istanbul Scholarship of Berlin Senate since 1995. She has also lectured in the Art
Management Department of the Faculty of Art and Design of Yildiz Technical University (1998-2002).
She is a founding member of both the Foundation of Future Culture and Art and a founding member
and honorary president of AICA, Turkey (established 2003).
José-Carlos Mariátegui Vice-president of Alta Tecnología Andina (ATA), Peru
José-Carlos Mariátegui is a scientist and media theorist/researcher. He studied Biology and Applied
Mathematics and has a MSc in Information systems at London School of Economics, where he is a
PhD candidate at the Department of Management's Information Systems and Innovation Group
(http://is.lse.ac.uk). He also carries out research on the socio-economic and technological
consequences of information growth in the media industry (http://www.tigair.info). Mariátegui is a
founding member of Alta Tecnología Andina – ATA (www.ata.org.pe), dedicated to the development
of projects in art, science and technology in Latin America. He is also a founding member of
Escuelab (http://www.escuelab.org), the first advanced research and education space for creativity,
technology and innovation in Latin America.
Other positions include, member of the National Commission of Culture of the Peruvian
Government (2001-2002), Founding Director of the José Carlos Mariategui Memorial Museum
(1995-2005) and founder of the Festival Internacional de Video/Arte/Electronica de Lima
(www.festivalvae.com). Mariátegui has curated several international exhibitions on media art, such
as:“Nueva/Vista: Videokunst aus Lateinamerica; “ViaSatelite” (www.viasateliteperu.org); “Videografias
In(visibles) (www.videografiasinvisibles.org), "Emergentes" (laboralcentrodearte.org/emergentes/). He
has acted as a node in Tester (www.e-tester.net). He has been a jury member at Videobrasil, Ars
Electronica, Competencia VIDA de Fundación Telefónica, Ojo de Iberoamerica, FIAP, among others.
Currently, Mariátegui is a Network Committee Member of Prince Claus Fund (The Netherlands) and
of the Advisory Council de Third Text (UK). He lives in London (UK) and Lima (Peru).
Clayde Menso Assistant director of the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK), The
Netherlands
Clayde Menso is the Assistent director of the Amsterdam Fund for the arts. The Amsterdam Fund
for the Arts stands for the development, strengthening and diversity of the arts in Amsterdam. The
fund realises this by incidental financial contributions to projects of artists, institutions and other
initiators. The Amsterdam Fund for art is arts- and culture broad.
cmenso@afk.nl

Karen Elizabeth Milbourne, PhD, Curator, National Museum of African Art,
Smithsonian Institution, USA
Dr. Karen E. Milbourne has been a Curator at the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian
Institution (NMAfA) in Washington DC since May 2008. Previously, she was Associate Curator of
African Art and Department Head for the Arts of Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Islands at
The Baltimore Museum of Art, in Baltimore Maryland, and prior to that, Assistant Professor of Art
History at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY. Since joining NMAfA, she has curated the
exhibitions, Artists in Dialogue: António Ole and Aimé Mpane, provided the in-house supervision for
Yinka Shonibare MBE and is developing a major traveling show and publication entitled, Earth Matters:
Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa.
Her exhibitions, Artists in Dialogue 2: Sandile Zulu and Henrique Oliveira and A Brave New World are
currently on view. Artists in Dialogue 2 has been selected as one of the Washington Post’s top ten
exhibitions “not to miss,” and is the subject of a bilingual English and Brazilian Portuguese interactive
mobile application. Dr. Milbourne received her PhD in Art History from The University of Iowa in
2003 and has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships. She is an elected Board
Member of the international organization, the Arts Council of the African Studies Association, serves
as Chair of the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowships and is a member of the Smithsonian
Advisory Committee to the Consortium for Valuing World Cultures.
Arja Miller, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helzinki, Finland
Arja Miller is the Chief Curator of Collections in KIASMA, Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki,
Finland. She has a Master of Arts degree from the University of Helsinki (1997). Before joining
Kiasma, she held various positions at the Helsinki Art Museum, including curator and Head of
Education. Miller has published extensively on Contemporary Art, focusing especially on the fine line
between fine art and popular culture. Her recent curatorial work at Kiasma include Pipilotti Rist's
solo exhibition (2009), and ARS 11, a major group show focusing Africa in contemporary art (2011).
