Overview

The Cultural Exchange Department engages artists, cultural practitioners and cultural policy makers from Asia and Europe with the aim of encouraging cultural dialogue and cooperation between the two regions.

Our Goals

• Help build dynamic cultural networks between Asia and Europe
• Promote artistic creativity inspired by cultural diversity
• Encourage multilateral dialogue on arts and culture within and between the two regions

Our Work

We carry out our work in different key areas, ranging from cultural policy dialogue to artistic exchanges, using an inclusive multilateral approach.

Our projects aim to:

1. Respond to specific needs of the arts and cultural sectors of Asia and Europe, while giving exposure to different cultural practices and artistic expressions;
2. Create networking opportunities between relevant counterparts from the two regions, as well as capacity building activities ;
3. Promote bi-regional dialogue and exchange of information on arts and culture, including on relevant cultural policy issues, engaging both governments and civil society.

Our current programmes include:

• culture360.org – a unique online platform which provides information, facilitates dialogue and stimulates reflection on the arts and culture of Asia and Europe.
• Creative Encounters – encourages creative partnerships between Asia and Europe by supporting innovative joint projects in any artistic discipline.
• Asia-Europe Museum Network (ASEMUS) – in our efforts to stimulate cultural networks linking Asia and Europe, ASEF supports a network of over 80 museum members to promote dialogue and collaboration between museum professionals of the two regions.
• Asia-Europe Compendium of Cultural Policies – researches the cultural policies of Asian and European countries. The online version of the Compendium will be available on culture360.org.
• Connect 2Culture – explores the role of arts and culture in society, as well as their connections to important global issues such as environment and sustainable development.

Among the highlights of 2011, ASEF supported the Atelier for Young Festival Managers (Singapore, May 2011) as a way to foster the exchange of knowledge and experience between well-established festival directors and a group of young and emerging professionals in the field.

.

Cultural Exchange Team

• Ms Sabina SantarossaDirector
• Ms Katelijn VerstraeteAssistant Director
• Ms Anupama SekharProject Manager
• Ms Valentina RiccardiProject Executive
• Ms Sasiwimon WongjarinProject Officer
• Ms Ramona Laczko DavidProject Officer
• Ms Claire Rosslyn WilsonProject Officer
• Mr Hatta MoktarAdmin / Project Officer

• Ms Sabina Santarossa

  Director
  

  Sabina Santarossa is ASEF's Director of Cultural Exchange.

  Prior to her appointment, she served as First Secretary at the Permanent Representation of Italy to the United Nations in Rome. She also served as First Secretary at the Italian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand and held the position of Chief of Cultural Events at the Department for Cultural Promotion, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rome.

  
Before becoming a career diplomat, Sabina worked as a journalist and broadcast producer for European media organisations in Rome, Brussels, London, and Amsterdam. She obtained her Master’s degree in Political Science from the Università La Sapienza in Rome and studied under the Erasmus Scholarship with the University of Leiden. She attended a Master’s programme in Area Studies (South Asia) at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.


  Send an email to Ms Sabina Santarossa

• Ms Katelijn Verstraete

  Assistant Director
  

  Katelijn joined the ASEF in 2006 as Project Manager in the Cultural Exchange department.

  Previously, she worked as Marketing Manager (Greater China) for Henkel KgaA in China. She also co-founded and co-managed BizArt, an autonomous art space in Shanghai.

  In Europe, she worked with the KunstenFestivalDesArts in Brussels in press and public relations, and with the International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts (IETM) as a Communication Manager. She initiated Asian-based project activities for IETM and was Project Manager for www.on-the-move.org, a web portal with information on mobility for performing arts professionals in Europe.

  Katelijn holds an MA degree in Sinology from K.U.Leuven in Belgium. She obtained an MA degree in Marketing Management from Belgium's Leuven-Ghent Vlerick School for Management. She is currently a consultant for several cultural NGOs in China.

  Send an email to Ms Katelijn Verstraete

• Ms Anupama Sekhar

  Project Manager
  

  Anupama is Project Manager for Cultural Exchange at the Asia-Europe Foundation. In this capacity, she oversees all ASEF initiatives in the field of cultural policy dialogue, including support to the

  WorldCP-International Database of Cultural Policies and inputs to the Culture Ministers’ Meetings of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

  She also works on programming artistic projects and dialogue platforms that explore the intersection between the arts, environment, health and social cohesion. She is also regularly involved in shaping and managing collaborative artistic projects between Asia and Europe in performing arts, visual arts, film and new media.

  Anupama is the co-editor of Mapping Cultural Diversity: Good Practices from around the Globe, co-published by ASEF and the German Commission for UNESCO in 2010.

