2021 Asia Arts Game Changer Awards

ASIA SOCIETY

ASIA ARTS GAME CHANGER AWARDS

VIRTUAL GALA WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021

2021 ASIA ARTS GAME CHANGER HONOREES

DR. ULI SIGG

ZARINA

ZHANG HUAN

PARVIZ TANAVOLI

ASIA ARTS GAME CHANGER AWARDS VIRTUAL GALA WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021

SPECIAL PERFORMANCE Joyce Ho

WELCOME The Honorable Kevin Rudd AC President and CEO, Asia Society; President, Asia Society Policy Institute Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe Vice President for Global Artistic Programs and Director of Asia Society Museum

AWARD PRESENTATIONS Zhang Huan presented by Wu Hung Zarina posthumous acceptance by Roland Augustine, presented by Kiran Nadar Dr. Uli Sigg presented by Adrian T. Keller and Suhanya Raffel Parviz Tanavoli presented by Her Majesty Farah Pahlavi

GUEST APPEARANCES Jonah Bokaer

Eiko Otake

Rudresh Mahanthappa

Patti Smith

Paul Miller (aka DJ Spooky)

Herb Tam

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Muna Tseng

WELCOME Dear Friends, It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 2021 Asia Arts Game Changer Awards.

Asia Society Museum has been a pioneer in identifying and fostering avant-garde artists and engaging new audiences through their work. With this mission in mind, we inaugurated the Asia Arts Game Changer Awards, a celebration of Asian contemporary art.

This signature event allows Asia Society an opportunity to recognize and honor some of the most influential artists and other trailblazers across the art world at a time when their voices have become a vital reminder of our shared humanity. This year, we are proud to have this opportunity to pay tribute to the pioneering vision and significant achievements in the field of the following honorees: Dr. Uli Sigg, Parviz Tanavoli, Zarina (in memoriam), and Zhang Huan. Though we are not able to be together this year due to restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic, this virtual format makes it possible for our thirteen global centers, their members, and our friends around the world to partake in this truly global celebration of Asian contemporary art.

The Asia Arts Game Changer Awards is the Asia Society Museum’s most important fundraiser and allows us to continue our mission to champion Asian and Asian American voices, especially during this most challenging time for art organizations. We are so grateful for your support through your participation in the gala. I thank you for joining us this evening and for your generous support of Asia Society and our important role in bringing the arts and culture of Asia to the world.

I’m delighted to celebrate the trailblazing achievements of our 2021 honorees with you at this very special event for Asia Society!

Sincerely, Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe Vice President for Global Artistic Programs and Director of Asia Society Museum 2

HONOREE DR. ULI SIGG DR. ULI SIGG is one of the leading collectors and champions of contemporary Chinese art. He received a PhD from the law faculty of the Universität Zürich. Dr. Sigg served as Vice Chairman of the Schindler Group, establishing the first joint venture between China and the West in 1980. From 1995 to 1999 he was Swiss ambassador to China, North Korea, and Mongolia. During this period, Dr. Sigg began collecting contemporary Chinese art, eventually amassing more than twenty-five hundred works that have been exhibited internationally. In 2012, he gifted over half his collection to M+, Hong Kong. His significant contributions to the field include founding the Chinese Contemporary Art Award in 1997 (known as the Sigg Prize since 2020) and the CCAA Art Critic Award. Dr. Sigg is on the boards of Asia Society Switzerland and M+, Hong Kong; the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the International Advisory Council of Tate, London.

3

HONOREE PARVIZ TANAVOLI (b. 1937 in Tehran, Iran; lives and works in Tehran and Vancouver, Canada) PARVIZ TANAVOLI is an Iranian painter, sculptor, and poet known for his iconic heech sculptures. The artist graduated from Brera Academy in Milan in 1959. Tanavoli was a founding member of the Saqqakhaneh school, the first modern art movement in Iran. His practice incorporates modernist aesthetics with traditional motifs including handicrafts and Persian literature. Tanavoli has exhibited at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (2017 and 2003); Tate Modern, London (2015); Asia Society Museum, New York (2013); the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2012); the British Museum, London (2011); Minneapolis Institute of Art (1962); and the Venice Biennale (1958). His work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the British Museum, London; Tate Modern, London; Museum of Modern Art, Vienna; the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi; Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art; and National Museum of Qatar, Doha, among others. He served as a professor at the Tehran College of Decorative Arts and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and as the head of the sculpture department at the University of Tehran.

4

HONOREE ZARINA (b. 1937 in Aligarh, India; d. 2020 in London, United Kingdom) ZARINA was a printmaker whose minimal compositions reflect her mathematics training and interest in architecture. Her work references notions of home, borders, displacement, and memory while her use of calligraphic inscriptions in Urdu demonstrates the vital role language plays in her work. Zarina received a BS from Aligarh Muslim University in 1958 and studied printmaking in Bangkok, Tokyo, and Paris before settling in New York. She was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2012), which traveled to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, and the Art Institute of Chicago (2013). She participated in the Venice Biennale (2011) and was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis (2019–2020).

Her work is in the collections of Tate Modern, London; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the Menil Collection, Houston, among others.