Phyu Mon, Blue Wind, Myanmar
Blue Wind is an independent women's multimedia art organization created to contribute towards the
expansion of Myanmar’s multimedia art boundaries. It is initiated and run by local artists who work in
their communities to create projects that open up spaces. Nowadays, many woman artists are still
coming and joining the group for self-expression and discourse. As an organization, it operates fluidly,
utilizing and forming networks according to necessity. It is therefore an organization that operates
close to the ground, is highly adaptable, is connected and is efficient in the restrictive social context
of Myanmar. Blue Wind’s mission is to create and produce within spaces and forums in which people
from Myanmar can take part in the representation of themselves, thus reaffirming their place in the
global community. Furthermore, through the global power of assembly that art provides, their aim to
present critical alternatives to how Myanmar's women or how Myanmar is perceived by the outside
world. As its name implies, their aim is to propagate Blue Wind from within and without that restrict
movement and development on a women and human scale. They truly hope to nurture youth and
newcomers alike to possibilities of multimedia art as a social force.
http://www.thavibu.com/burma/phyu_mon/BUR2300.htm

Els van Odijk, Director of the Rijksakademie, Amsterdam
The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam is an artists’ institute for national and
international top talent. The name Rijksakademie (1870) refers to the classical Akademia, a place
where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. The
Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten has three statutory functions: Residency, Prix de Rome, and
Collections.
The residency programme offers artistic, theoretical and technical support. This creates an
environment wherein approximately fifty-five talented artists from all over the world can, under
optimum circumstances for a maximum of two years, work on deepening, broadening and
accelerating their profession – individually and socially.
The Prix de Rome is the oldest and most generous award for young artists and architects (up to 35
years old) in the Netherlands. The mission of the Prix de Rome is to track talent and identify trends
in art and architecture in an international context. The four shortlist artists nominated are offered a
residency in the Rijksakademie to develop new work for the final presentation.
The Rijksakademie manages collections (library, art and other collections and artists’ documentation)
that are open to the public. The Rijksakademie is a member of Res Artis, the International
Association of Residential Art Centres, which it co-founded in 1990.
els.van.odijk@rijksakademie.nl
Sarphatistraat 470, 1018 GW Amsterdam
31 (0)20 52 70 300
http://www.rijksakademie.nl/ENG/
Thomas Peutz, Director of SMART Project Space, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
SMART Project Space was founded in 1994 as a site for cultural production. The primary objectives
are to support artists, cultivate new relationships between the artist/artwork and the audience, and
simultaneously provide a context that defines the parameters of cultural production. Housed in a
former Pathological Anatomical Laboratory, SMART Project Space is the flexible framework
embedded in the laboratory conception of artistic production and collaborative research. SMART
Project Space allows for a wide range of approaches and draws together some of the most
interesting young artists today.
thomas@smartprojectspace.net
Arie Biemondtsraat 105, Amsterdam
020-427 59 51
http://www.smartprojectspace.net/
Davide Quadrio, co-founder and director of ArtHub, Shanghai, China
Spearheaded by a dynamic team of specialized curators and producers, ArtHub Asia is a cultural and
artistic constellation of independent thinkers devoted to contemporary art creation in China and
across Asia. In collaboration with museums and other public / private spaces and institutions, and in
close dialogue with its advisory board, Arthub Asia initiates and delivers ambitious art projects
through a sustained dialogue with visual, performance, and new media artists. Inspired by the
collective intelligence generated across media, Arthub Asia serves as a collaborative production lab, a
creative think tank as well as a curatorial research platform. Arthub Asia is committed to furthering

Davide Quadrio, co-founder and director of ArtHub, Shanghai, China (con’t)
experimentation, knowledge-production and diversity among dedicated artists, art professionals,
scholars, and arts organizations in the region.
Jhafis Quintero, Resident Artist at Rijksacademie, The Netherlands & Costa Rica
In the work of Jhafis Quintero, there is a particular perception of the passing time and its implications
for a body immersed in prison. It is a question of physical and mental limits, and a constant reflection
on the strong and pure way of communication in these places. He takes these dynamics out of
context and places them in the context of contemporary art. His art practice thus stems from
personal experiences in the world of incarceration, silence and insecurity, but also imagination and
creativity. His work is lucidly escapist, while constantly maintaining an ironic and even humorous
outlook that prevents him from lapsing into misery and self pity.
