Cultural Collaboration between Denmark and Chile Blossoms with New Learning Partnerships

In honour of the official visit of the Danish Crown Prince Couple to Chile on 10-15 March 2013, Danish and Chilean cultural institutions and artists will be engaging in exciting cultural collaboration initiatives over the coming years. The focus will be on learning partnerships and two-way exchanges between artists and cultural institutions.  The Crown Prince Couple will participate in 8 cultural events during their official visit.  

Substance of the Cultural Collaboration
The Danish Agency for Culture and the Danish Embassy in Santiago, Chile, is facilitating collaboration between Chilean and Danish partners in the following areas:

• Museum collaboration
  This official visit is being used to strengthen and develop professional cultural exchange between museums.  The initiative anchors and develops collaboration and the sharing of knowledge between Chilean and Danish museums.  Specifically, an exchange agreement is being entered into for 10 museum staff members from Chile and Denmark to participate in an exchange programme.  In addition, a Spanish edition of Dialogue-Based Teaching – The Art Museum as a Learning Space will be published.
• Visual Arts
  The visit will be used to establish a close collaboration between the Danish and Chilean visual arts scenes and art institutions.  Specifically, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Santiago will be featuring a major Asger Jorn exhibit in collaboration with Museum Jorn in Silkeborg, Denmark. Moreover, an exclusive cultural dinner for gallerists, collectors, and visual artists is being arranged to create networks and interest in the Danish art scene.
• Children’s Literature
  The visit will be used to place a special focus on Danish children’s literature and to support positive developments in the publication of Danish children’s literature by Spanish publishers. The Chilean publishing house LOM (www.lom.cl) , which already released 4  children’s books in 2009, will publish three children’s books from Dansklærerforeningens Forlag (the publishing house of the Association of Teachers of Danish).

• Poetry
  The visit will be used to launch a long-term collaboration between Danish and Chilean poets in connection with the publication of a Danish-Chilean poetry anthology in Denmark and Chile.

As part of the visit, 5 Danish and 5 Chilean poets will launch a workshop on poetry translation at Pablo Neruda’s home at Isla Negra and a collaboration on the publication of a Danish-Chilean poetry anthology.  The project will continue with an expected exchange visit to Denmark by Chilean poets in 2014. The anthology is expected to be published in 2014. The project is being financed by the Danish Arts Council’s Literature Committee.

• Human Rights and Education
  The visit will be used to place special focus on education in human rights and is grounded in the special historical relationship between Chile and Denmark surrounding the reception of refugees from the 1973 Chilean military dictatorship to Denmark and Denmark’s contribution to the establishment of a Centre for the Victims of Torture in Chile.

The Danish Agency for Culture has facilitated a collaboration on education in human rights between the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Museo de la Memoria in Santiago in connection with the visit.  

• Arts & business – Architecture and Design
  The visit will also be used to focus on Danish arts & business – particularly, in architecture and design. In collaboration with Danske Ark (The Danish Association of Architectural Firms) and the Danish Embassy, the Danish Agency for Culture has launched an initiative with a special focus on opportunities for Danish architecture firms to enter into the Chilean market. 
  
  During the official lunch, the lunch table will be decorated with Rosan Bosch’s conversation pieces. In connection with the Crown Prince Couple’s visit to Chile, the Danish Agency for Culture has initiated a new collaboration between the Kolding School of Design and Rosan Bosch for the creation of new conversation pieces.

Background
The cultural events taking place during the official visit are in accordance with the premises set by the Danish International Culture Panel for Denmark’s international cultural exchange.  That is, the basis for the choices of the planned cultural and artistic activities is high artistic quality and Danish and Chilean interest in collaboration and network-building.

The Danish Agency for Culture has done thorough research among cultural professionals in Denmark on the relevance of utilizing the visit to Chile as a basis for forging connections with the professional cultural environment of Chile. Likewise, the Danish Embassy in Santiago has done thorough research among Chilean institutions.  In this context, a number of Chilean institutions have visited Denmark to reconnoitre opportunities for collaboration.

For additional information on the overall program and the respective events:

The Danish Agency for Culture
Special Consultant Søren Krogh
skr@kulturstyrelsen.dk
Telephone: +45 4081 4908

The Danish Embassy in Santiago
Cultural Attaché Trine Danklefsen
Tridan@um.dk
Telephone: 00562 9415104