Who is Asia Art Tours?
Matthew Dagher-Margosian, the former head of sales at Mandarin Journeys, founded Asia Art Tours in 2017 believing that the travel industry (and the world) could change for the better by bringing together artists and creative travelers. And by connecting Travelers to the artists and art of Asia.
What is Asia Art Tours?
We connect Asia’s most creative thinkers, artists, academics and institutions with a select group of bespoke clients and creative travelers for unique activities and conversations.
As a Travel Company: we believe the current promotion of Asian Tourism leaves the traveler with no chance for deeper understanding or personal growth. Asia is marketed to Western Travelers as either a land of strange and ancient cultures or beautiful resources. Both lead travelers to “consume” rather than interact. We hide inside our smartphones or inside 5* hotels. While visiting Asia, it’s as if we haven’t left our own countries.
As an Art Company, we believe the best way to take travelers beyond the historic ruins of Asia’s past or the finite luxuries of its present is through art. Art allows us to leave the safety and familiarity of culture and perspective into the liminal space of the new. To change travel from mindless consumption to thoughtful comprehension, we believe Asia’s Art and Artists are the Key.
As a Company, our founder believes we are hitting the limits of our current systems. With income inequality nearing unsustainable levels[1], Global Warming’s consequences increasing every day[2] and billionaires purchasing New Zealand Passports and constructing underground bunkers[3]; There is a specter haunting travel and leisure: [4]. we cannot envision alternatives to a difficult or pessimistic futures for ourselves or our children.[5]
But artists can.
By connecting my clients with the academics, artists, and creative thinkers of Asia, we aim to be a catalyst for change. We know it’s bold and improbable, but we’d rather try to inspire new visions for the future than accept the consequences of inaction. Artists are the last utopians and we need them now more than ever.
I look forward to Asia Art Tours introducing travelers to some of the world’s bravest and most brilliant artists. And I hope that from these encounters and conversations new ideas for the future can emerge. I know these artists can inspire travelers as they’ve inspired me.
[1] https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2017-01-16/just-8-men-own-same-wealth-half-world
[2] https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/nations-must-triple-efforts-reach-2degc-target-concludes-annual
[3] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/30/doomsday-prep-for-the-super-rich
[4] https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014?o=3
[5]https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/05/smartphone-addiction-silicon-valley-dystopia?CMP=share_btn_fb
