Creative Routes Foundation is a new foundation, established in England, that advances education, arts and heritage by working with artists, curators and cultural organisations to reimagine living heritage as contemporary art in Bhutan.
We believe heritage lives in the relationships between people, materials, rituals and the spaces they inhabit. We work through long relationships with artists, communities and institutions, and we respect the wishes of the people whose knowledge we work with.
Reanimating Heritage is working towards a Bhutanese national presentation at the 2028 Venice Biennale, bringing contemporary work developed through research and exchange in Bhutan into international dialogue. At the heart of this artistic enquiry is Ma-chim (Ma-ཁྱིམ), “What the Mother’s House Knows”: a body of work arising from the study of Bhutanese domestic spaces, vernacular architecture, rituals and living cultural knowledge.
A collective presentation of new work across sculpture, painting, textiles, film and installation, with a publication and public programme in development. The artists, individual commissions and final presentation will be agreed through the programme’s curatorial and commissioning process.
The project aims to create artistic and professional opportunities in Bhutan, strengthen curatorial and production experience, and build relationships with museums and cultural organisations that continue beyond Venice.
Initial artistic research and dialogue with Bhutan’s Department of Culture and Dzongkha Development have established the programme’s direction. Venue discussions and planning for the 2028 participation route are continuing.
Trustees, supporters, specialist partners and project funding will be essential to research, commissions, professional exchange and international presentation. The Venice element remains subject to the required approvals, viable venue and committed funding.
Contemporary art, shared knowledge and cultural dialogue
Ma-chim Ma-ཁྱིམ
Ma-chim (working title) is the first body of work within Reanimating Heritage. Beginning with a traditional house in Nobgang, it explores the home as a living repository of memory, architecture, rituals, material knowledge and care.
During her 2026 residency in Bhutan, Laura Dzelzytė undertook artistic and anthropological research through encounters with people, homes, objects and everyday rituals. The inquiry follows Encounter → Remaking → Passage: sustained attention to lived knowledge, its transformation through artistic work, and its passage into new relationships and contexts.
Research and making may translate these inherited forms through wax, timber, painting, textiles and moving image. Artistic authorship, household permission and the final form of the work will be developed with Bhutanese contributors.
Fieldwork, household enquiry, material testing, documentation and publications, developed with consent and grounded in lived cultural knowledge.
Workshops, residencies, reciprocal learning and paid shared roles that strengthen Bhutanese artistic, curatorial and production capacity.
Commissions and new contemporary work in sculpture, painting, textiles, moving image and installation, with specialist making and fair fees.
The proposed Venice 2028 presentation, museum exchange, public events, publications and continuing international relationships.
These activities form a single research and production programme. Delivery, scale and commissioned outputs will be agreed through the funded programme plan.
Heritage lives in the relationships between people, materials, rituals and the spaces they inhabit.
Begin with listening, situated relationships and close attention to places, practices and people.
Explore inherited forms through contemporary artistic processes, materials and interpretation.
Share work and knowledge across communities and institutions, opening further routes for exchange.
The measure of the programme extends beyond a single exhibition: it is designed to support new artistic work, local knowledge and the capacity to lead future cultural projects.
Laura Dzelzytė’s 2026 residency in Bhutan developed an artistic and anthropological inquiry into domestic life, living heritage and material traditions using Encounter, Remaking and Passage. Research discussions with Bhutanese cultural authorities and early wax and material experiments have followed.
Commissions for Bhutanese practitioners, shared workshops and residencies, and reciprocal learning in curation, conservation, documentation and exhibition production.
Publications and documentation developed with permission, skills and networks held by Bhutanese collaborators, continuing museum relationships and a review of future activity after 2029.
The 2026–2029 route joins research, fair professional exchange, new artistic work and international presentation; each stage depends on permissions, resources and agreed roles.
Research, dialogue, artistic development and programme foundations.
Workshops, residencies, institutional relationships and production development.
Proposed Bhutanese national presentation at the Venice Biennale, subject to approvals, venue and funding.
Documentation, evaluation, knowledge exchange and planning for the next phase.