5

HONOREE ZHANG HUAN (b. 1965 in Anyang, Henan Province, China; lives and works in Shanghai and New York, United States) ZHANG HUAN is best known for his provocative durational performances and as a pioneering founder of the Beijing East Village group.

He received an MA from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, in 1993. His practice spans large-scale participatory performances, sculpture, installation, and painting that often addresses Chinese culture and history. He was the subject of a retrospective at Asia Society Museum, New York (2007), which traveled to Vancouver Art Gallery (2008). Zhang has exhibited at the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg (2020); the National Gallery of Singapore (2019); Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (2018); MoMA PS1, New York (2018); M+, Hong Kong (2015); Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (2012); Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai (2011); Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (2010); Royal Academy of Arts, London (2007). His work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; Louvre Abu Dhabi; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; and Shanghai Art Museum.

6

SPECIAL PERFORMANCE An Artist Talk is a virtual performance by interdisciplinary artist JOYCE HO that appropriates the structure of a lecture to reimagine daily rituals. Ho believes that our perceptions of the mundane provide the foundation to comprehend other occurrences in life, such as relationships, habits, and dialogues. The performance manipulates our awareness of time to expose tiny fissures within our daily routines.

By magnifying easily overlooked details, the work sparks reflection on everyday life.

JOYCE HO is an interdisciplinary artist with a focus on installation, sculpture, and performance. Ho has also worked as a scriptwriter and theater director. The artist endeavors, whether in painting, installation, or video, to convey an intimate, yet alienated tension between human beings and reality. Ho has exhibited internationally, including the Asia Society Triennial, New York (2020–2021); Yokohama Triennale (2020); UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China (2020); Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China (2019); 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia (2018); Busan Biennale (2014); and the Asian Art Biennial, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung (2013). Ho lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan.

VERA SUNG is an actor and performer from Taiwan. She explores the middle ground between performance art and acting by focusing on daily activities and movement. Sung has worked with Guts Improv Theatre as improv director and an improviser since 2012.

PEI JEN YU is an actor and songwriter. She graduated from the Department of Theatre Arts at the National Taipei University of the Arts. Yu lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan.

This work was commissioned by Asia Society Museum, New York, for the inaugural Asia Society Triennial: “We Do Not Dream Alone.”

Supported by Taipei Cultural Center in New York, Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan).

7

PRESENTERS

ROLAND AUGUSTINE

ADRIAN T. KELLER

KIRAN NADAR

HER MAJESTY FARAH PAHLAVI

SUHANYA RAFFEL

WU HUNG

8

HOST THE HONORABLE KEVIN RUDD AC President and CEO, Asia Society; President, Asia Society Policy Institute Kevin Rudd became President and CEO of Asia Society in January 2021 and has been president of the Asia Society Policy Institute since January 2015. He served as Australia’s 26th Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010, then as Foreign Minister from 2010 to 2012, returning as Prime Minister in 2013.

As Prime Minister, Rudd led Australia’s response during the Global Financial Crisis. Australia’s fiscal response to the crisis was reviewed by the IMF as the most effective stimulus strategy of all member states.

Rudd is also recognized as one of the founders of the G20, which drove the global response to the crisis and in 2009 helped prevent a second global depression.

As Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Rudd was active in global and regional foreign policy leadership. He was a driving force in expanding the East Asia Summit to include both the U.S. and Russia in 2010. On climate change, Rudd ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2007 and legislated in 2008 for a mandatory 20 percent renewable energy target for Australia. Rudd drove Australia’s successful bid for its current non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.

Rudd is Chair of the International Peace Institute. He is a member of the IMF Managing Director’s External Advisory Group and the Global Leadership Council for Sanitation and Water for All. He is a Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and serves on the International Advisory Board of the Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University. Rudd is proficient in Mandarin Chinese.

9

HOST MICHELLE YUN MAPPLETHORPE MICHELLE YUN MAPPLETHORPE is Vice President for Global Artistic Programs at Asia Society, Director of Asia Society Museum in New York, and Artistic Director of the Asia Society Triennial. She is responsible for overseeing global arts and cultural programs for the organization, the Museum’s exhibitions program and its permanent collection. Yun Mapplethorpe is a widely-published author and frequent lecturer on modern and contemporary Asian art. She earned her MA in modern art and critical studies from Columbia University and her BA from Mount Holyoke College. She is a graduate of the Getty Leadership Institute’s Executive Education Program for Museum Leaders and sits on the advisory board of the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. Prior to her appointment to Asia Society, Yun Mapplethorpe was Curator of the Hunter College Art Galleries. She has served as Project Director of Cai Guo-Qiang’s studio and as Curatorial Assistant in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in addition to organizing numerous independently curated exhibitions.

