china focus Lesley Alway, Diector, Asialink Arts
the challenge of the asian century 2011 marks a pivotal moment in the 21st Century, which is now widely referred to as the “Asian Century” due to the significant shift in economics and influence from the West to the East. This is exciting and challenging for Australia as these changes provide opportunities to participate and benefit from the dynamic growth in Asia. It requires that we review the rationales and mechanisms for our cultural engagement to ensure that we participate proactively. It is important that our cultural engagement is not solely ‘export’ focused but responds to the demands from the region for real exchange through collaborations, reciprocity and partnerships. Bilateral relationships are crucial, but increasingly multilateral partnerships within Asia as well as with other countries active in Asia are emerging as fruitful possibilities for engagement. Asialink will be exploring some of these ‘Track 3’ concepts through new projects in the region. I am delighted to introduce the 2011 artists in residence detailed overleaf and to give an overview of key projects delivered over the past 12 months and those planned for the future. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the pioneering achievements of my predecessor, Alison Carroll AM who developed and grew Asialink Arts over the past 20 years. I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with an extraordinary team at Asialink Arts to develop a new era of cultural engagement with Asia.
STRANGE FLOWERS: AUSTRALIA-CHINA ENCOUNTERS IN WRITING AND ART The Asialink Writing Program, in association with Wakefield Press has just published a new book called Strange Flowers: Australia-China encounters in writing and art, that tells the personal stories of 9 writers and artists working between Australia and China. The book offers diverse perspectives on the two cultures, taking us into cities and towns of modern China, into the Australian studios and homes of creative people, and shedding light on the daily acts of translation needed to bridge two languages and cultures. Strange Flowers features new work by Ouyang Yu, Benjamin Law, Alice Pung, James Stuart, Melody Wills, Ivor Indyk, Li Yao, Zhao Chuan and Michael Yuen. Visit our website for details about where to buy the book, or enquire at your local bookshop. Strange Flowers is funded by the Australia-China Council.
Zhao Chuan Ivor Indyk B e n j a m i n L aw Alice Pung Ja m e s S t u a r t M e l o d y Wi l l i s L i Ya o O u ya n g Yu M i c h a e l Yu e n
趙川 艾佛・英迪克 羅旭能 方佳佳 詹姆斯・斯圖亞特 美羅蒂・威利斯 李堯 歐陽昱 邁克爾・袁
STRANGE FLOWERS Australia-China encounters in writing and art
澳大利亞和中國在藝術寫作 中的交匯融合
increasing cultural engagement The demand from artists, writers, directors, curators and arts managers to work with China is increasing and Asialink is researching new opportunities to support this engagement. In early March 2011 Asialink hosted a delegation from the Sichuan Museum, Chengdu including Director Mr Sheng Jian Wu, Department Secretary Ms Zuo Yu, Vice-Researcher in Conservation Mr Zhang Zi Jiang and Vice-Head of Exhibitions Mr Ren Zhuo. Delegates visited museums and galleries in Melbourne and Sydney including the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Museum and the Art Gallery of New South Wales to explore potential partnerships, staff exchanges and exhibition tours. The trip to Melbourne originated from
Above: Book cover detail, Strange Flowers, Wakefield Press 2011. Below: Artists at Catherine Croll’s Hard Sleeper opening, Beijing.
a delegation to China in 2010 hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and led by inaugural Asialink Chairman, Carrillo Gantner AO. The delegation visited Shanghai, Chengdu and Beijing to explore exchange opportunities for Performing Arts and Festival tours. A highlight was a performance of the Monkey King by the Sichuan Opera Company at Chengdu.
lesley alway Director Asialink Arts
china residencies China is increasingly popular with Asialink residents and we will send 11 residents to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in 2011. Asialink Arts is also supporting a new residency space in Beijing developed by 24HR Art in Darwin for regional Australian artists, to be launched in early May in Beijing. 2010 resident Catherine Croll has returned from her residency at Redgate Gallery following the highly successful Hard Sleeper project which culminated in an exhibition, opened by then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in October 2010. This exhibition also returned to Damien Minton Gallery, Sydney in February 2011.
korea focus
india focus
SELECTIVELY REVEALED Experimenta and Asialink have partnered to develop Selectively Revealed, an exhibition that investigates the blurred line between public and private within artistic practice. The artist is presented as voyeur, muse, subject, performer and social commentator and ultimately everything is presented for scrutiny. Selectively Revealed will open in Seoul in late October 2011 at the Aram Art Gallery. FACE TO FACE: PORTRAITURE IN A DIGITAL AGE explores the way digital technologies have reshaped our understanding of contemporary identity. Curated by Kathy Cleland, the exhibition has toured Bangkok, Singapore and Manila, and will be launched at the prestigious Seoul Art Museum on 25 April 2011. Below: Emil Goh, Emilgoh/Emil Goh 2006, from the series MyCy digital print, 110 x 110 cm, Face to Face exhibition
WRITING DELEGATION TO KOREA In May 2011
UTOPIA IN DELHI Prior to the opening of the 2010
the Asialink Writing Program will tour Korea with 3 Australian poets to present readings, lectures and workshops and collaborate with Korean writers in Seoul. Barry Hill, Ivy Alvarez and Terry Jaensch, along with Cordite Poetry Review Editor and poet David Prater and writer, artist and Writing Program Manager Nic Low will undertake a 2 week residency at the Yeonhui Writers Village in Seoul. The delegation will launch a new bilingual issue of Cordite featuring new work from Australian and Korean poets. The project, funded by the Australia International Cultural Council, the Australia Council for the Arts and the Korea Literature Translation Institute also includes a return visit by Korean poets to Australia in September. This is part of Asialink Arts’ renewed focus on reciprocal exchange.
