In this guest blog, writer and editor Thomas Storey profiles the website The Culture Trip, which he has played a central role in developing (and which also features some of my own articles).
The Culture Trip is an organisation that seeks to highlight the best of what each country has to offer in terms of culture, arts, literature, film and music. We exist in the nexus between travel and culture and seek to broaden the relation between the two by offering a hand-picked selection of cultural sights, events and resources, alongside articles on arts and culture. We want to attract like-minded individuals who are culturally curious and constantly seek new avenues to navigate through the global canon of arts and literature, wherever they may be.
Various places across the globe are perceived only through the prism of tradition and heritage whilst their contemporary cultural output is dismissed. We are looking to redress this imbalance by focusing on the contemporary, in order to reveal the thriving cultural output which exists in many countries. We also focus on cultural icons – figures that have played a role in defining a particular culture through their art, music, cinema or literature.
Our writers are volunteers who come from 70 countries around the world and reflect the multicultural team within The Culture Trip. We seek contributions from people with an interest in arts and culture, and are conscious of the need to find local expertise and knowledge on contemporary cultural output. In addition, we welcome new insightful angles on history, politics and society.
Too much travel writing offers only a glib, superficial experience of a place − an outsider’s temporary perspective on centuries of culture and history. Our goal is to go beyond those facile impressions and to provide a comprehensive guide to cultural experience in a given destination.
In an effort to highlight the best literature and cinema across the world, we offer a curated selection of books and films per country. We also offer a selection of Travel Bags: three books or films which provide an in-depth introduction to the culture of a given country, and can be watched and read before or during travels, or simply out of curiosity.
In many countries our efforts have been stymied by the lack of availability of works in translation. The English-speaking publishing world, wary of incursions from digital competitors, no longer prioritizes the art of translation as it once did and many classic novels from around the world are falling out of print in English, whilst others are unfortunately never translated.
This cultural deficit is something we hope to redress in our own small way, by highlighting artists, writers, filmmakers and musicians who, despite our globalised culture, still don’t achieve the international renown they deserve.
We are particularly interested in focusing on the Middle East and Asia, two regions which, for different reasons, have somewhat distorted international profiles but which also have underappreciated depths of culture and art to explore. These regions are also experiencing something of a growth period, in which artistic expression is becoming both more prominent and writers and artists are able to engage with the world in more innovative and expressive ways.
If this sounds like a project you would be interested in contributing to, we would love to hear your ideas. Please contact us at articles@theculturetrip.com.
The Culture Trip is an organisation that seeks to highlight the best of what each country has to offer in terms of culture, arts, literature, film and music. We exist in the nexus between travel and culture and seek to broaden the relation between the two by offering a hand-picked selection of cultural sights, events and resources, alongside articles on arts and culture. We want to attract like-minded individuals who are culturally curious and constantly seek new avenues to navigate through the global canon of arts and literature, wherever they may be.
Various places across the globe are perceived only through the prism of tradition and heritage whilst their contemporary cultural output is dismissed. We are looking to redress this imbalance by focusing on the contemporary, in order to reveal the thriving cultural output which exists in many countries. We also focus on cultural icons – figures that have played a role in defining a particular culture through their art, music, cinema or literature.
Our writers are volunteers who come from 70 countries around the world and reflect the multicultural team within The Culture Trip. We seek contributions from people with an interest in arts and culture, and are conscious of the need to find local expertise and knowledge on contemporary cultural output. In addition, we welcome new insightful angles on history, politics and society.
Too much travel writing offers only a glib, superficial experience of a place − an outsider’s temporary perspective on centuries of culture and history. Our goal is to go beyond those facile impressions and to provide a comprehensive guide to cultural experience in a given destination.
In an effort to highlight the best literature and cinema across the world, we offer a curated selection of books and films per country. We also offer a selection of Travel Bags: three books or films which provide an in-depth introduction to the culture of a given country, and can be watched and read before or during travels, or simply out of curiosity.
In many countries our efforts have been stymied by the lack of availability of works in translation. The English-speaking publishing world, wary of incursions from digital competitors, no longer prioritizes the art of translation as it once did and many classic novels from around the world are falling out of print in English, whilst others are unfortunately never translated.
This cultural deficit is something we hope to redress in our own small way, by highlighting artists, writers, filmmakers and musicians who, despite our globalised culture, still don’t achieve the international renown they deserve.
We are particularly interested in focusing on the Middle East and Asia, two regions which, for different reasons, have somewhat distorted international profiles but which also have underappreciated depths of culture and art to explore. These regions are also experiencing something of a growth period, in which artistic expression is becoming both more prominent and writers and artists are able to engage with the world in more innovative and expressive ways.
If this sounds like a project you would be interested in contributing to, we would love to hear your ideas. Please contact us at articles@theculturetrip.com.
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