10

SELECT PAST EXHIBITIONS 1996 Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions/Tensions Curated by Apinan Poshyananda

1998 Inside Out: New Chinese Art Curated by Gao Minglu

2003 Cai Guo-Qiang—An Explosion Event: Light Cycle Over Central Park 2004 Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China 2007 Zhang Huan: Altered States 2009 Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art from Pakistan Curated by Salima Hashmi

2010 Yoshitomo Nara: Nobody’s Fool Sarah Sze: Infinite Line 2011 American Representative, U.S. Pavilion, 55th Venice Biennale

2013 Iran Modern Curated by Fereshteh Daftari and Layla S. Diba

2014 Nam June Paik: Becoming Robot 2016 No Limits: Zao Wou-Ki Lucid Dreams and Distant Visions: South Asian Art in the Diaspora 2017 2018 The Progressive Revolution: Modern Art for a New India Reza Aramesh: 12 noon, Monday 5 August, 1963 2019 2019 M.F. Husain: Art and the Nation 2019 Xiaoze Xie: Objects of Evidence 2019 Wang Dongling: Ink in Motion 2020 Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone, Part 1 2021 Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone, Part 2

11

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021– JANUARY 16, 2022

Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians—The Afkhami Collection MARCH 1–JUNE 5, 2022

Comparative Hell: Arts of Asian Underworlds TOP: Shirin Aliabadi. Miss Hybrid 3, 2008. C-print. H. 60 5/8 x W. 48 5/8 in. (154 x 123.5 cm) Mohammed Afkhami Foundation. Photograph courtesy of Mohammed Afkhami Foundation; BOTTOM: Day of Judgment, Folio from a Manuscript of the Falnama (Book of Omens). Iran, Tabriz. Safavid period (1501–1722), ca. 1555. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper. H. 23 1/16 x W. 17 3/16 in. (58.5 x 43.7 cm). Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Stuart Cary Welch, Jr., 1999.302. Photo: © President and Fellows of Harvard College

12

ABOUT US ABOUT ASIA SOCIETY The Asia Society’s purpose is to navigate shared futures for Asia and the world across policy, arts and culture, education, sustainability, business, and technology. Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution with major centers and public buildings in New York, Hong Kong, and Houston, and additional locations in Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Sydney, Tokyo, Washington, D.C., and Zurich. Initially established to promote greater knowledge of Asia in the United States, the Society today is a global institution that fulfills its educational mandate through a wide range of cross-disciplinary programming.

ABOUT MUSEUM Asia Society Museum presents a wide range of traditional, modern, and contemporary exhibitions of Asian and Asian American art, taking new approaches to familiar masterpieces and introducing under-recognized arts and artists. The Asia Society Museum Collection comprises a traditional art collection, including the initial bequests of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd, and a contemporary art collection. Through exhibitions and public programs, Asia Society provides a forum for the issues and viewpoints reflected in both traditional and contemporary Asian art and in Asia today.

13

14

We warmly

congratulate our 2021 Arts

CONGRATULATIONS

Game Changers!

TO THIS YEAR’S

We thank you for inspiring us

ASIA ARTS GAME

during these challenging times!

CHANGERS! -Betsy & Ed Cohen

Lulu and Anthony Wang 2021

15

16

17

FIND OUT WHAT EVERYONE FIND OUT FIND IS LISTENING TO. WHAT EVERYONE WHA Asia In-Depth, a new podcast from IS LISTENING TO. Asia Society.

FINDISOU FIND OUT L A think — and do — tank tackling Bringing you conversations with the world’s leading In-Depth, a new podcast from WHAT E WHATAsia EVERYONE experts the and thought-leaders on the politics, Asia In major policy challenges Asia Society.

FIND OUT and culture of Asia — and beyond.

FIND OUT economics, Asia So confronting Asia-Pacific. IS LISTE IS LISTENING TO.with thethe Bringing you conversations world’s leading Bringing WHAT EVER WHAT EVERYONE experts and thought-leaders theofpolitics, Ranked in the topon1% think tanks worldwide, Asia In-Depth experts a Asia In-Depth, a new podcast from FIND OUT economics,according and culturetoofthe Asia — and beyond.

University of Pennsylvania.

Asia Society. economic Asia Society.

IS LISTENIN LISTENING TO. FINDISOUT Subscribe today!

WHAT EVERYON FINDISOUT LISTENING TO WHAT EVERYONE FIND OUT IS LISTENING TO. WHAT EVERYONE Bringing you conversations with the wo Asia In-Depth, a thought-leaders new podcast experts and on from the pol IS LISTENING TO.and culture of Asia — and b economics, Asia Society.

conve ASIA SOCIETYBringing you Subscribe Asia In-Depth, a though new AsiaEVERYONE experts and WHAT POLICYAsia Society.

Overexposed-memory Facebook.com/AsiaPolicy economics, and cult Asia Society. economics, and culture of Asia — and beyond. ph oto : Courtesy of the artist, Joyce HO Twitter: @asiapolicy INSTITUTE IS LISTENING TO. Bringing you conversations w you conversations the world’s leading su pp o r t e d by : Taipei Cultural Center inBringing New York, Learnwith more: Asia In-Depth, a new podcas Learn mor ASPI President Kevin Rudd meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.Subscribe today!

Subscribe today! experts and thought-leaders o experts and thought-leaders on the politics, (Credit: Office of the Indian Prime Minister) Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan) AsiaSociety.org/Podcast AsiaSocie Asia In-Depth, a new podcast from Asia Society. economics, and culture of Asi LEARN MORE Bringing you conversations with the world’s leading Subscribe today!

Learn more: AsiaSociety.org/ASPI In-Depth, a new podcast from experts and thought-leaders on the politics, AsiaSociety.org/Podcast

FIND OUT WHAT EVERYONE economics, and culture of Asia — and beyond.

