Art on the Move

After dozens of journeys and artist collaborations, The Jaunt – a unique travel art residency program – is showing no signs of slowing down.

INTERVIEWED BY Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Courtesy of The Jaunt

Sending artists to destinations they’ve never visited before, The Jaunt encourages artistic inspiration through new experiences and observations. Now in its twelfth year, the travel art residency program has collaborated with artists from around the world – including a number of South African creatives such as Karabo Poppy, Seth Pimentel, and Ellena Lourens. We spoke to founder Jeroen Smeets about the evolution of The Jaunt, how the concept continues to foster creativity through travel, and why collaboration remains at its core.

The Jaunt is built around the idea of travel as a creative catalyst, so what was the spark that led you to start combining journeys with commissioned artworks?

“I have been working together with artists in different capacities for a long time. First in Amsterdam with some befriended artists, later as the editor-in-chief of a street culture magazine, and later running pop-up galleries in Amsterdam. Throughout this whole journey, I was always in conversation with artists, and one thing that kept coming back to me was how important travel was to artists and their creative process – how much it allowed them to open up to new influences.

“For the very first trip of The Jaunt, I had a friend who wanted to go on a trip but was missing a purpose for it, and I started thinking about how it would be if I sent him on a trip with the ‘mission’ of finding new inspiration and putting that inspiration directly into a new artwork. This was the start of The Jaunt. We sent it out to the people we knew and asked them to support this new idea by pre-ordering one of the prints from the artwork. We sold out the first edition and haven’t stood still since. Now we’re more than 100 trips in and 12 and a half years further down the line.”

How do you choose the destinations for each trip, and how much do you leave open for the artist to interpret versus curating a framework for them?

“There are two ways in which the destinations of the trips can come about. Sometimes I have a clear idea of a destination, and I find an artist who I think would fit with it. At other times, I reach out to an artist and ask them for their top five bucket-list travel destinations. The most important thing I consider is the purpose of the trip – just visiting a city because you’ve never been there before isn’t all that interesting. But if the destination fits right into a process or source of inspiration, then it becomes much more meaningful.

“While the artists are on their trip, they completely decide for themselves what they want to do; there is no framework or briefing about what they should or shouldn’t do.”

The program emphasises the unknown and serendipity. How do artists typically respond to being placed in unfamiliar contexts, and what patterns have you observed in their creative output?

“What I find most beautiful about The Jaunt is that each trip reflects the characteristics of the artist, and by following along through their travel diary, you really get to know a person in a different light. Some artists have a very detailed plan for what they want to do on their trip, others wander around aimlessly, and others sit in a café to draw in their sketchbook for 10 hours a day, because that’s time they don’t have at home.

“In terms of creative output, it varies greatly how and where the artists get to work on their artwork. Some start drawing and painting right away on their trip, others get back to work immediately in their studio, and others allow themselves time to soak in all their experiences, reflect on them, and then start working. That’s the beauty of working with people – it makes every experience unique.”

The Jaunt has grown into a community of collectors as well as artists. What role does that collector base play in sustaining the project, and how do you keep it feeling intimate and authentic?

“The collectors who have supported us throughout the years are a vital part of The Jaunt. Without the pre-orders from our collectors, the original artworks sold through our exhibitions, and our partner galleries exhibiting our prints, we would not be able to operate. The Jaunt does not receive any grants or have any commercial sponsors, so the entire project is made possible through our collectors.

“We also have a program called Jaunt Ambassador, where people support us for an entire year upfront – without even knowing which artists are participating that year – which we are extremely thankful for. To make it feel intimate and authentic, we rely on storytelling: through the artists’ trips, their creative processes, and by showing our audience every step along the way.”

Have there been any artist trips or works that have really stood out for you?

“There are more than a few that stand out to me, mostly because they’ve been such unique experiences for the artists. We’ve had the artist Cody Hudson stay in a treehouse community in the rainforest of Costa Rica, where he was awoken by an earthquake in the middle of the night. The Dutch artist Raymond Lemstra travelled to Seoul, fell in love there, and is now married and living in Seoul. The artist Seth Pimentel joined us for our Summer Camp in Lagos, Nigeria, where I was able to see his creative process with my own eyes. The way he can capture human emotion in a few brushstrokes will never cease to amaze me.

“For me, the beauty lies in being able to follow the artists and their creative process during their trip – you really get to know them and become part of their process.”

Looking ahead, what new directions or experiments are you most excited about for The Jaunt – whether in terms of destinations, collaborations, or the kinds of experiences you want to facilitate for artists?

“At the beginning of this year, we sent an artist to run a marathon in the Sahara Deser, which is an amazing feat in and of itself. The organisers of the marathon work with local refugee camps in Western Sahara to highlight and support their situation. The artist was able to give some workshops for the kids in the camps, and it felt very purpose-driven. I’m looking to organise more trips like this in the future.

“I also want to organise a legacy exhibition that can showcase the entire archive of The Jaunt – all of the trips we’ve organised, the artists we’ve worked with, and the artworks we’ve created. It will be a unique exhibition bringing all of these stories together. I’m currently reaching out within and beyond my network to find the right venue for this.” thejaunt.net | @thejaunt

Featured projects by South African artists

Karabo Poppy

Destination: Bangkok, Thailand (24 – 29 August, 2023)

“A theme I found myself drawn to through my experience was ‘making culture and heritage contemporary’.  The act of evolving and welcoming influences from different places but making sure one’s culture stays at the forefront. I saw this theme in all things in Bangkok from the street art, to fashion and even Muay Thai (Thai boxing).”

Seth Pimentel

Destination: Shanghai, China (15 – 22 May, 2024)

“Shanghai felt like a huge melting pot of different aesthetics. For example I saw quite a bit of Korean pop idol inspired guys, and Japanese Kawaii inspired girls. But what really stood out for me was the skater/hip hop influenced styles and the goth/alternative style. Because of this I gave the woman I portrayed in my artwork an alternative/emo style to her. I was personally really connected to that subculture as a kid and to see it manifest in the East was beautiful to me.”

Elléna Lourens

Destination: Nairobi, Kenya (6 – 11 February, 2024)

“For my artwork I have created an image of a woman wrapping herself in a blanket. The blanket is a literal representation of the hundreds of blankets I saw, whether in the markets, or wrapped around people in the streets, as well as being symbolic of the beauty, warmth and welcome I felt on my trip. For me this piece encapsulates the essence of my Nairobi experience – which felt like a fusion of warmth, hospitality, and cultural richness.”

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