The Dutch Culture Centre has layed an important foundation for intensive cultural collaboration between the Netherlands and China.

The weekend of September 5th saw the closing of the Dutch Culture Centre in Shanghai. During six months, from March to September, this official part of Expo 2010 presented to China a wide range of arts and culture in which the collaboration between Dutch artists and institutions and Chinese partners was central. The events (amongst which a variety of performance arts and seven main/grand exhibitions in fine arts, photography, fashion, design and architecture) attracted over 20,000 visitors. According to intendant Martijn Sanders of the Netherlands China Arts Foundation, the Centre was a great success: “I am convinced that we have laid the foundation for a collaboration which will continue to bear fruit for a long time to come, which was precisely what we hoped to achieve with the Dutch Culture Centre.”

The Dutch Culture Centre is a project of the Netherlands China Arts Foundation (NCAF); it was commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture & Science and supported by the Chinese-Dutch business community. The Dutch Culture Centre renewed and strengthened numerous existing contacts as well as embarking on many new projects. The knowledge and experience gained by the organisers NCAF and SICA will be made permanently available to the government and cultural organisations. As well as attracting over 20,000 visitors, the Dutch Culture Centre generated much media attention in the Chinese press. Thanks to this the demand for Dutch art and culture in China has received a great impulse.