FINDISOUT LISTENING TO. Asia Society.

WHAT AsiaEVERYONE In-Depth, a new podcast from Asia Society.

IS LISTENING TO. Bringing you conversations with the world’s leading more: SubscribeLearn today! experts and thought-leaders on the politics, AsiaSociety.org/Podcast economics, and culture of Asia — and beyond.

Bringing you conversations with the world’s leading

Learn more: experts and thought-leaders on the politics, Subscribe today!

In-Depth, a new podcast from AsiaSociety.org/Podcast

Asia economics, and culture of Asia — and beyond.

Asia Society.

Learn more: Subscribe today!

AsiaSociety.org/Po

you conversations with the world’s leadin Asia In-Depth, aBringing new podcast from Subscribe today!

Learn more: experts and thought-leaders on the politics, Asia Society.

AsiaSociety.org/Podcast economics, and culture of Asia — and beyond.

Bringing you conversations with the world’s leading

Asia 21

Bringing you conversations with the world’s leading Learn more: today! experts andSubscribe thought-leaders on the politics,

experts and thought-leaders ontoday! the politics, Learn more: Subscribe AsiaSociety.org/Podcast economics, and culture of Asia — and beyond.

AsiaSociety.org/Podcast

economics, and culture of Asia — and beyond.

? ȕÃ ]KƦ WZHQ WÔ ȕZƦQ ? Q Subscribe today!

1 . DQ XQSDUDOOHOHG JOREDO QHWZRUN RI $VLD 3DFLILF LQ௖XHQFHUV

Asia 21

Learn more: Subscribe today!

XQGHU WKH DJH RI 2 . D KLJKO\ FROODERUDWLYH JURXS RI \RXQJ AsiaSociety.org/Podcast

Asia 21

Learn more:

AsiaSociety.org/Podcast

OHDGHUV IURP DOO ZDONV RI OLIH ZKR DUH FKDQJLQJ WKH ZRUOG

? ȕÃ ]KƦ WZHQ WÔ ȕZƦQ ? Q

? ȕÃ ]KƦ WZHQ WÔ ȕZƦQ ? Q

1 . DQ XQSDUDOOHOHG JOREDO QHWZRUN RI $VLD 3 Learn more: Asia 21 Asia 21 1 . DQ XQSDUDOOHOHG JOREDO QHWZRUN RI $VLD 3DFLILF LQ௖XHQFHUV XQGHU WKH DJH RI 2 . D KLJKO\ FROODERUDWLYH AsiaSociety.org/Podcast AsiaSociety.org/Podcast Learn more:

OHDGHUV IURP DOO ZDONV RI OLIH ZKR DUH FKDQJLQJ XQGHU WKH DJH RI 2 . D KLJKO\ FROODERUDWLYH JURXS RI \RXQJ ? ȕÃ ]KƦ WZHQ WÔ ȕZƦQ ? Q ? ȕÃ ]KƦ WZHQ WÔ ȕZƦQ ? Q OHDGHUV IURP DOO ZDONV RI OLIH ZKR DUH FKDQJLQJ WKH ZRUOG

1 . DQ XQSDUDOOHOHG JOREDO QHWZRUN RI $VLD 3DFLILF LQ௖XHQFHUV XQGHU WKH DJH RI 2 . D KLJKO\ FROODERUDWLYH JURXS RI \RXQJ OHDGHUV IURP DOO ZDONV RI OLIH ZKR DUH FKDQJLQJ WKH ZRUOG

Asia 21

1 . DQ XQSDUDOOHOHG JOREDO QHWZRUN RI $VLD 3DFLILF LQ Asia XQGHU WKH DJH RI 21 2 . D KLJKO\ FROODERUDWLYH JURXS R

? ȕÃ ]KƦ WZHQ WÔ ȕZƦQ ? Q

? ȕÃ ]KƦ WZHQ WÔ ȕZƦQ ? Q

OHDGHUV IURP DOO ZDONV RI OLIH ZKR DUH FKDQJLQJ WKH ZRUO

For more on how Asia 21 is defining the future visit AsiaSociety.org/Asia21 1 . DQ XQSDUDOOHOHG JOREDO QHWZRUN RI $VLD 3DFLILF LQ௖XHQFHUV 1 . DQ XQSDUDOOHOHG JOREDO QHWZRUN RI $VLD 3DFLILF LQ௖XHQFHUV

Asia 21

XQGHU WKH DJH RI 2 . D KLJKO\ FROODERUDWLYH JURXS RI \RXQJ OHDGHUV IURP DOO ZDONV RI OLIH ZKR DUH FKDQJLQJ WKH ZRUOG ? ȕÃ ]KƦ WZHQ WÔ ȕZƦQ ? Q

18

Asia 21 XQGHU WKH DJH RI 2 . D KLJKO\ FROODERUDWLYH JURXS RI \RXQJ

OHDGHUV IURP DOO ZDONV RI OLIH ZKR DUH FKDQJLQJ WKH ZRUOG For more on how Asia 21 is defining the fut

? ȕÃ ]KƦ WZHQ WÔ ȕZƦQ ? Q

1 . DQ XQSDUDOOHOHG JOREDO QHWZRUN RI $VLD 3DFLILF LQ௖XHQFHUV For more on how Asia 21 is defining the future visit

AsiaSociety.org/Asia21

Värde Partners is proud to support Asia Society and applauds the 2020 Asia Game Changers for their outstanding leadership and achievements.

