Our ambition
In 2024, the Art Explora Foundation introduces its flagship project: a museum boat and a traveling festival that will explore the seas and oceans around the world, offering unique artistic and cultural experiences. This unprecedented adventure aligns with the foundation's ambition to reduce cultural barriers and promote a broader and more democratic engagement with the arts.
AN INITIATIVE OF THE ART EXPLORA FOUNDATION
Art Explora is an international foundation that inspires new encounters between arts and audiences – locally, nationally and internationally. Our imaginative, contemporary approach encourages new forms of access, participation and engagement with arts and culture, pushing boundaries with digital technology and mobile programmes. We work in partnership with artists, cultural organisations and communities, exploring all art forms, and creating unforgettable cultural experiences for everyone. Founded by entrepreneur Frédéric Jousset in 2019, Art Explora is a collective journey bringing together many partners and more than 1600 volunteers.
A FESTIVAL THAT EMBRACES MOBILITY
The Art Explora Festival is a traveling cultural festival, accessible to all, developed in collaboration with local institutions across the Mediterranean to offer unique cultural and artistic experiences to diverse audiences. The festival unfolds aboard ARTEXPLORER, the world's first museum boat, as well as on the docks and in the host cities. From spring 2024 to spring 2026, the festival will travel to over 15 countries in the Mediterranean.
Because mobility is a powerful tool to reach new audiences, and with 60% of the world's population living within 60 kilometers of a coastline, we have created the Art Explora Festival. With its museum boat ARTEXPLORER, it invites everyone to participate at every stage of the project.
Symbolizing escape and discovery, the boat embodies a unique blend of adventure and imagination. Its journey connects worlds, individuals, and cultures, creating new opportunities for co-creation, participation, and exchange.
A curatorial collaboration
At each stop, a curator from the country organizes a unique and diverse cultural program, exploring themes directly related to the local context in partnership with local institutions, cultural organizations, and associations.
Nadine Attallah is a curator and art historian based in Paris. Her research focuses on exhibitions of Egyptian women artists during the Nasser era. She has collaborated with various art institutions and galleries in Europe and Lebanon. She is one of seven members of the Madrassa collective, which aims to experiment and study collective practices and cross-border collaborations as a means of resisting and confronting the difficulties of artistic creation in the Middle East and Africa.
Amanda Abi Khalil is an independent curator based between Paris, Beirut and Rio de Janeiro. She is the founder of the curatorial platform TAP (Temporary Art Platform), which engages with contextual, public and social practices in contemporary art. She has organized exhibitions at CENTQUATRE PARIS, Paço Imperial in Rio de Janeiro and the Institut Français in Beirut.
Branka Benčić is an art historian and curator based in Croatia. She is the director of the MMSU / MoMCA Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka. She curated the Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2017 and co-curated the Croatian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2018. She has also organized exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, the Pula Film Festival, the Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade and the Garis & Hahn Gallery.
Ceren Erdem is a curator based in Istanbul. She was director of the Dirimart gallery in Istanbul and responsible for exhibitions at the 9th and 10th Istanbul Biennials. She has also curated exhibitions at apexart, Fondazione MAXXI, Pratt Manhattan Gallery and Wallach Art Gallery, as well as Pasinger Fabrik and Seoul Art Space Geumcheon.
Laila Hida is an independent artist and curator based in Marrakech. She is the founder of LE 18, an independent platform for creation, dissemination and cultural and artistic exchange in Marrakech. She has also participated in exhibitions at Documenta Kassel, the Dakar Biennale and the Fondation Dar Bellarj.
Since its creation in 2005, the Kamel Lazaar Foundation for Art and Culture has launched a number of initiatives and projects, the local and regional impact of which underlines the vitality and diversity of the region's cultural scene. The foundation supports research, publication and exhibition initiatives, and regularly organizes debates, symposia and seminars. It supports the production and accompaniment of artists through residencies and workshops, and develops partnerships and exchanges with international cultural players, in order to promote Tunisia as a hub for contemporary art.
Martha Kirszenbaum is a curator and art critic based in Paris and Los Angeles. She curated the French Pavilion at the 2019 Venice Biennale represented by Laure Prouvost, and founded and directed Fahrenheit in Los Angeles. She has organized exhibitions at the ICA, Palais de Tokyo, Kistefos Museum, Beirut Art Center and Pejman Foundation.
