Sign up for Orientation Trip 2025
Are you a curator, art observer or visual artist with international ambitions? Would you like more insight into the international visual arts field? And broaden your international network? Maybe the orientation trip to India and Thailand from Saturday 25 October to Saturday 8 November 2025 is something for you.
For whom: Curators/ art observers and visual artists from the Netherlands and/or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.
For what: To exchange knowledge, to network and broaden your vision regarding contemporary visual art in foreign regions that ofer interesting opportunities for discovery.
When: From Saturday 25 October to Saturday 8 November 2025.
How much: Participants are asked to make a personal contribution of € 750.
Registration deadline: Thursday 5 June 2025 before 4 pm (timezone Netherlands) / 10 am (timezone Caribbean).
The primary purpose of the trip is to provide an overview of contemporary visual art in India and Thailand, to introduce the main players and to introduce participants to the possibilities of exchange. This creates an international collaboration and dialogue between visual arts professionals.
The programme consists of visits to museums, art institutions, art venues, galleries, artist-in-residence places and meetings with artists, collectors and local key figures in the various cities.
Since 2009, participants have maintained a blog with their experiences on orientationtrips.net. This blog has since become an important source of knowledge. The blog is used all over the world as a source of information about visual arts in the areas visited.
Who is eligible?
The Orientation Trip is intended for curators and art observers with a practice of at least 2 years and for visual artists with a professional practice of at least 1 year. For both curators/viewers and artists, you must be artistically active within the professional visual arts field in the Netherlands and/or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. It is not possible to apply for the Orientation Trip while attending education at institutions, such as bachelor and master programmes. This also applies to postgraduate or postgraduate courses.
Practical information
A total of approximately 18 people will take part in the trip, including 6 participants from the Netherlands and/or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, selected by the Mondriaan Fund: 2 artists and 4 curators/ art observers.
The Fund is the main backer of the trip for the Dutch participants. Included are travel and accommodation costs (hotel and breakfast) and some joint lunches and dinners. Participants are asked to make a personal contribution of €750.
The trip is organised in collaboration with the Danish Arts Agency (Denmark), Pro Helvetia (Switzerland) and Office for Contemporary Art (Norway).
How and when to register?
Visual artists and curators/art observers can sign up until Thursaday 5 June before 16.00 pm (time zone Netherlands) / 10.00 am (time zone Caribbean). You can sign up via the Mondriaan Fund form. We ask for a CV and letter of motivation.
Selection
The Fund Office makes a selection from the registrations. Besides the CV and motivation, the formation of the group is also taken into account. The selection aims to have a good mix of age, background, gender and discipline. Experience with international cooperation is an advantage.
Please indicate in your motivation:
- How this visit contributes to your practice and professional/international development;
- What you have to offer locally in the sense of expertise, exchange, collaboration;
- How you can convert your acquired knowledge and network into concrete project(s) upon your return.
Those selected will be notified of their participation in July 2025.
Checklist registration
To process your registration, The Mondriaan Fund needs information. All of this information can be submitted in the registration form itself, along with documentation that you can upload. Below is a checklist that follows the layout of the registration form and contains all the information required.
Tip: collect all your information before you start filling out the online registration form. The attachments can be uploaded as PDFs. Important: wherever a maximum number of pages is given, do not exceed that number of pages! Additional pages will be ignored.
Previous trips
The orientation trips have been organised since 2004. In October 2024, the destination was Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Previous years were: Central America (2023); Spain and Portugal (2022); United Arab Emirates and Pakistan (2019); South Africa and Zimbabwe (2018); United States and Cuba (2017); Iran and Armenia (2016); Chile and Colombia (2015); Korea and Japan (2014); Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary (2013); Indonesia and China (2012); Mali, Senegal and Morocco (2011); Nigeria, Turkey and Mali (2010); Brazil, Argentina and Peru (2009); Bangladesh, India, United Arab Emirates (2008); Mexico, Curaçao (2007); Senegal, South Africa (2006); China (2005) and the Middle East (2004).