Värde’s core purpose is to fundamentally change lives for the good

by finding to invest and create value. We celebrate WE DO innovative NOT ways DREAM ALONE

individuals and organizations who improve lives, demonstrate bravery, and inspire and advance positive change in Asia and Joinacross us forthe Part 2 of the we Asia Society Triennial, on view at world – and want to express our heartfelt appreciation the 2020Museum honorees.

AsiatoSociety and select locations around New York

City through June 27, 2021. The inaugural edition of the THANK Asia Society Triennial, titled We DoYOU Not Dream Alone, is composed of an exhibition, as well as online artist talks, forums, and performances.

Singapore | Minneapolis | London | New York PART 2: MARCH 26, 2021 THROUGH JUNE 27, 2021 Hong Kong | Luxembourg | Madrid | Milan | Mumbai | Sydney |Tokyo

www.varde.com

19

Congratulations to all the Asia Arts Game Changer Awards Honorees Asheet Mehta & Kirtna Pai

LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO ASIA SOCIETY SWITZERLAND'S PODCAST

Congratulations

CHINA AND THE W RLD

to the 2021 Asia Arts Game Changer Honorees

VISIT OUR WEBSITE: AsiaSociety.org/Switzerland/Podcast OR FIND IT ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP

J. Frank & Susan Brown 20

ong Center • gK As on ia H

K

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2021, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. HKT

a Society Hon Asi g

Arts & Culture Virtual Gala

• er

ng Kong ty Ho Ce cie nt So

Logo design by anothermountainman

• Asia So enter cie ty gC on

2021 Asia Society Hong Kong Honorees MAESTROS

Dr. Daniel Yat Chiu Ng (In Memoriam) Agnes Hsu-Tang, Ph.D. & Oscar L. Tang

FOUNDATIONS

NARRATORS

PERFORMING ARTS

FILMMAKERS

AAN Foundation Candace Chong Mui Ngam Hong Kong Arts Development Council Sanjoy K. Roy Du Yun Shen Wei

Congratulations to 2021 Asia Arts Game Changers

Janet Yang Ruby Yang

Dr. Uli Sigg Parviz Tanavoli Zarina (In Memoriam) Zhang Huan

ASIA SOCIETY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

2021

VIRTUAL GALA | SUNDAY, MAY 16 HONORING SABRINA KAY VINCENT H.S. LO KATHY MATSUI CHARLES ZHANG

News and analysis on Asia and Australia-Asia relations Asia Society Australia’s Briefing Monthly newsletter delivers the latest business, politics, trade and culture news from Asia straight to your inbox.

Edited by Greg Earl

Lowy Interpreter, Australian Financial Review

Art by Rocco Fazzari

Fairfax, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated

asiasociety.org/LAGala2021

Subscribe now at asiasociety.org/australia 21

ASIA SOCIETY TEXAS CENTER PRESENTS

TRAILBLAZER AND TYCOON: Success and Leadership with Ethan Allen’s Chairman and CEO Farooq Kathwari

VIRTUAL WEBCAST Wednesday, May 26, 2021 | 7 – 8 pm Central Time AsiaSociety.org/Texas

22

DONORS LEADERSHIP

SUPPORTERS

Harit Talwar

J. Frank and Susan Brown

Allison Tolman

Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.

Beili Wang

Asheet Mehta & Kirtna Pai

VISIONARIES Betsy & Ed Cohen China Guardian Auctions

INNOVATORS Pace Gallery Lulu & Anthony Wang

Jason Nazmiyal

GIFTS IN KIND

Denise & Andrew Saul

Ghiora Aharoni

DONORS

Abir Karmakar and Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke

Asia Society Korea

Izumi Kato and Perrotin

Fernando Zobel de Ayala

Kimsooja

Carol Gluck

Wilson Shieh

George Hicks

Tsang Kin-Wah

Carolyn Hsu-Balcer and Rene Balcer

Wu Chi-Tsung

Mohammed Afkhami Foundation

Xiaoze Xie and Chambers Fine Art

Mitch and Joleen Julis Nezhat Khosrowshahi Kukje Gallery Helen & William Little Lei Morfino Sakshi Gallery

As of May 4, 2021

All proceeds from the Asia Arts Game Changer Awards support Asia Society global Arts & Culture initiatives.

23

ASIA SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF F ICERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Purnendu Chatterjee

Stephen Riady

Chen Guoqing

Charles P. Rockefeller

Chan Heng Chee

Duncan Clark O.B.E.

