Kees Eijrond

Born in Amsterdam and trained as an Agronomic Engineer, Kees Eijrond has had a diverse professional career, guided by his restless and creative spirit.

His dedication to the artistic field began in the 1990s through his involvement with innovative projects in the areas of dance, music, and film. As an idealizer, organizer, funder, or director, Kees Eijrond has participated in some of the most relevant and award-winning cultural projects in Europe in recent decades.

For about 30 years, he led the ROSAS dance company, founded by the Belgian choreographer and dancer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker in Brussels. He was a founding member and director of P.A.R.T.S. (Performing Arts Research and Training Studios), a renowned postgraduate training institute in dance and choreography. He also co-founded and led ICTUS, a contemporary music ensemble based in Brussels, established in 1994.

He was a founder and served as an advisor at the Academy of Theatre and Dance at the Amsterdam University of the Arts. He was part of the management team of Büro Friedrich, an art gallery for young artists inaugurated in 1998 in Berlin. He presided over and directed the SPRING Performing Arts Festival and promoted Uitfeest, two important cultural festivals in the Netherlands. He also worked as a film producer.

Over the last three decades, he has been responsible for the execution of several restoration and hospitality projects in historic buildings in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Portugal, aiming to combine art, haute cuisine, and the preservation of historical heritage. The most recent examples of historical heritage renovation are the Verride Palace on Santa Catarina hill in Lisbon (18th century) and De Winkel van Sinkel in Utrecht (19th century), the first department store in the Netherlands.

While still young, when he first visited Portugal shortly after the 25th of April 1974, he decided that one day he would reside in Lisbon, a wish he fulfilled in 2018.

In 2022, he established a permanent representation in the Portuguese capital for the cultural support foundation he has led for over 30 years in his native country. His goal is to give back to Portugal everything the country has given him over the last three decades.

The Kees Eijrond Foundation is based at his Hotel Verride Palácio de Santa Catarina.

In 2024, Kees Eijrond formally registered, at a notary office in Utrecht, a set of fundamental values, management principles, and actions that will determine the Foundation's operation and the administration of its assets.