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The Bettina Ayech Foundation has been invited by the WAF to join its network. The Foundation will send a delegation to this year’s International Summit of Art Foundations (WAF), the ‚WAF Global Summit‘, which will take place in Barcelona from 26 to 27 January 2026.

„This is a great honour and a significant milestone in our strategy of engaging with international networks and collaborations. This allows us to connect with key players in the arts and culture sector, promote international dialogue, and encourage an understanding of different cultures.“

This year’s Global Summit has the theme of “The Role of Art Foundations in a Changing World”. The host is the Fundació Joan Miró. The programme will begin by examining the impact and role of art foundations in our time, which is characterised by geopolitical shifts, global crises and cultural upheavals. On the second day, the focus will shift to the future development and continued existence of art foundations.

Founded in 2022, the Bettina Heinen-Ayech Foundation for Art, Culture and International Dialogue is a non-profit organisation that promotes international dialogue and understanding through art. Its most important current project is to preserve, research, document and exhibit the artistic works of the protagonists of the historic Solingen Artists‘ Colony ‚Black House‘. This project is based on the artistic and humanistic ideals of the colony’s most prominent figure, the painter Bettina Heinen-Ayech (1937–2020), and the other protagonists who were part of the colony.

Since 2023, the Bettina Heinen-Ayech Foundation has been a partner member of the European Federation of Artists‘ Colonies (euroart), an important pan-European partnership. Since 2023, it has also been integrated into the Council of Europe’s cultural route, ‚Impressionism Routes©‘, alongside the Solingen Artists‘ Colony. The partnership agreed for 2025 with the A. Kasteyev Museum of Arts in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest state art museum, marks the first time that cultural cooperation for dialogue has been realised outside Europe.

„We are honoured to be members of the World Art Foundation. We would like to contribute to a stronger, better-connected art world to promote art, culture and international dialogue.“
Miriam Unland and Dr. Haroun Ayech, Board of Directors of the Bettina Heinen-Ayech Foundation