Nicolas Rohatyn

Co-Chair

Henry Cornell

Denise Saul

John L. Thornton

Frederick M. Demopoulos

Stephen A. Schwarzman

Co-Chair

Richard Drobnick

Neil N. Shen

Betsy Z. Cohen

J. Michael Evans

Shin Dong-Bin

Jamshyd N. Godrej

Katie Soo

Toyoo Gyohten

Jane Jie Sun

Susan S. Hakkarainen

Y. Ping Sun

George G. Hicks

Harit Talwar

Doris M. Ho

Oscar L. Tang

W. Bradford Hu

Ernie L. Thrasher

Omar Ishrak

Kenneth P. Wilcox

Mitchell R. Julis

Eunice Zehnder-Lai

Karamjit S. Kalsi

James D. Zirin

Adrian T. Keller

Fernando Zobel de Ayala

Vice Chair and Secretary

Hamid Biglari Vice Chair

Lulu C. Wang Vice Chair

Robert Niehaus Treasurer

Kevin Rudd President & CEO, Asia Society President, Asia Society Policy Institute

Mahmood J. Khimji James Kondo

CHAIRS EMERITI

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Chong-Moon Lee

Ronnie C. Chan

Nicolas Aguzin

Lee Hong-Koo

Henrietta H. Fore

HRH Prince Turki AlFaisal

Ido Leffler

Maurice R. Greenberg

Edward R. Allen III

Jean Liu

Charles R. Kaye

Isaac Applbaum

Asheet Mehta

Mohit Assomull

John D. Negroponte

HONORARY LIFE TRUSTEES

Nicolas Berggruen

Harold J. Newman

Peter A. Aron

J. Frank Brown

Gaoning Ning

Winthrop R. Munyan

Michael S. Chae

Thierry Porté

Cynthia Hazen Polsky

Albert Chao

Emily Rafferty

John D. Rockefeller IV

As of April 1, 2021

24

25

GHIORA AHARONI (b. 1969 in Rehovot, Israel; lives and works in New York, NY, United States of America)

Thank God for Making Me A Woman, 2020 Antique phulkari fragment, embroidered with the phrase “Thank God for Making Me A Woman” in Hebrabric © (the artist’s melding of Hebrew a nd Arabic). Artist designed, hand-stitched frame H. 13 x W. 21 1/2 x D. 3 in. (33.02 x 54.6 x 7.6 cm) Unique Courtesy of the artist

Suggested value: US$10,000.00 Ghiora Aharoni’s multidisciplinary practice contextualizes sociopolitical histories by weaving together found and cultural artifacts, sacred texts, and languages to reveal and challenge patriarchal notions of gender and religion. He often juxtaposes objects from seemingly disparate cultures to initiate a metaphorical dialogue between the makers of the objects and the texts on the commonality in the collective experience. This is exemplified by the artist’s exploration of intercultural connectivity through his creation of Hindru©, a hybridization of Hindi and Urdu, and Hebrabric©, which similarly merges Hebrew and Arabic. According to Aharoni, the expression in this work is a subversion of “Thank God for Not Making Me a Woman,” a traditional daily prayer recited by Orthodox Jewish men, which the artist was taught early in his life. The frame, designed by the artist, was inspired by the form of the loom, traditionally used to embroider phulkari. The unique work is an intimate veneration of women. Aharoni’s work is in the permanent collections of the Centre Pompidou, Paris; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Vatican; the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Morgan Library & Museum, New York, and the Beit Hatfutsot Museum in Tel Aviv. He received a BA in architecture from the Barnard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at City College, New York, in 1998, and an MA in architecture from Yale University, New Haven, in 2001.

26

GHIORA AHARONI (b. 1969 in Rehovot, Israel; lives and works in New York, NY, United States of America)

Thank God for Making Me A Woman, 2020 Antique phulkari fragment, embroidered with the phrase “Thank God for Making Me A Woman” in Hindru© (the artist’s melding of Hindi and Urdu). Artist designed, hand-stitched frame H. 11 1/2 x W. 27 1/2 x D. 3 in. (29.2 x 69.9 x 7.6 cm) Unique Courtesy of the artist

Suggested value: US$10,000.00 Ghiora Aharoni’s multidisciplinary practice contextualizes sociopolitical histories by weaving together found and cultural artifacts, sacred texts, and languages to reveal and challenge patriarchal notions of gender and religion. He often juxtaposes objects from seemingly disparate cultures to initiate a metaphorical dialogue between the makers of the objects and the texts on the commonality in the collective experience. This is exemplified by the artist’s exploration of intercultural connectivity through his creation of Hindru©, a hybridization of Hindi and Urdu, and Hebrabric©, which similarly merges Hebrew and Arabic. According to Aharoni, the expression in this work is a subversion of “Thank God for Not Making Me a Woman,” a traditional daily prayer recited by Orthodox Jewish men, which the artist was taught early in his life. The frame, designed by the artist, was inspired by the form of the loom, traditionally used to embroider phulkari. The unique work is an intimate veneration of women. Aharoni’s work is in the permanent collections of the Centre Pompidou, Paris; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Vatican; the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Morgan Library & Museum, New York, and the Beit Hatfutsot Museum in Tel Aviv. He received a BA in architecture from the Barnard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at City College, New York, in 1998, and an MA in architecture from Yale University, New Haven, in 2001.