Khaled Ramadan, Artist, Northern Europe/The Middle East
Khaled Ramadan was born in Beirut in 1965 and currently works between the Middle East and
Northern Europe. Ramadan’s work is greatly influenced by social history, scientific research, and
critical theory. He uses his profound knowledge in constructed media and the history of visual /
alternative aesthetics to comment upon the socio-cultural mobility of contemporary art and transidentity.
Ramadan is a member of the following organizations: the Advisory Board for HIAP Residency
Program, Finland; the Advisory Board for the NKD Residency Program, Norway; the Foreign Press
Association, DK; and the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art (IKT). He is
also a co-curator of Manifesta 8, Spain. Of the professional Societies he is acquainted with, he is
involved in the Danish Artists Society.
Ramadan has published papers on art in cooperation with institutions like NIFCA, BRUMARIA,
KIASMA, FRAME and MANIFESTA. He has also published essays with theorists including Thomas
McEvilley, Gao Shiming, Rasheed Araeen, Sarat Maharaj, Gavin Jantjes, Antonio Zaya, Zygmunt
Baumann and Slavoy Zizek, among others.
Amelia Ramovic, Executive Director of Ars Aevi, Museum of Contemporary Art,
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Amelia Ramovic was born in Sarajevo in 1977, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She has been part of the Ars
Aevi team since 2000. In 2005, she became the Executive Director of the Ars Aevi Project –
Museum of Contemporary Art in Sarajevo, dedicated to the construction of the Ars Aevi Museum
building designed by Renzo Piano, the formation and enrichment of the international Ars Aevi
Collection of contemporary art and the organisation of contemporary art exhibitions and events in
Sarajevo and internationally. She was the curator of the solo exhibition of Braco Dimitrijevi at the
2009 Venice Biennale. She teaches contemporary music theory at the Academy of Music in Sarajevo.
Ars Aevi is a 2007 Prince Claus Award laureate.

Michele Robecchi, Curator, Editor of Phaidon Press, London , UK
Michele Robecchi is a writer and curator based in London. Former senior editor of Contemporary
magazine (2005-2007), he currently serves as an editor at Phaidon Press and is a visiting lecturer at
Christie's Education. He regularly contributes essays to exhibition catalogues as well as to magazines
such as Art in America, Flash Art, Interview, Kunst-Bulletin and Mousse, and is the author of a
monograph on the work of Sarah Lucas. He has curated many exhibitions, including the 2nd Tirana
Biennale (2003), 'TIP: Trends, Ideas, Projects' (Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, 2004),
'Beauty So Difficult (Fondazione Stelline, Milan, 2005), 'The Luxury of Dirt' (Galerie Bob van Oursow,
Zurich, 2011), and 'The Ground on Which I Stand' (multiple venues in Israel, Germany, Kosovo and
UK, 2010-11).
www.cecartslink.org
José Roca, Art Critic, Curator and Author, Bogotá, Columbia & Philadelphia, USA
José Roca is the Artistic Director of Philagrafika 2010. He is a Colombian curator working from
Bogotá and Philadelphia.
Roca was the Director of Arts at the Banco de la República cultural center in Bogotá (1994-2008).
He co-curated the Trienal Poli/gráfica de San Juan, Puerto Rico (2004), the 27th São Paulo Bienal
(2006), and the newly structured Encuentro de Medellín (2007). He was part of the Golden Lions
awards jury for the 2007 Venice Biennale. Roca completed the Whitney Independent Study Program
in 2002 and was a Whitney-Lauder Curatorial Fellow at Institute of Contemporary Art, University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia from 2002-2003. Roca has an M.A. from the Ecole d’Architecture Paris-
Villemin in Paris and a B.A. in Architecture from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. He has
written articles and reviews for publications such as Art on Paper, Lápiz and Art Nexus, and essays for
catalogs and books such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York’s Modern Painting and Sculpture
catalog, Phaidon´s Vitamin Ph, The Walker Art Center’s Brave New Worlds, and the Museum of
Contemporary Art, Barcelona´s Muntadas: On translation, among many others. Roca has been guest
lecturer at various seminars, such as Art Basel´s The curator’s circle, ARCO Madrid’s forum on
Curatorial practice, the VI Diálogos Iberoamericanos, in Valencia, Spain, and the Urban Speakers Series at
Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art, Toronto, Canada, among many others. Roca is a member of
AICA, and serves as part of the Advisory Committee of CIFO (Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation)
and the Curatorial Committees of APT (Artist Pension Trust) and iCI (Independent Curators
International). He speaks Spanish, French, English, and Portuguese.
