Beaufort 03 is organized by vzw Ku(n)st* in association with Ostend's PMMK, Provincial Museum for Modern Art.
Vzw Ku(n)st's brief is to stimulate and organize cultural activities along the coast. Its first major event was Beaufort 01 (= 2003 Beaufort), the first edition of the Triennial for Contemporary Art by the Sea. This was followed by the second edition in 2006.
Vzw Ku(n)st's history goes back to 1996, when a culture fund was set up for an exhibition mounted at the PMMK, Provincial Museum for Modern Art, in 1996-1997. That exhibition was from Ensor to Delvaux and it attracted 350,000 visitors. The culture fund's partners were:

  • the Province of West Flanders
  • the Tourist Office for Flanders
  • Westtoerisme (now Westtoer)
  • the City of Ostend
  • Kredietbank (now KBC Bank & Verzekering).

[* Ku(n)st is a combination of the Dutch words 'kunst' meaning 'art' and 'kust' meaning 'coast'.]

The culture fund continued to exist after 1997 and went on to finance several art exhibitions at the PMMK and the Museum of Fine Arts in Ostend. When in 2001 the idea was hatched of mounting a coastal art project on a large scale, the decision was made to convert the culture fund into a 'vzw' - a non-profit organization. In December 2001 the From Ensor to Delvaux culture fund was dissolved and vzw Ku(n)st set up in its place. The Chairman is Gunter Pertry, Deputy for Culture of the Province of West Flanders. Vzw Ku(n)st consists of two partners, namely the Province of West Flanders and the City of Ostend. Vzw Ku(n)st's day-to-day activities are carried out by a project secretariat based at the PMMK in Ostend.

The first edition of the Triennial for Contemporary Art by the Sea, Beaufort 01 (2003 Beaufort), took place in 2003 and was followed in 2006 by Beaufort 02 (2006 Beaufort). Beaufort 03 is also in the hands of vzw Ku(n)st.