27

AMANDA HENG, MICHAEL LIN, LIN TIANMIAO, JIHA MOON, NAVIN RAWANCHAIKUL, NILIMA SHEIKH, WILSON SHIEH, YUKEN TERUYA, AND WONG HOY CHEONG

Asian Contemporary Art, 2006 Limited edition print portfolio Print portfolio, Edition 38/100, including 9 prints, 1 title page, 1 colophon page; 24 x 18 7/8 in. (61 x 48 cm) each

Suggested value: US$10,000.00 A portfolio of nine prints by Asian artists curated by Melissa Chiu, former director of Asia Society Museum and current Director, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, with a title page, a list of the artists, and a colophon page. Many of the artists have been presented at Asia Society. The portfolio reflects the diverse range of art practices in contemporary Asian art and was produced in an edition of one hundred sets, each hand printed on one hundred percent cotton STPI handmade paper and presented in a clam-shell box. The portfolio is published, printed, and the paper is made by Singapore Tyler Print Institute in collaboration with Asia Society.

28

ABIR KARMAKAR (b. 1977 in Siliguri, India; lives and works in Vadodara, India)

History painting 19, 2021 Oil on canvas stretched on marine ply H. 21 7/8 x W. 27 15/16 in. (55.6 x 71 cm) Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Mirchandani + Steinrueke, Mumbai, India

Suggested value: US$2,800.00 Abir Karmakar’s photorealistic depictions of domestic interiors engage with ideas of identity, memory, and history. Seemingly mundane yet meticulously researched, his life-size, site-specific paintings of intimate settings explore the blurred lines between real and imagined space. Karmakar created the History Paintings series amid the COVID-19 pandemic utilizing available materials in his studio. Featuring a title alluding to seventeenthand eighteenth-century genre paintings, this series sheds light on the everyday realities brought on by the pandemic in India. The artist’s work has been included in international exhibitions, including at the Asia Society Triennial, New York (2021); Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2016); Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Noida (2012); Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg (2010); and the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai (2010).

Karmakar was the recipient of the Asia Society’s Future Artist Award in 2016. He received a BA in visual art from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, in 2001 and an MFA from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, in 2003.

29

IZUMI KATO (b. 1969 in Shimane, Japan; lives and works in Tokyo, Japan; and Hong Kong)

Untitled 1 and Untitled 2, 2020 Woodblock prints with frame 2 prints: H. 16 3/8 x W. 11 3/4 in.

(41.6 x 29.8 cm) each Edition 66 of 120 Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin

Suggested value: US$5,500.00 Izumi Kato is best known for his paintings, sculptures, and lithographs of enigmatic, anthropomorphic creatures. Using simplified forms and vibrant colors, his childlike figures draw on animistic beliefs rooted in Shinto traditions. Untitled 1 and Untitled 2 are a pair of rare ukiyo-e style woodblock prints produced in collaboration with living national treasure Ichibei Iwano at the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints. This edition masterfully exemplifies the haunting quality of Kato’s surreal motifs through the revered medium of traditional ukiyo-e techniques. Kato has been the subject of numerous international solo and group exhibitions, including Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum (2020); Red Brick Art Museum, Beijing (2020); Fundación Casa Wabi, Oaxaca (2019); Hara Museum, Tokyo (2019); Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (2018); Hubei Museum of Art (2018); National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (2018); Centre Pompidou-Metz (2017); 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2013); National Museum of Art, Osaka (2012); the 52nd Venice Biennale (2007); and Japan Society (2005). His work is represented in major public collections, including the Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT), Hong Kong; Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Long Museum, Shanghai; Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo; the National Museum of Art, Osaka; and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

30

KIMSOOJA (b. 1957 in Daegu, South Korea; lives and works in New York, NY, United States of America; Paris, France; and Seoul, South Korea)

A Mirror Woman: The Sun & The Moon, 2008–2014 Giclée (inkjet) print on hot press paper, still from 4-channel video projection H. 20 1/4 x W. 34 1/8 in. (51.4 x 86.7 cm) Edition 2 of 8 Courtesy of the artist

Suggested value: US$6,300.00 Kimsooja’s interdisciplinary practice encompasses photography, video, sculpture, installation, and performance to explore culture, politics, history, and identity, especially with regard to the displaced self.

This photograph is a still image taken from Kimsooja’s four-channel video installation A Mirror Woman: The Sun & The Moon (2008). The video work poetically captures the cycle of sunset and moonrise in real time on a beach in Goa, India. Kimsooja’s imagery lyrically depicts the interdependent relationship between the sun and the moon and the balance between nature and the cosmos. She was the recipient of Asia Society’s Asia Arts Game Changer Awards in 2017. Kimsooja’s work is represented in major public collections including Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, Turin; the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul; MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge; Musée d’art contemporain, Lyon; the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Courtesy of Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo; and Kimsooja Studio

31

WILSON SHIEH (b. 1970 in Hong Kong; lives and works in Hong Kong)

HER VOICES 1980’S, 2019 Acrylic on paper H. 22 7/8 x W. 27 1/8 in. (58 x 69 cm) Unique Courtesy of the artist

Suggested value: US$10,000.00 Wilson Shieh’s artistic practice contemporizes the genre of Chinese gongbi (meticulous brushwork) painting through figurative painting that includes imagery related to sexuality, role play, and cultural symbols, conveying issues central to gender politics and urban gentrification. In recent years, he has expanded to other mediums including printmaking, western painting, drawing, and collage, and explores contemporary identity politics through his tailor-made costumes. HER VOICES 1980’S (2019) is part of Shieh’s series of mixtape drawings referencing the golden age of Hong Kong popular culture during his adolescence. These reflect western cultural influences and the anxiety following the 1984 signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Shieh has been the subject of international exhibitions including at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford (2019); M+, Hong Kong (2017 and 2018); Asian Art Biennial, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung (2009); The Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane (1999); and the Hong Kong Arts Centre (1998). His work is in the collections of the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Davis Museum, Wellesley College; the LOEWE Foundation, Madrid; the Hong Kong Museum of Art; M+, Hong Kong; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung. Shieh received a BA and an MFA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1994 and 2001 respectively.

