The Davidoff Art Initiative (DAI), in collaboration with the Escuela de Diseño Altos de Chavón in the city of La Romana in Dominican Republic, began a new residency in early 2015 aimed at international artists visiting the Caribbean. The DAI will add a fourth component of its global artist residency program: a three month annual residency for Caribbean artists and curators. The art residencies will take place yearly from October to December. Oettinger Davidoff AG announces the new Davidoff Art Residence Initiative (DAI) for Caribbean artists at the Atelier Mondial in Basel, in collaboration with the Institute of Art at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel. "Ever since we started the Davidoff Art Initiative, it has been our intent to have one node in our network in Switzerland," said Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, CEO of Oettinger Davidoff AG. "We are all the more delighted that our Swiss residency partner is right here in Basel, where both our company and our lead cultural partner, Art Basel, are headquartered. Under the expert guidance of Chuz Martínez, the new residency will bring the Davidoff Art Initiative back home to us, allowing our Davidoff colleagues to interact closely with the visiting Caribbean artists." The studios of Atelier Mondial are located in the new building complex at Freilager-Platz in the Dreispitz area, an emerging area located behind the Swiss railway station. The complex is directly opposite to the new FHNW building, designed by architects Morger & Dettli, and so-called "offspaces," an independent group of non-commercial spaces. "I am convinced that the Caribbean region has some of the most exciting voices in the contemporary art world today," affirmed Chuz Martínez, head of the Institute of Art at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel. "Yet these artists and curators are often overlooked. The new residency collaborations will be an important vehicle for developing deeper cultural ties between our respective regions." The Davidoff Art Initiative began in 2012 to support contemporary Caribbean art and its artists, contribute to the development of arts organizations in the Dominican Republic, promote the dissemination of knowledge and experiences on contemporary art and encourage cultural engagement between the Caribbean and the rest of the world. The initiative is driven by a commitment to bring much-needed exposure and resources to the cultural community of the region where many employees and much of the production of Oettinger Davidoff are located. The new Davidoff Lounge at Art Basel was designed by the renowned Swiss firm Atelier Oi. This lounge will be the platform to showcase the activities of the Davidoff Art Initiative. The centerpiece of the new lounge will be an interactive digital display that will project interactive images from the Davidoff Art Initiative's growing network of Caribbean artists and arts organizations, as well as photographs by Dominican artist Polibio Díaz, who participated in the Davidoff Art Residency program at the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in Brooklyn, New York, in the fall of 2014.