Marie Jeanne de Rooij, Director of Gemak, Den Haag, The Netherlands
GEMAK is the Vrije Academie's exhibition space. It offers artists an inspiring platform for provocative
Art*Politics*Debate projects. GEMAK is both literally and figuratively speaking in the centre of
society and exhibits art that is “food for thought” and touches a nerve.
Gemak’s sensational exhibitions explore a variety of topical issues from surprising perspectives. The
Gemak galleries have played host to art from Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East, and also from
Armenia and Russia. In Kibri a Kulturu, Marcel Pinas showed how the Maroons of Suriname have been
driven from their home, causing their culture to disappear. Dutch photographer Joël van Houdt
travelled with a Moroccan refugee fleeing by boat, producing a spectacular series of photographs that
was shown at Gemak.

Marie Jeanne de Rooij, Director of Gemak, Den Haag, The Netherlands (con’t)
Gemak’s exhibitions are never isolated events; they are generally accompanied by lectures,
interviews and debates, where art provides the inspiration rather than the subject. The activities
often concern social issues and politics.
marie-jeanne@vrijeacademie.org
Paviljoensgracht 20-24, 2512 BP Den Haag
31 (0) 70 - 363 89 68
www.gemak.org
Gabriela Salgado, Independent Curator, Former curator of Public Programmes at Tate
Modern, UK & Latin America
Gabriela Salgado is an Argentine-born curator based in London, UK. Since obtaining an MA in
Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art she has worked independently in the UK
and Latin America. She has curated a large number of exhibitions and has organised international
workshops and residencies programmes in the UK, Greece, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Cuba,
Colombia and Spain.
Her border experience - born of cultural displacement - and six years working as curator of the
Collection of Latin American Art at Essex University, UECLAA (1999-2005) provided the unique
opportunity to operate across Latin American countries beyond the national paradigms, a vantage
point for professionals working outside Latin America.
From 2006 to 2011 she was curator of Public Programmes at Tate Modern where she devised
encounters between international artists, theorists and the diverse audiences of the UK.
In 2009 she co-curated the 2nd Biennale of Thessaloniki in Greece ‘PRAXIS: Art in Times of
Uncertainty’.
She currently works independently as a curator and consultant in Europe and Latin America and
continues to contribute articles and essays to art publications and to participate in international
conferences and symposia.
Chris Spring, Artist and Curator of African Galleries at the British Museum, UK
Chris Spring is curator of the African Galleries at the British Museum, is also an artist himself, and is
responsible for the British Museum’s substantial and growing collection of contemporary art from
Africa.
Chris has worked in many African countries, usually in collaboration with contemporary artists. One
of the countries he has worked with includes Mozambique, where he developed a collaborative
project with three museums in different parts of the country as well as commissioning works from
artists in Maputo. He has worked with the Triangle Arts Trust in supporting artists’ workshops in
Maputo, Mozambique in March/April 2008, in Kumasi, Ghana in 2009 and at the Stone House in
Lagos, Nigeria in 2010.
His books include African Arms and Armour (1993), North African Textiles (1995), Silk in Africa (2002),
Angaza Afrika: African Art Now (2008 which won the ART BOOK AWARD for 2009), African Art in
Detail (2009) and African Textiles Today (publ. 2012).
www.chrisspring.co.uk

Alexia Tala, Independent curator, Santiago, Chile/ Internationally-based
Alexia Tala is an independent curator, born in and currently based out of Santiago, Chile, although
she also works internationally. She was co-curator for the first Deformes Performance Biennial
(Chile, 2006), co-curator for the Museum Man’s exhibition Historia de la Desaparición (Franklin
Furnace archives - Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, Chile, 2007) and curator of Focus Brazil
(Chile, 2010). She was also a co-curator of the 8th Mercosur Biennial (Brazil, 2011).
Tala writes for art magazines in Latin América and England and is author of Installations and
Experimental Printmaking (United Kingdom, 2009).
Her research on contemporary artists using experimental print techniques for making installations
unveiled a rapidly expanding movement in England and the rest of the world. She is currently editing
a book on Chilean contemporary art.
