TRANSCULTURAL EXCHANGE INC
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Mission Statement
TransCultural Exchange's mission is to foster a greater understanding of world cultures through high-quality art exhibitions, cultural exchanges and, most notably, a biennale Conference on International Opportunities in the Arts.
About This Cause
In the mid-1900s America spent a great deal of time and money to send artists, filmmakers, musicians, scientists and other creative individuals abroad. They became familiar with other cultures and societies and served as ambassadors for their own. Largely supported by the State Department, they arguably helped end the Cold War by winning the proverbial hearts and minds of those around the world. That is now changing. Although American artists vastly outnumbered other nationalities in global art exhibits and b nnales in the mid 1900s, today their presence abroad has dropped precipitously, even though history repeatedly shows that the arts provide avenues for dialog when other means have failed. Yet, today the Fulbright Program remains one of the few US organizations that continues to support international exchanges. And, most of the other organizations that do fund international cultural exchange, such as The Rockefeller Brothers' Asian Cultural Council have regional restrictions. Whereas, others - like the American Scandinavian Foundation or the German DAAD - are private or non-American government sponsored efforts that also have specific national targets of interests. TransCultural Exchange is different in this respect. TransCultural Exchange originated in 1989 as a grassroots organization to create and produce international exchange exhibitions. Over time, increased interest in TransCultural Exchange's services necessitated nonprofit incorporation (in 2002), the creation of online resources for artists (both national and international) and, in 2007, an International Conference on Opportunities in the Arts. All these support the organization's mission to foster a greater understanding of world cultures through high quality, innovative, global art projects, artist exchanges and related educational programming -- most notably the organization's Conferences. Since its inception, TransCultural Exchange has produced five conferences and 350+ exhibition and artist exchanges worldwide. Its activities provide artists with access to their international peers, re-ignite their role as ambassadors of American openness and cutting-edge creativity and, through their art and engagement abroad, make the culturally different and recondite more familiar and less threatening. As the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s former Director-General Matsurra praised, TransCultural Exchange links "together artists all over the world in a spirit of international harmony and exchange." Or, as one of artists participating in one of our projects, Neta Dor Lemelshtrich noted, "The world suddenly becomes small and you can see that there are still people who care. This decades of service has earned TransCultural Exchnage a steadfast and loyal global network and support from such institutions as UNESCO, the Asian Cultural Council, Open Society Network, the Boston Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts and two awards from the International Art Critics Association. Further in February 2016, the organization produced -- by all accounts-- its most successful International Conference on Opportunities in the Arts to date. These Conferences are unique. They address the practical needs of artists and they do so in a way that is also mindful of today's global reality. They help artists bridge the gap between academia and a real world practice. They directly serve ~600 artists--and those who support them, such as curators, art administrators, artist residency representatives, etc. More than 3/4 of the Conference attendees receive a direct tangible outcome (such as an exhibition, sale, residency and/or gallery representation). The last Conference (February 25-27, 2016) saw attendance increase by more than 25% over the previous Conference -- 50% more than its first. The number of also speakers tripled to over 150 with programs in over 40 countries. Artists' satisfaction grew to well over 90%; and feedback continues to show that more than 70% of the artists received direct tangible benefits (jobs, grants and invites to residency programs and exhibits) as a result of participating in the Conference or another of the organization's activities. These results are generative and sustaining. As Boston-based Ellen Schoen noted, "My artist network continues to expand due to TCE!.. . I made connections and friendships that led me . . to exhibitions in Finland, Croatia, Hungary, Turkey, and Israel." As a Harvard report noted, TransCultural Exchange's activities are "SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused and time-bound." The organization's survey methodology - devised by UMass Dartmouth's Center for Policy Analysis- evaluates TransCultural Exchange's initiatives qualitatively and quantitatively. Data is then cross tabulated to access the programs' success over time and from different viewpoints. The organization is committed to publishing these evaluation results (online at http://transculturalexchange.org/about/evaluations.htm) to refine its activities and provide the organization and others with statistical evidence to advocate the benefits (e.g. economic, social, etc.) of cultural exchange in our communities and abroad. Surveys show that TransCultural Exchange's programs have a multiplier effect -- artists learn of and create more opportunities for themselves. They gain confidence and with that, the motivation to continue to pursue and augment their learning and are more willing and able to take risks, experiment and expand their practices in new ways. The organization's Conferences and exhibits also further artistic innovation, offer avenues for integration (through introductions to difference disciplinary and cultural perspectives), international collaboration, cross-cultural understanding and a connection to one's self and others. They provide non-threatening avenues for global engagement, They inspire curiosity and encourage a respect for different points of view and continued learning. TransCultural Exchange's own exhibits and online resources also expose the general public to the latest developments in the arts; and (using the IMPLAN model) their Conference's host city receives close to $800,000 in economic impacts. The organization's biennale Conferences are the organization's main income activity. They have run essentially break-even since their inception in 2007. At the same time (as can be seen in our online annual reports), thanks to the organization's over 2 decades of work around the globe, the organization receives considerable in-kind support to produce its Conferences - in particular most of the over 150 speakers' cover their own airfare and accommodations to present at the Conference as well as waive their speaker's fee. Also to note: for the first time, TransCultural Exchange will expand its post-Conference documentation by publishing close to 100 Conference presentations online, supported in part by a 2016 grant received from the National Endowment for the Arts. These presentations will be freely available to the public through the organization's website.