Connecting cultural partners
Díptic is an independent bureau for cultural projects.
We develop projects and organise partnerships. We specialise in
exhibitions and events related to language, writing and art.
Díptic gives national and international cultural projects
local relevance.
Díptic's face
Díptic is run by Ferran Bach, who brings together
cultural partners for each project. Before founding his own bureau for
cultural projects, he combined work as a language teacher, a translator
and a cultural event manager.
-You have worked as a language teacher in several countries.
'Yes, I taught Spanish to American college students in Bloomington
(IN), business English to unemployed people in the greater Barcelona
area, Catalan to university language students in Sheffield and business
Spanish to Dutch pupils at the Arnhem business school.
I enjoyed teaching students with very different backgrounds. You have
to try to bridge the gap between the students's culture and your own'.
-You have also translated: fiction, poetry and technical texts.
'I've translated from English and Dutch into Catalan and Spanish.
Translating is hard work. You have to negotiate meaning from one
language into the other, and try to make a text, which is full of
cultural references and assumptions, understandable for a new reader
from a different background.'
-Before moving to the Netherlands, you worked in Barcelona for a
literary foundation as an event manager.
'In 1987 I was involved for the first time in the organisation of an
exhibition. Organising an exhibition can take years. A great deal more
effort goes into developing and producing it than most visitors would
ever imagine.'
-And at present...
'All this experience, and surviving several private and professional
culture shocks, has turned me into a life long learner. Now I'm even
more fascinated by the opportunity to create cultural projects in a
multicultural and multilingual environment where local communities can
be involved.'
associates
The associates in Díptic are:
Adri Boon, translator in Amsterdam
Mariëlle Brands, graphic designer in Tilburg
Sarah McCartney, marketing
consultant in London
Enric Gomà, script writer in Barcelona
Frank Mutsaers, webmaster in Utrecht
Carine van Vugt, exhibition designer in Tilburg
Norman Yap, managing consultant in London