Maria Varnava, Founder and Director of Tiwani Contemporary, London, UK
Maria Varnava is Greek Cypriot but grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. She holds an MA in African Studies
with a special focus in African Art and Society from the School of Oriental and African Studies
(SOAS, London). Currently, she is one of the founders and directors of Tiwani Contemporary, a new
London gallery focusing on Contemporary Art informed by the artistic practices from Nigeria, the
African continent and its Diaspora, as well as the Global South. Tiwani Contemporary will operate as
a gallery by representing a small number of emerging and established artists and presenting their
work to a London institutional, corporate and collector base. In addition, Tiwani Contemporary, via
its non-commercial vehicle, will develop and present curated projects and events. It will offer a
dynamic public programme through its partnership with Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos as well
as in collaboration with guest curators and art institutions in the UK and internationally.
Jorge Villacorta, Vice-president of Alta Tecnología Andina (ATA), Peru
Jose Villacorta is an art critic and independent curator. He obtained a bachelor degree in Genetics at
York University, England. During his scientific activities, he simultaneously developed a strong
interest in contemporary Peruvian visual arts research. Since 1997, he has been an Art and
Communication professor for the Postgraduate program at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del
Perú. Since 1999, he has been a professor for the Artistic Interrelations Seminar at the Plastic Arts
faculty, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.
From 1993 to 1998, he taught History of Photography at the Gaudí Institute. Jorge also worked as an
advisor for Parafernalia S.R.L. art gallery between 1993 and 1997. He has been responsible for
numerous expositions. In 1999, as a member of Espacios & Márgenes, Villacorta put together five
thematic expositions on the Peruvian visual arts scene from 1979-1999, as part of the “El Laberinto
de la Choledad” Project sponsored by Hivos Foundation. Villacorta is currently living in Lima and
working at the Tissue Bank at the Child Health Institute. Since January 2000, he has served as
director of the Quidam Cultural Action Association, in charge of the management at the Luis Miró
Quesada Cultural Space of the Miraflores City Council, Lima, Perú.
Tim Voss, Director of W139, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
W139 is a presentation and production space for contemporary art in the centre of Amsterdam. It
was founded in 1979 by a group of young artists who wanted to present an alternative to the
collections and exhibitions on show at the city’s museums and commercial galleries.

Tim Voss, Director of W139, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (con’t)
In the course of 30 years, W139 has evolved from an anti-establishment squat into a professional
non-institutional platform for contemporary art.
The program includes both Dutch and international artists who are invited to develop a new (sitespecific)
work for the W139 area. Today, W139 operates parallel with, rather than in opposition to,
the more established exhibition venues. W139 provides ‘room for risk’, and in so doing fulfills a
unique role in the Dutch art world. Every four years, the board of W139 appoints a new director.
Current director since May 2010 is the German artist and curator Tim Voss.
timvoss@w139.nl
Address: Warmoesstraat 139, 1012 JB Amsterdam NL
+31 20 6229434
http://www.w139.nl/
Vincent Wijlhuizen, General manager of Casco, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Casco was founded in 1990 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, as a platform for experimental art. Since
1996, Casco has developed a critical programme that explores art in the public realm, questioning
the relation between art and its physical, social and political environment.
Central to Casco's approach has been openness and flexibility towards programming, with projects
taking multiple forms; be this in public space, a publication, a discussion, a workshop, exhibition,
symposium or event. Since 1996 Casco has also sporadically published its own magazine, Casco
Issues.
In 2005 Casco took the new title of 'office for art, design and theory' in order to set a wider agenda
towards an interdisciplinary practice that not only seeks to address these areas independently, but to
venture into their cross-fertilizations, shared concepts, critical discourses, and their connections to
other fields. Central to our investigation into these fields are the relationships between theory and
practice.
Casco maintains a questioning approach to culture, which is also applied to its own position in the
cultural field. Besides pursuing different modes of artistic production, Casco seeks to open its own
infrastructure up to experimentation in order to push the position of a visual arts organisation, both
in the fields of art and design, and in wider social, cultural and political frameworks.
vincent@cascoprojects.org
Nieuwekade 213-215 , 3511 RW Utrecht, The Netherlands
+31 (0)30 231 9995
http://www.casco.nl/

Additional Biographies

Additional Biographies
Ellen Blom ID, Performing Arts Consultancy, The Netherlands – Performing Arts
Ellen Blom started her consultancy in the fall of 2010. She focuses on international and intercultural
exchange in the performing arts.
