Hi, I’m Vera – or 文兰 wén lán in Chinese. I am a Dutch creative yet practical cultural producer and writer, living and working in Yunnan. About me: I have a keen eye for organization, opportunities and collaborations. My CV shows a demonstrated history of working in communication, culture and the creative industries in the Netherlands and Yunnan. Please read on and find out how I can help you.

About

What can I do for you?

  • Translation. Chinese to Dutch or English. English to Dutch to English.
  • Writing, editing, proofreading. I produce original content in English or Dutch, or let me fix the last finicky details of your writing for you, with my eagle eye for grammatical and spelling mistakes.
  • Events. Original concepts, collaborations, sourcing, planning, production.
  • Cross-cultural and cross-industry consultancy.
  • Project management. Managing timelines, teams, budgets and, of course, results.
  • Much more… Let’s work together!

Achievements

I’ve organized my achievements in several fields. Jump directly to the relevant field with these links:

Writing

Hungarian highways
Picture by Cyril Chermin

Online marketing and communication

  • Maintained GoKunming website visitor numbers during Covid-19, even if no visitors were coming to the region and there were no activities happening around the province.
  • Became the approachable ‘face’ of GoKunming in the international community in Yunnan upon taking on the role as editor-in-chief. Banned trolling on the website, set up a small volunteer group of moderators and made the forum once again a useful resource. This in turn made the site valuable again for advertisers, with excellent advertising sales results, from existing clients, returning old clients and brand new clients.
  • Edited daily social media updates for GoKunming Facebook and Instagram pages.

Management

  • Set up her own company and manages her own acquisition, bookkeeping, planning, communication and design.
  • Managed the workflow of the Destination China video team.
  • Reorganised and structured CloudBridge/GoKunming – bringing it up to international organisation management standards. Organized the archive, set up a project management protocol, designed budget templates and implemented weekly meetings, appraisals and more.
  • Managed the finances of Virtueel Platform foundation and the tidy and organised handing over of the administration to Het Nieuwe Instituut, the new umbrella organisation for the creative industries in the Netherlands.

Cultural events

Initiated and produced the Dutch Culture Nights – a series of events aimed at cultural exchange (with generous funding from the Consulate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Chongqing). The Dutch Culture Nights started in 2020 with a pilot of two film screenings at three locations in Yunnan: the Linden Centre in Xizhou, Wheatfield Bookstore in Kunming and Dali Art Factory in Dali. In 2021 the programming will be extended with Artist Talks and PechaKucha nights.

Founded the Kunming International Situationist Society. Initiated, conceptualized and produced two editions of the KISS microfest, featuring talks, a film screening, live music performances and a dérive.

Produced a documentary premiere in Kunming’s Green Lake Park, the first Kunming PechaKucha night and produced, hosted and did the communication for two editions of the Best of Kunming awards while working for GoKunming.

Best of Kunming

Initiated and produced Cyclic! – a celebration of bicycle culture. Together with Cheryl Gallaway she organised a three-day minifestival with performances, a bicycle ride, an art exhibition and more.

Art

  • Initiated the Kunming International Situationist Society KISS in 2019 and participated in several dérives, a Situationist art practice and a form of urban performance that is about experiencing our environment in a different, more playful way.
  • Concept and installation for Human Driven exhibition at IWE museum, Kunming. In collaboration with Kunming artist and curator Luofei.
  • Artwork and lecture for the Invisible Planet exhibition at TCG Nordica gallery, Kunming.
  • Bicycle Monologues performance at the Amsterdam edition of the Bicycle Film Festival.
  • Initiator of Cyclic! – where cycling and art meet during a three day festival in 2010.

Social responsibility

  • Provided trustworthy information on Covid-19 for the international community of Yunnan, with the help of a team of dedicated volunteers she set up and managed. Her articles were followed way beyond Yunnan, as it was one of the very few English news sources from within China that provided up-to-date and verified information about the Covid-19 situation.
  • Assisting with the annual Have a Heart fundraiser, a charity that helps rural Yunnan kids get the heart disease diagnosis, operation or treatment they need.
  • Volunteer language coach for refugees in the Netherlands with Stichting Vluchtelingenwerk.

Other milestones

  • Cycled from Amsterdam to Tokyo. On her Oufti blog you can find some of the stories about life on the road.
  • Re-designed and renovated her historical Amsterdam apartment and a traditional courtyard house in rural Dali.
Heyang house