Creative Routes Foundation is a proposed independent UK charitable delivery organisation in development. Programme activities, paid appointments and the proposed Venice presentation remain subject to formal arrangements, permissions, required approvals and committed funding.
The Queen Mother of Bhutan supports the safeguarding and transmission of Bhutan’s living cultural heritage across generations.
A supporter of Bhutanese cultural life whose connection to the founding artistic research helps bridge Bhutanese heritage and international cultural exchange.
Director General of Bhutan’s Department of Culture and Dzongkha Development, guiding national cultural priorities and institutional coordination for the programme.
British–Lithuanian multidisciplinary artist reimagining museum collections and living heritage through painting, wax sculpture and installation. She developed the research methodology Encounter → Remaking → Passage, explored through her site-specific Birds of Passage trilogy across Matino, Copertino and Lecce in 2026. Her work was shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2026, with The Keeper of Crossed Roads forthcoming at Museum Beelden aan Zee, The Hague (2026–27).
Contemporary art professional and producer with experience across major international galleries. She was Director of Kate MacGarry (2021–25), following six years with Lisson Gallery and earlier work at White Cube, bringing expertise in artist relationships, exhibitions, institutional projects and large-scale commissions.
Bhutan-based coordinator supporting research logistics, local artistic relationships and continuity of programme activity in Bhutan.
Venice-based liaison supporting conversations with venues, local institutions and the practical route towards the 2028 presentation.
Executive Director of the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, advancing dialogue between Himalayan heritage and contemporary practice. The Rubin was lead global supporter of Nepal’s inaugural national pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale and has collaborated with VAST Bhutan on projects and support for contemporary Bhutanese artists.
Leading independent curator shaping contemporary art through ambitious, experimental exhibitions and collaborations with major international artists. She curated and helped realise Pierre Huyghe’s landmark Liminal for the Pinault Collection at Punta della Dogana, Venice, in 2024, during the Venice Biennale.
Art historian and curator specialising in Bhutanese and Himalayan art, museum collections and community-led cultural documentation. A two-time Fulbright scholar to Bhutan and Assistant Professor at the University of Idaho, she received the university’s College of Art and Architecture Faculty Research Excellence Award in 2026.
Architect at Zaha Hadid Architects exploring digital fabrication and material research in dialogue with Bhutanese vernacular forms.
Creative Routes Foundation is in formation. Royal patronage wording, proposed charity appointments and advisory or institutional relationships are subject to written confirmation and approval for public credit. Individual affiliations identify expertise and do not imply endorsement or institutional sponsorship.
The Foundation is in formation. We welcome conversations with people and organisations who can help establish an accountable, lasting programme of contemporary artistic exchange with Bhutan.
We are seeking people with experience in charity governance, finance, law, philanthropy, museums, the arts and Bhutanese or Himalayan cultural contexts. Trustees will oversee charitable purpose, budgets, risks and independence. A trustee information pack is being prepared.
We welcome museums, universities, galleries, artists and cultural organisations interested in research, professional development, artistic production and international dialogue.
Funding is needed for research, fairly paid roles for Bhutanese artists and practitioners, commissions, publications, technical development and the proposed Venice presentation. A phase-based budget and funding plan are in development.
Tell us a little about your experience and the work you are interested in supporting. Write to team@creative-routes.org.
Creative Routes Foundation is being established as a UK charitable organisation. Its proposed independent trustees will oversee financial stewardship, public benefit, conflicts of interest and safeguarding. Bhutan’s Department of Culture and Dzongkha Development retains its national commissioning responsibilities; the foundation’s charitable governance is separate from those responsibilities and from the founder’s artistic role.
Research, imagery and artistic work involving households, artists and communities will be guided by informed consent, fair remuneration, appropriate safeguarding and agreed authorship, credit and permissions. Policies, the legal framework and trustee appointments are being finalised before funded delivery. For enquiries relating to privacy, permissions or participation, contact team@creative-routes.org.
For artistic exchange, institutional dialogue, partnership and programme enquiries, please get in touch.
team@creative-routes.org ↗