32

TSANG KIN-WAH (b. 1976 in Shantou, China; lives and works in Hong Kong)

Still frame #4 of December 30th, 2020 Silkscreen and pencil on printmaking paper H. 27 3/4 x W. 19 11/16 in. (70.5 x 50 cm) AP 1/2 Courtesy of the artist

Suggested value: US$8,000.00 Tsang Kin-Wah is best known for his immersive installations that at first glance resemble decorative wallpaper, but upon closer inspection are in actuality provocative texts that often allude to timely issues. In recent years, he has expanded this practice to include multimedia video installations that examine the evolution of identity politics and cultural conflicts. Still frame #4 of December 30th (2020) conveys the artist’s reflection that “every second and every frame counts in the history of modern time.” Tsang represented Hong Kong at the 2015 Venice Biennale and has been the subject of solo and group exhibitions at Vancouver Art Gallery (2017); Istanbul Biennial (2017); M+, Hong Kong (2016); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2011); Aichi Triennale (2010); Biennale of Sydney (2010); and Biennale de Lyon (2009). His work is in the collections of M+, Hong Kong; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and MAXXI, the National Museum of 21st Century Arts, Rome. Tsang holds a BA in fine arts from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and an MA from Camberwell College of Arts, London.

33

Text transcription: Against new enemies in a new era Against new enemies in a old era [sic] The enemies of the minority The enemies of the majority Bring them on We have got the force necessary We have now reached a turning point in the struggle They have been tested before and they will triumph again He has not been tested before and he will be defeated & hang AP 1/2 Signed Tsang Kin-Wah 2020

WU CHI-TSUNG (b. 1981 in Taipei, Taiwan; lives and works in Taipei and Berlin, Germany)

Wrinkled Texture 96, 2021 Hanging scroll, cyanotype photography, and xuan paper Cyanotype photograph: H. 36 1/4 x W. 17 3/8 in. (92 x 44.1 cm) Overall with mounting: H. 81 5/16 x W. 21 1/4 in. (206.5 x 54 cm) Unique Courtesy of the artist

Suggested value: US$12,000.00 Wu Chi-Tsung investigates methods used to produce and interpret images, combining traditional and contemporary art forms from eastern and western aesthetics. His process-based practice spans a wide variety of mediums, including photography, video, installation, painting, and set design. Wu looks to everyday objects and phenomena for inspiration, which he transforms into poetic imagery. Utilizing the photographic technique of cyanotype, the series “Wrinkled Texture” reinterprets the traditional Chinese painting technique cunfa, used to depict volumetric landscape compositions. His work has been included in international exhibitions including at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (2017); Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art (2016); Gwangju Museum of Art (2010); the 6th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai Art Museum (2006); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2005); and the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (2003). His work is in the collections of M+, Hong Kong; Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, Lawrence; Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; and White Rabbit Collection, Sydney.

The artist was the recipient of the Liu Kuo Sung Ink Art Award in 2019 and the top prize at the Taipei Arts Award in 2003. Wu received a BFA from the Taipei National University of the Arts in 2004.

34

XIAOZE XIE (b. 1966 in Guangdong, China; lives and works in Palo Alto, California, United States of America, and Beijing, China)

Chinese Library No. 52, 2020 Photolithograph, relief, and hand-coloring on handmade paper H. 35 1/2 x W. 66 in.

(90.2 x 167.6 cm) Courtesy of the artist and Chambers Fine Art, New York

Suggested value: US$10,000.00 Xiaoze Xie’s artistic practice explores books and archival materials as repositories of memory, meaning, and cultural conflict. Influenced by his upbringing during the Cultural Revolution, Xie has featured banned books in China through paintings, installation, photography, and video. As part of a new edition relating to his Chinese Library series, this work highlights the wear and decay of thread-bound books that evoke the fragmentary nature of sociopolitical and religious ideologies. Xie has been the subject of international exhibitions, including at the Asia Society Museum, New York (2019); Denver Art Museum (2017); Anren Biennale, Chengdu (2017); Knoxville Museum of Art (2011); Waterworks Visual Arts Center, Salisbury (2007); and China Art Archives and Warehouse, Beijing (2003). His work is in the collections of the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Ohio; Arizona State University Art Museum; Bates College Museum of Art, Maine; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Oakland Museum of California; San Jose Museum of Art; and Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona. Xie received a BFA in Architecture from Tsinghua University in 1988, an MFA from the Central Academy of Arts and Design in Beijing in 1991, and an MFA from the University of North Texas in 1996.

35