  Anupama holds a Master’s degree International Studies. She is also a trained dancer in the Indian classical style of Bharatnatyam. Since 2009, Anupama is a member of the U40 group of young cultural policy experts, launched by the German Commission for UNESCO and supported by the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity. Prior to joining ASEF in 2009, Anupama worked with the United Nations and in the arts sector in India.

• Ms Valentina Riccardi

  Project Executive
  

  Valentina Riccardi joined the ASEF in January 2009 as a Project Executive focusing on developing the online platform culture360.org.

  Previously, she worked in Rome with Monti & Taft, an organisation focusing on cultural management and heritage-related projects. She specialised in projects aimed at enhancing the cultural resources of regional and local territories within the European Union. She also worked on the launch, design, and content development of online magazine Tafter.it, which specialises in the economy of culture in Italy and Europe. Prior to entering the cultural sector, she worked in Rome and New York in fashion and marketing.

  Valentina holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Rome – La Sapienza. She obtained her Master’s degree in Art Business from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art Singapore – University of Manchester and completed a thesis on the validation system of Indian contemporary art. She has also interned at the Asia Society Museum in New York, US, and has collaborated with its director Melissa Chiu on the publication Asian Art Now, published by Thames and Hudson in 2010.

  Send an email to Ms Valentina Riccardi

• Ms Sasiwimon Wongjarin

  Project Officer
  

  Sasiwimon Wongjarin works on projects in the areas of Platforms and Networks and Artistic Exchanges. These include the Asia-Europe Museum Network, the ASEF University Heritage, the Asia-Europe Cultural Partnerships Initiative: Performing Arts, Health on Stage: Promoting Public Health through Forum Theatre, and Lingua Comica, an Asia-Europe comics and graphic novels project.

  She joined the ASEF in January 2009. Before this, she was based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and worked as a Manager for The Land Foundation. She was also with the Chiang Mai University Contemporary Art Museum while doing her thesis project on recommendations for museum development. In 2007, she was selected to take part in the Independent Creative Art Spaces Leadership Training, which was organised by the ASEF in Paris, France.

  Sasiwimon received her Bachelor's degree in Fine Art in Education from the School of the Arts, Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and obtained her Master’s in Museology from the Reinwardt Academy, Amsterdam (The Netherlands).

  Send an email to Ms Sasiwimon Wongjarin

• Ms Ramona Laczko David

  Project Officer
  

  Ramona Laczko David joined the ASEF in 2010.

  Before this, she worked as a Project Assistant at the Interarts Foundation (Barcelona, Spain), where she was involved in organising the Euro-African Campus for Cultural Cooperation and the International Seminar on Cultural Diplomacy. She also interned at the International Guangdong Modern Dance Festival in China.

  She participated as a young expert in the international capacity building programme “U40 – Cultural Diversity 2030” initiated by the German Commission for UNESCO and conducted research for the European Festival Research Project, an informal international consortium of researchers from various disciplines focused on analysing the dynamics of artistic festivals today.

  Ramona holds a Master’s degree in Arts and Heritage: Policy, Management and Education from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

  Send an email to Ms Ramona Laczko David

• Ms Claire Rosslyn Wilson

  Project Officer
  

  Claire Rosslyn Wilson works on projects that focus on creating discussion platforms and building cultural networks. These include the Connect2Culture art and environment programme, the Asia-Europe Cultural Partnership Initiative: New Media, and the Atelier for Young Festival Managers, which will take place in Singapore in May 2011.

  She joined the ASEF in October 2010 as a Project Officer. Before this, she worked with arts organisations and arts projects in Australia, including Experimenta Media Arts and Multicultural Arts Victoria. She has managed a Burmese art exhibition, carried out a curatorial project with the RMIT Design Archives 2010, and completed an internship with the Melbourne International Fine Art gallery.

  Claire has had experience working on the Thai-Burma border as part of the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development programme, under the auspices of the International Organisation for Migration. She has also completed art reviews for the Melbourne Fringe Festival and published her poetry in literary journals.

  Claire holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours in Spanish) degree from La Trobe University in Melbourne (including a study abroad programme with Salamanca University, Spain). She obtained her Master’s in Arts Management with Distinction degree from RMIT University.

  Send an email to Ms Claire Rosslyn Wilson

• Mr Hatta Moktar

  Admin / Project Officer
  

  Hatta Moktar provides co-ordination and administrative support to the Culture Exchange Department. He joined the ASEF as an Admin Officer in August 2010.

  While coming from a marketing background in corporate IT Distribution, he has always had a passion for the arts. It blossomed with a three-year stint as a Marketing Executive with independent arts centre The Substation, where he supported local artists in signature events like SeptFest and the Asian Film Symposium.

  Hatta holds a Bachelor of Science degree in IT from the National University of Singapore. He enjoys travelling, eating, and running. He hopes one day to complete a biathlon.

  Send an email to Mr Hatta Moktar