CODART, Dutch and Flemish art in museums worldwide

About CODART congresses, focus meetings and study trips

Full and associate members of CODART are invited to attend congresses. When congresses are fully booked, full members are given priority. There is a limited number of places available for CODART Patrons. Certain parts of the congress, such as the visit to a private collection, may have to be limited.

Full and associate members of CODART. Depending on the subject of the meeting, other specialists or CODART Patrons are also invited.

Registration for CODART events opens approximately five months in advance. Members, associate members and patrons will be notified of this by email.

The CODART director and CODART bureau organize these events. They are advised by a program committee consisting of CODART members and supported by a committee of local curators in the area where the event takes place. CODARTfocus meetings are organized in a certain museum, city or region by“local” CODART members.

Most CODART congresses include the following program options:

  • Theme session: papers on the subject that forms the main theme of the congress.
  • Plenary debate on the congress theme with the participation of an international panel of museum curators and other specialists.
  • Speakers’ Corner, where CODART members are given the congress floor for seven minutes, during which time they can put questions to their fellow curators or appeal to them for help with a project or research question.
  • Visits to museum collections or exhibitions, some of which are organized specifically for CODART.
  • Visits behind the scenes to museum restoration studios, storages and / or private collections.
  • Receptions, a congress dinner and many other opportunities for informal contact.

For the complete programs of upcoming and previous congresses, see CODART events.

CODARTfocus meeting are carefully prepared expert meetings, organized on the initiative of a museum with a significant collection of Dutch and Flemish art. These meetings are organized in the context of exhibitions or research projects. They offer the hosting curators the opportunity to pose their latest research- and other questions to a select group of specialized colleagues. Hosting curators are also allowed to prepare cases and ask for help or opinions regarding questions of attribution, restoration, etc. The CODARTfocus meetings thus offer the opportunity of establishing scholarly and professional contacts that can be of great value. For the complete programs of upcoming and previous focus meetings, see CODART events.

The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) takes care of the personnel costs. This covers about 60% of the total cost of a congress.
Every year we do our best to find additional funding, with increasing success. Now 10-15% of the congress budget is covered by sponsors (sometimes also including the host museum) and the Friends of CODART Foundation.
The rest, some 25-30%, is covered by the congress fee, which in 2016 was 375 euros. This is used to pay for such things as renting the venue, technical services, dinners, lunches, receptions, the congress handout, translation costs, speakers’ fees, excursions, and some of the organizational costs.
Members from less well-off countries may apply for a grant. These are not covered by the congress fees, but by external funds such as the Prince Bernhard Cultural Fund and the Wilhelmina E. Jansen Fund, among others.
A detailed congress budget is available on request from info@codart.nl.

See our other FAQ pages for additional information about CODART, Dutch and Flemish art, CODART’s work, membership, our publications, the Friends of CODART Foundation, the mailing lists we offer, and this website.