Within the context of this theme, the book Beautiful Ugly will be published as part of the Prince Claus Fund Library. The book explores and analyses concepts of beauty and ugliness in an African context. read more
Director Els van der Plas participated in the conference The return of Beauty on 13 en 14 May 2005, organised by Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin with a lecture titled Beauty is a basic need. Beauty is a basic need
Marron wood carving, or Tembe, is a unique craft which may get lost if it is not documented on time. Currently, only a small group of wood carvers is active in Paramaribo. In Surinam, wood carvings generate only a marginal income for those who produce them. In collaboration with Libi Na Wan in Kourou, the knowledge of wood carvers from Surinam who have left the country in order to make a living is being documented in French Guyana, where rejuvenation and preservation of traditional Tembe has already begun. The Fund’s contribution is intended to help preserve this endangered cultural heritage in Surinam. The Fund made € 30,000 available for this research and documentation project.
In February 2006 the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan presented Africa Remix, Contemporary Art of a Continent, the largest exhibition of contemporary African art ever seen in Europe. The exhibition was shown in Dusseldorf, Germany, London, Great Britain and Paris, France earlier this year. The contribution of the Prince Claus Fund was € 10.000 and thus financed the creation of new works of art by Abdoulaye Kanuté from Mali and Pume from Congo DRC for the exhibition.
www.centrepompidou.fr
Within the context of this theme, the Fund participates in the conference on ‘The Politics of Beauty’ which will be held in Manila, the Philippines in November 2005.
The Prince Claus Fund contributes to developing the Brazilian website on hip hop culture. The aim of this website is to create and encourage international debate about hip hop as street culture (dance, music, rap and graffiti). read more
Rustom Barucha is a member of the Committee on Culture and Development
At the request of the Prince Claus Fund, the Indian theatre critic Rustom Barucha has written a stimulating essay on Beauty in Context. In addition the editors of a series of art journals, namely Criterios (Cuba), Gallerie (India), Glendora Review (Nigeria), Biblio (India) and Abwab (Lebanon), have been asked to devote a special edition to this theme in 2001
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The streets of Sao Paolo, Brasil
The Prince Claus Fund researches and analyses beauty in various cultural environments. The Fund stimulates the creation of beauty in places where ugliness seems to have triumphed through war, poor government and/or other forms of misfortune. Hence, the Prince Claus Fund has set up the Cultural Emergency Response that saves culture in disaster zones.