Traveling: Been there, going, planning to go

“If our lives are dominated by a search for happiness, then perhaps few activities reveal as much about the dynamics of this quest – in all its ardour and paradoxes – than our travels.”  Alain de Botton The Art of Travel

Further to traveling extensively to inform her professional activities, and a personal passion for art and travel, Beatrix Barker has also been organizing unique art tours with a special focus on contemporary art, public art and architecture, and their historic and cultural contexts.

From visiting museums and enjoying private, curator-led tours, through spending time with artists in their studios and galleries, to meeting discerning collectors and sharing their insights and passion for art, she structures programs that provide an insider’s view of the culture of the places visited, complemented by informative excursions and explorations of relevant sites.

This year her travels take her to India in February and early March, Seattle and Vancouver in May, and Italy in September.

She will share her adventures through her posts.

NORTH AMERICA

USA

Los Angeles and area (Palm Springs, Santa Barbara,  San Diego, La Jolla)
San Francisco – Napa

Santa Fe, NM – coinciding with SITE Santa Fe Biennial (2012)
New York
Chicago

CANADA

Vancouver
Toronto – coinciding with the Toronto International Film Festival
Montreal

EUROPE

ITALY

The Veneto and Venice – from Palladio to contemporary art at the Biennale
Milan to Venice – including an exploration of the Lakes Region with stops in Brescia, Vicenza, Verona, Padua
Rome – Contemporary art and architecture and other surprises
Sicily – history and mythology; Greek temples; Byzantine-Norman-Sicilian Baroque architecture; helicopter tour of the volcanoes; Aeolian Islands; inspiring gastronomy (wine tastings, olive oil tasting, cooking and feasting on Sicily’s multicultural cuisine)

ENGLAND

London – with special spotlight on the Frieze Art Fair

GERMANY

Berlin-Dresden-Cologne-Dusseldorf – Focus on the contemporary art scene

FRANCE

Paris
Various regions with thematic focus

TURKEY

Coinciding with the Istanbul Biennial

CENTRAL EUROPE

Budapest – Vienna – Prague

MIDDLE EAST

Dubai-Abu Dhabi-Sharjah-Doha and Oman
Jordan, Syria, Lebanon