Until last year, Ellen worked as a programmer at Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, one of the bigger
theatres in The Netherlands. In that period, she developed special programs and festivals in
cooperation with numerous partners, to attract a new audience. She was responsible for more than
thirty international tours with theatre companies from Turkey, Morocco, Surinam and the Antilles.
Ellen Blom ID specializes in advice concerning cultural exchange e.g. questions about touring in the
Netherlands; the right Dutch partners to work with; looking for new partnerships in performing arts.
You can also contact her for project organization, programming or concept development in the
performing arts.
Nino Comba, Founder of N-Workshop, Paris, France – Design
Nino Comba is the founder of n-workshop, a design and project management practice based in Paris
and Milan. He was born in Bergamo (Italy) and raised in Bologna and Venice. He's living in Paris.
After a degree in literature and human sciences, he studied American contemporary theatre at
University of Maryland and architecture and urban planning at IUAV in Venice.
His area of expertise is architecture, light and set design, visual and communication design, fine art.
He is also a curator and art director for architecture, design and contemporary art exhibitions. His
works are presented in France, Italy, Japan and US.
Nino is a member of: AFD (Alliance Française des Designers), PMI (Project Management Institute),
Design 21 (Social Design Network).
www.n-workshop.net
www.lightwatercity.org
Michael Benson, Candlestar Ltd, London, UK – Visual Arts
From 1993 – 2003 Michael Benson was Director of Communications and Marketing at the London
Institute (now the University of the Arts, London). He was responsible for establishing the London
Institute gallery and for building an exhibition programme that mixed outstanding student work with
work by leading contemporary artists, designers and photographers. In this role he created
Signatures of the Invisible a pioneering collaboration with CERN in Geneva that lead to the
production of an exhibition of contemporary art that toured the world between 2000 and 2003
when it completed its run at PS1 MOMA in New York. He also led the campaign to secure a new
site for Chelsea College of Art and Design at the site of the old Royal Army Medical College on
Millbank. He also devised Young at Art - a programme of Saturday classes and Summer Schools for
London children.
Michael Benson is also a writer and film producer. His book ‘1000 years 1000 words’ was awarded a
D&AD silver award in 2001. His play ‘Life’s A Monkey’ was performed at the Cochrane Theatre in
London in the autumn of 2002. His DVDs on Gustav Metzger and John Berger, produced in
collaboration with the filmmaker Ken McMullen, were released in 2003 and 2004 respectively.

Michael Benson, Candlestar Ltd, London, UK – Visual Arts (con’t)
In July 2003 Michael Benson left the London Institute to set up Candlestar Ltd whose clients have
included Frieze Arts Fair, the Gulf Art Fair (now Art Dubai), the Sovereign European Art Prize and a
major project to establish the Conde Nast College of Fashion and Design. Candlestar’s exhibitions
programme includes projects by both emerging and established artists with a particular emphasis on
artists from Iran. In addition to its work in the arts Candlestar has a strong portfolio in education
with clients including the University of the Creative Arts, the Association of Commonwealth
Universities and the Strood Academy.
Michael Benson is currently the Director of the Prix Pictet in which role he is responsible for all
aspects of the development of the award. He has also this year served as a Jury member for the
fringe Art Fair 'Show Off' (Paris) and for the World Photography Awards.
Osman Bozkurt, Co-Founder of PiST /// Interdisciplinary Project Space, Istanbul,
Turkey – Visual Arts
Osman Bozkurt is an artist mostly producing photography and video work. He studied photography
at Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul. His photography and video works have been exhibited at Tate
Modern/ London, Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center/ Istanbul, Villa Manin Centro d’Arte
Contemporanea/ Udine, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, Museo Madre/ Naples, Massachusetts
Museum of Contemporary Art and attended many other group shows. He is the co-founder
of PiST/// Interdisciplinary Project Space, a non-for-profit, independent artist-run space in Istanbul.
Since 2006 he co-directed and co-curated PiST projects such as Reserved ’06 exhibition
series, PiST/// 7-24 window display exhibitions, Turkish Pavilion, PiST/// PARK and PiST stand
at Frieze Art Fair 2008, The Armory Show 2010 and No Soul For Sale 2010, at Tate Modern.
Fariba Farshad, Candlestar Ltd, London, UK – Visual Arts
Fariba Farshad co-founding director has built a considerable reputation for her work as a curator of
outstanding exhibitions and in particular as a champion of Iranian art. Her groundbreaking 2009
exhibition of three generations of Iranian women artists – the ‘Masques of Shahrazad’ – followed on
from an equally well received exhibition of work by emerging Iranian artists ‘Whispered Secrets
Murmuring Dreams’ (2008) that introduced many young artists to the European scene. Fariba
curated eight exhibitions as part of l exhibition program at the Hyatt Regency London - The
Churchill, the official hotel partner of the Frieze Art Fair. She has also developed Candlestar‘s Art
Sales business working with clients and galleries to source leading contemporary artists works.
Prior to joining Candlestar Fariba was responsible for spearheading the strategic development of the
University of the Arts’ innovative research centre for the integration of technology into teaching,
learning and art, and design practice. Fariba’s innovative DVD on drawing ‘Seeing Drawing’ was
shortlisted for a BAFTA and her innovative online fashion magazine Ntouch, the first of its kind, was
launched to considerable critical acclaim in 1995.
Fariba’s work as a champion of established and emerging Iranain art has been featured in the Financial
Times and in the recently released documentary feature ‘Pearls on the Ocean Floor.’
Claude Iverné, Founder of Elnour, Sudan – Photography
Following my own works in Sudan since 1998, I founded "Elnour" (light in Arabic) a documentation
desk about the country with 16 Sudanese photographers, diplomats & scientists.

Claude Iverné, Founder of Elnour, Sudan – Photography (con’t)
Our photographic found, about 12.000 negatives & vintages prints from 1880 until know, is a unique,
an historical testimony of artistic rebirth of a people from its own culture, also a unique view of one
of the least known countries in the world, valued through exhibitions, publications & conferences.
Most of incomes pays the preservation of our vast archives, cleaning, chemical stabilization of
negatives and vintage prints, scans, captions and documentation. Students and partners helped the
first steps, with a number of exhibitions & publications.
Ready for the second step of development, I look for new partners for:
Safeguarding photographic treasures policy continuation.
Books Publications.
Free multimedia online library.
Public institutions & museums acquisitions.
New Sudan generation training.
www.elnour.net
elnour@elnour.net
Didem Özbek, Co-Director of PiST/// Interdisciplinary Project Space, Istanbul, Turkey
– Visual Arts
Didem Özbek is an artist and designer living in Istanbul. She is the co-director of PiST///
Interdisciplinary Project Space. PiST/// is a non-for-profit, independent art space in Istanbul which also
runs an international research and production in residency program named as P_RP_R (read as
PIRPIR) since January 2011. Fonds BKVB and Danish Arts Agency are some of its partner
organizations. Audience participated work, limited edition artist books, and conceptual projects are
important part of Özbek’s practice. Publications such as ‘LiST: Istanbul’s Contemporary Art List and
Map’ and POST are some of the publications she has designed and edited as a part of her practice at
PiST///.
didem@pist.org.tr
pist.org.tr
pist-org.blogspot.com
istanbulartlist.com
Robert Parthesius, Director of CIE, Leiden, The Netherlands – Cultural Heritage
Robert Parthesius is Director of CIE and appointed as Associate Professor in the Historical-
Archaeology of the European Expansion at the University of Leiden. He is a maritime historian
and archaeologist and works since the 1980’s on the interface between history and archaeology of
the maritime history and European expansion. He holds a doctorate of the history of the European
expansion from the University of Amsterdam.
Until 1995 he was coordinating the research for the reconstruction project on the VOC-ship Batavia
in Lelystad. This work was the basis for a fruitful cooperation with the Western Australian Maritime
explorations of Australia. He was involved in various maritime archaeological projects. Most
important was the Galle Harbour Project in Sri Lanka 1992-1999.
Since 1999 he has coordinated the cooperation between The Netherlands and Sri Lanka in the field
of Mutual Heritage. This cooperation resulted in the establishment of a Mutual Heritage Centre in Sri

Robert Parthesius, Director of CIE, Leiden, The Netherlands – Cultural Heritage (con’t)
Lanka 2000. From this centre various Sri Lankan-Dutch projects cultural heritage projects have been
carried out.
From 1998 till 2005 he was appointed as curator of the Amsterdam Historical Museum. Convinced
of the importance of Public Awareness for historical-archaeological research he organized
international exhibitions on the European-Asian cultural relations in the 17th and 18th centuries, and
published various books and articles on various aspects of the Dutch maritime history.
His ambition to establish infrastructure for maritime archaeology in Asia, as part of a culture and
development programme, was materialized in the Avondster-project in the Bay of Galle through
which a Maritime Archaeological Unit has been trained and established in Sri Lanka since 2001.
In 2005 he took the initiative to establish the Netherlands Centre for International Heritage
Activities. Robert Parthesius lectures Historical-Archaeology of the European expansion at the
University of Leiden and is currently involved in Maritime Archaeological Programmes in Tanzania
and South Africa
Koosje Spitz, Staff Member of CIE, Leiden, The Netherlands – Cultural Heritage
Koosje Spitz holds a Bachelor Degree in History from the university of Groningen and partially at the
University of Iceland in Reykjavik. She wrote her bachelor thesis on the correspondance between the
theory of the art historian Erwin Panofsky on the proto-Renaissance and legacy of the twelfth
century Abbot Suger. In December 2010 she completed her MA in World Heritage Studies at the
UNESCO chair for Heritage Studies at the Brandenburg Technical University in Cottbus, Germany.
In her thesis ‘Toward a More Collaborative Approach; A study on the mutuality of colonial heritage
and alternative means of dispute resolution’ she focused on recent developments in international
cultural heritage law and the need for alternative means of dispute resolution in conflicts on cultural
properties that originated or have been transferred under colonial ruling.
After her internships at the CIE - Centre for International Heritage Activities in Leiden and the
Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to UNESCO in Paris, she started working as staff
member at the CIE in January 2011. She worked on establishing a database with information on the
Australian Dutch heritage cooperation. Currently she assists in the evaluation of the Cultural
Heritage Sector financed under the EEA/Norway Grants. An evaluation project, which is being
conducted by in collaboration with Pitija Ltd. Furthermore she coordinates the Australian-Dutch
Heritage Day in Perth in February 2012. This project is conducted in close collaboration with the
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Canberra, Australia. From January until the beginning
of June Koosje will be Acting Adjunct Director of the CIE.
Odile Tevie, Director of Nubuke Foundation, Ghana
I was born in Accra, Ghana, was educated in Ghana and completed a BA in Computer Science and
Mathematics at the University of Ghana in 1986. I worked at the Mathematics Department of the
University of Ghana as a Teaching Assistant for 1 year from 1987. In 1989 I started working in the IT
industry, first as a programmer then as an analyst with the Misys Group, working with financial
institutions, supporting their IT infrastructure and working with business analysts to develop
additional solutions. I continued to become Operations Manager for Ghana International Bank in
1997.

Odile Tevie, Director of Nubuke Foundation, Ghana (con’t)
In 2000, I moved on to start an art consultancy business, Black Swan, becoming a curator and
promoting Ghanaian and Togolese artists through exhibitions and art fairs for 7 years. This also
enabled me to spend more time with my children when they needed me most.
I am a founding member and now the director of Nubuke Foundation, a non- governmental cultural
foundation, set up in Ghana in 2006, to promote the cultural heritage and arts of Ghana. I am in
charge of day to day management of the Foundation- which has a gallery space, a library and resource
centre and grounds which enable a variety of cultural productions to take place. I ensure that our
programmes fit in with the remit as defined by the board of the Foundation.
I work with artist groups, Cultural Institutions in Ghana and in other countries finding exciting and
innovative ways to encourage artistic exchanges which can sometimes take place in multiple venues
within the country.
The Foundation is involved with the traditional artistic producers and I help these communities to
find better ways to work and sustain themselves by connecting them with experts.
I oversee the final production of our publications and I am always challenged to find ways in which
we can get the Ghanaian audience to interact in our space.
We have also found ourselves working with corporate sponsors and my job is to ensure that we find
the balance between conceptualising and executing our own programmes and satisfying these
sponsors by planning the time of permanent and temporary staff.
I am interested in mentoring young adults and in the last year I have organised a programme which
brought them together with professionals who would guide them to prepare for the job market. I
still offer mentoring advice to young students from the University of Ghana. I also spend a few hours
during the week, reading with children who come to use our library.