Commonwealth Games members of the Utopia Steering Committee travelled to Delhi to undertake research. Mr Tan Boon Hui (Director, Singapore Art Museum), Mr Yusaku Imamura (Director, Tokyo Wonder Site & representing Tokyo Metropolitan Government) and Natalie King (Director, Utopia) met with public institutions, private foundations, non-profit sector, commercial galleries, art fair and residency programs. A coveted meeting with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was arranged to discuss Utopia and the role of Delhi. In January 2011, committee members continued discussions at the Singapore Art Museum and devised working meetings in Melbourne, Singapore and Tokyo coinciding with prominent events. Regional partnerships will be expanded for these meetings with public outcomes including panel discussions and workshops for emerging curators.
Below: Natalie King and Lesley Alway, National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi; and, members of the India Art Summit delegation: Vikki McInnes (Margaret Lawrence Gallery, VCA), Bala Starr (Ian Potter Museum of Art), Christine Clark (National Portrait Gallery) and Natalie King.
NEW HORIZONS: INDIA 2012 AND BEYOND In January Asialink staff representing Visual Arts, Writing, Performing Arts and Arts Management, and other representatives from the Australian arts sector, visited India to coincide with the India Art Summit 2011 in Delhi, the Jaipur Literature Festival, BRM Theatre Festival Delhi, and Attakalari Dance Festival in Bangalore. Key objectives of the delegation were; familiarisation with the contemporary art scene in India, building networks, identification of potential partnerships and future collaborative projects, and cementing relationships with Australian officials in India including the High Commission and Austrade. The visit was kindly funded by Arts Victoria and the Australia-India Institute. To foster collaborative engagement, Asialink held a visual arts workshop at Lalit Kala Akademi attended by Neha Kirpal, Director of India Art Summit, Deeksha Nath, independent curator and Raqs Media Collective, to discuss joint projects and common themes. A roundtable debriefing session for imagining joint projects was also held at the Australian High Commission in Delhi. 2010 visual arts resident Sangeeta Sandrasegar, and 2011 resident Kush Badhwar joined Asialink at this roundtable session.
2010 residency outcomes
Arts Management Julie Clark (NSW) organised an event for the Ubud Readers and Writers Festival. Catherine Croll (NSW) invited 6 Australian artists on a delegation to provincial Chinese cities and Beijing. Catherine also curated the exhibition Hard Sleeper at Red Gate Gallery. Kerry Digby (NSW) developed new music programs for the new LIG Art Hall in Busan that will open in April 2011, and identified opportunities for cross- cultural collaborations between Korean and Australian artists. Mark Feary (VIC) curated South by Southeast: Australasian video art for the Yebisu Video Art Festival in Tokyo. Jane Fuller (SA) implemented a program of performances for the City Festival in Hong Kong. Benjamin Hampe (QLD) was intern at the Beijing Film Academy and initiated a residency program. Rebecca Holborn (VIC) worked at Shanghart Gallery, China on the exhibition of prominent artist Xu Zhe. Ellen Kent (ACT) worked with the National Portrait Gallery, setting up a program for children and the arts in Yogyakarta and Bandung. She collaborated with performance co-operative Tlatah Bocah, and established the Teman Gambar initiative for families and schools in Australia and Indonesia during the Mt. Merapi eruption. Jade Lillie (QLD) implemented programs and advised Makhampom Theatre in Thailand on social enterprise initiatives. Agnes Michelet (WA) set up a network between Strut Dance and the Australian dance scene, as well as Indonesian and European partners in Jakarta.Catriona Mitchell (VIC) was the central point of contact for the Jaipur and Hay Literature Festivals in India while she developed a program of Indian literature for Australian festivals. Adelaide Wood (TAS) worked in programming at the Esplanade Theatres by the Bay, Singapore.
Performing Arts Robbie Avenaim (VIC) was resident with Balloon and
Needle, South Korea where he made recordings, gave workshops and performances. Jacob Boehme (VIC) directed and toured a puppet show to schools in Delhi, and researched the possibilities for indigenous dance exchange. Rod Cooper (VIC) made instruments and gave performances in Yogyakarta, Bandung and Solo, collaborating with local star Wukir Suryadi. Sally Golding (QLD) conducted research, gave workshops in film editing and preserving, as well as live performances in Bangalore. Lisa Griffiths & Adam Synnott (NSW) co-choreographed and performed in the latest premiere of Dance Forum Taipei. Gillian Howell (VIC) taught workshops and gave performances to local communities in Timor Leste. Daniel Jaber (SA) created
Above, left to right: Arts Management resident Agnes Michelet with Teater Pandol at Salihara, Jakarta; Performing Arts Resident Sally Golding with students at Shristi School of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore; Visiting Taiwanese artist Jia-Jen Lin, performing Entre, PICA; Writing resident Kalinda Ashton teaching Pour en Sourire d’Enfant (PSE) students, Cambodia.
2 choreographic pieces with local dancers at Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia. Sally Sussman (NSW) developed a collaborative performance around the theme of asylum with Teater Kita Makassar, Indonesia. Sean TaylorLeech (QLD) produced sound for the latest show by Instant Café House of Art and Ideas, Kuala Lumpur. