Dominican painters Dionicio Blanco, Iris Perez and Miguel Gerardino are among the first Dominicans to exhibit Dominican art in Beijing, as part of a concerted effort to introduce Latin American culture to the Chinese public. They are exhibiting along with eight other artists from Latin America for the inauguration of the Latin American Cultural Center in Beijing.
“Last year more than 80 million Chinese tourists went abroad, but only a small percentage of them went to Latin America,” James Wu, LACC president and luxury travel promoter told China Daily.
“Chinese have a clear idea of France,” he says. “But ask about Latin America? It’s a mystery. Some people will just look blank, some will think of cigars,” he said.
The new center, with about two a dozen embassy and chamber of commerce partners from the region, plans to change that, reports the local media.
As reported in China Daily, the Center will help Latin countries to present their varied cultures in shared exhibition and meeting spaces. Overall, nevertheless, the center’s goal is to create a free resource for the Chinese public about Latin and Caribbean countries, and a “home away from home” for expatriates from the region who want to hold social events or learn Chinese – or even need help getting a visa.
Wu, whose UULuxe high-end travel group has 16 branches around China, made a big investment in the center even though he’d never seen Latin America himself until he visited the Dominican Republic last year. He said the region’s potential and the appeal of the various cultures is so great, that he’s already planning similar centers in Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenyang.
“We want to be a platform for culture, business and luxury travel,” says Wu. “And that includes some cooperative exhibitions that should be interesting to everyone.”
The Beijing center is located at J Space B1-510, Bldg 5 Sanlitun Soho, 8 Gongti North Road, Chaoyang district, Beijing.