In a city like London, one of the most important cultural centres in the world, cultural diplomacy is an absolute must. Music, theatre, dance, visual arts, ... all art forms are present and any artist looking for a break-through, wants to make it in London. Conquering the UK market is not easy, but fortunately, Flanders has a lot of assets on offer.
Through the ages, Flanders has been the home to world renowned painters such as Van Eyck, Rubens and Van Dyck. However, Flanders also offers a series of contemporary artists who acquired international acclaim. Since the 1980s and 1990s, a great deal of revolutionary and pioneering work took place. Firstly by individuals and institutions but also by the government that gradually helped to enable an extensive professionalisation of the cultural sector. Flanders can be rightly proud of its longstanding cultural heritage and contemporary artistic practices.
The Diplomatic Representation wants to give Flemish artists a helping hand and does so in several ways. This can range from organising a reception to highlight a dance performance, supporting a festival that shows Flemish companies, to making publicity for an exhibition through our website and newsletter. But the representation itself also organises events, mainly in cooperation with partners such as the Flanders Arts Institute, Flanders Literature, the Flanders Audiovisual Fund and the Flanders Architecture Institute.
The Diplomatic Representation is a member of the London EUNIC cluster, the European Union National Institutes for Culture, and regularly participates in joint activities such as the European Literature Night.