EXCHANGES

Cultural Missions

January 2015

Can4Culture organized and supported a cultural delegation’s visit to China in January 2015. The mission was very successful on many fronts.

In partnership with the China Arts and Entertainment Group (CAEG), we announced that the Meet in Beijing Festival in 2016 would focus on Canada and be called Canada Now. Several artists have already indicated interest in participating.  On January 7th, an MOU was signed between Can4Culture and the CAEG in the presence of the Ministry of Culture and Ms. Sarah Taylor, Deputy Head of Mission and Minister for Political-Economic Relations and Public Diplomacy at the Embassy of Canada to the People’s Republic of China.

The purpose of the mission was to begin the organization of The Jenny Y.Y. Tam Ceramic Residency Programme, a joint project between Harbourfront Centre and Can4Culture. Visits were organized to several important ceramic sites, notably Jingdezhen, Fuzhou, Foshan, Dehua, Quanzhou and Guangzhou.

  • In September 2006, sixteen Canadian museum and gallery experts travelled to China to share experiences, and meet face-to-face with their Chinese counterparts. The project built on
    past cultural missions, and aimed to:
  • Explore developing long-term co-operation between Canadian and Chinese museums for exhibition exchange and professional development.
  • Increase awareness and promote the diversity and quality of Canadian museums and galleries, their collections, research, exhibitions, and programming.
  • Showcase Canadian expertise and best practices in museum management and exhibition development.

In October 2005 the Fund assisted the Canadian Embassy in Beijing China with the organization of a Cultural Mission for 10 Chinese museum professionals.

Other Exchanges

Through the Canadian Fund for International Understanding through Culture’s activities, museums and art galleries have made connections, strengthened their relations with their Chinese counterparts and participated in exhibition exchanges.  Here is a list of successes for the benefit of all Canadians.

  • The fund facilitated loan negotiations for the exhibition Dragons Through Time, Musée de la Civilization, Québec city
  • The McCord Museum’s photo exhibition, Souvenirs of Here – the Photograph Album as Private Archive.  A selection of images from the personal archives of Montrealers of Chinese origin who have preserved their life’s memories in photograph collections.  A true revelation, this exhibition explored how photography is used as a means of remembering.
  • Art Gallery of Alberta set up contemporary art exhibition in partnership with Chengdu China
  • Launch of Arts & Culture Professional Enrichment Program to benefit Canadian & Chinese in professional development through on-site learning and exchanges
  • Professional Exchange between ROM, Canadian Museum of Civilization, McCord Museum, Montreal Science Centre and Hunan Provincial Museum
  • Supported a delegation during the development of Treasures from China presented by Canadian Museum of Civilization.
  • Helped to negotiate exhibition space for the presentation of First Peoples of Canada: Masterworks from the Canadian Museum of Civilization, which was presented at the Beijing Art Museum of Imperial City in China. The exhibition presented in Beijing is the largest and most comprehensive collection of Aboriginal treasures ever sent abroad by the Canadian Museum of Civilization.