Rosa Lleó is curator, founder and director of The Green Parrot organization. Since opening in Barcelona in 2014, it has established itself as a benchmark with numerous exhibitions, publications, residencies and events with local and international artists. Rosa has also organized exhibitions independently in institutions such as CA2M (Madrid), 1464 (The Hague) or Caixa Forum (Barcelona), among others.
Filipa Oliveira is a curator based in Lisbon. She has been a visual arts programmer and curator for the city of Almada since 2018. She was co-curator of the fourth edition of the Coimbra Biennial in 2021, and artistic director of the Fórum Eugénio de Almeida in Évora from 2015 to 2017. She has also organized exhibitions at the Jeu de Paume and the São Paulo Biennial.
The Island Club is a non-profit exhibition space curated by its founder, Christodoulos Panayiotou, a Limassol and Paris-based artist who represented Cyprus at the 2015 Venice Biennale. Since 2018, the space has hosted exhibitions by local and international artists as well as film screenings, performances, readings and book launches.
Rhizome is a contemporary art gallery based in Algiers. Functioning as both a commercial gallery and an independent arts organization, rhizome works to promote emerging contemporary artists, with an emphasis on art from Algeria and its diaspora.
Spazju Kreattiv, Malta's National Creative Center, has designed its programme around three essential pillars: artistic excellence, community awareness and international openness. Managed by the Fondazzjoni Kreattività, programme comprises a series of creative and cultural events taking place mainly in St James Cavalier, Valletta, as well as in other strategic locations in Malta and Gozo. This includes a programme of visual arts and performances, artist residencies, Malta's only art-house cinema, and a ŻiguŻajg series especially dedicated to children and families. programme has received notable recognition, including the prestigious Best Artistic Programme award at the Arts Council Malta Awards, and has been acclaimed by various actors in Malta and abroad.
Daniel Azzopardi, Artistic Director of Spazju Kreattiv, will be primarily responsible for the Festival's Malta leg. Since taking up this position in 2020, he has played a central role in defining the organization's vision and strategy, developing an annual programme rich with over 500 events. In addition, since 2010, Daniel has been active as an independent contractor, lending his expertise to a variety of initiatives related to policy development, artistic development, strategic planning and project coordination.
Katerina Tselou is an Athens-based curator. She was co-curator and coordinator of the curatorial team for the 4th Athens Biennial in 2013, and curator of visual arts at the National Theatre of Greece. She has organized projects as an independent curator in Greece, collaborating with institutions such as the European Film Festival and Theater of the South. She is also advisor to the Deputy Minister of Culture in Greece.
Eugenio Viola is a Bogotá-based curator and art critic. He is chief curator of Bogotà's Museum of Modern Art. He curated the Italian Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale. He has also held curatorial positions at PICA in Perth and MADRE in Naples, where he curated numerous exhibitions.
Arnisa Zeqo is an art historian, curator and teacher based in Amsterdam. She is the artistic director of Rongwrong, a space dedicated to art and its theory. From 2015 to 2017, she worked at documenta 14 as head of education programs (aneducation) in Athens and as the initiator of the "Society of Friends of Ulises Carrion" at the programme public "Parliament of Bodies" in Kassel.
A PROJECT COMMITTED TO ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Art Explora is committed to a sustainable environmental and societal approach in both its programming and event organization. Supported by international experts in climate change mitigation and a network of partners, the Foundation strives to:
- Explore available local solutions to reduce our emissions
- Offset our carbon footprint
- Develop an awareness and support program for environmental issues
Audiences
Engaging with audiences is a key focus for the Art Explora Foundation, aiming to experiment with new modes of access and participation. We foster a collaborative and co-creative approach with various partners to achieve ambitious goals in reaching out to audiences. Our objectives include:
- Addressing all audiences and promoting inclusivity for all participants.
- Encouraging projects that involve audiences from the outset, starting with the conception of content.
- Facilitating exchanges and collaboration with artists through creative workshops and artistic practices.
- Giving voice and involving marginalized communities in public spaces.
The programming of activities and projects for audiences is developed in collaboration with local cultural institutions and organizations in the fields of education, associations, and social spheres, taking into account the cultural, sociological, demographic, and linguistic diversities of the audiences.
In addition, the entire project and all the activities on offer are free of charge.