Fatima AVILA, a Filipino national, joined ASEF’s Culture Department in May 2016. She is in charge of Mobility First! – ASEF Cultural Mobility Initiative, which was set up in recognition of existing funding gaps, particularly in the Asia-to-Europe and Asia-to-Asia contexts. Through this new grant, ASEF supports the movement of artists & cultural professionals to enable them to participate in cross-border activities that include festivals, conferences, residencies, trainings, research trips, networking and collaborative meetings. Mobility support is provided to selected artists & cultural professionals for travel from Asia to Europe, Europe to Asia & within Asia. Applications from individuals & organisations are welcome.
Fatima also supports the ASEF’s Cultural Policy programme, particularly its policy panels at ASEM Culture Ministers’ Meetings, and its new event-series ASEF Unplugged, which offers informal peer-to-peer conversations for cultural professionals in Asia and Europe.
Prior to ASEF, Fatima has worked extensively in the visual arts field as gallery manager of Tin-aw Art Gallery and Manila Contemporary (Valentine Willie Fine Art) where she was able to navigate Southeast Asia through artistic and institutional collaborations by means of exhibitions and commercial projects.
Fatima holds a Master’s degree and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom and Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines respectively.