Verstraete, Katelijn

Katelijn Verstraete is deputy director of the Cultural Exchange Department at the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) in Singapore. Over the last 17 years she has built up extensive experience and networks in the field of cultural management and in international cultural cooperation between Asia and Europe, cultural policy dialogue, cultural portals and on the intersections between arts and education, sustainable development and health.

In 1999 she co-founded BizArt, the first autonomous art space in Shanghai. Between 2003 and 2007, she developed the communication, training and Asia projects for the International Network of Contemporary Performing Arts (IETM) and managed the www.On-the-Move.org project on mobility information for artists. Prior to her work in the cultural sector, Verstraete worked for seven years in the business sector in Germany and China.

She holds an MA degree in Sinology and marketing management. She is passionate about the role of the arts in a more sustainable world.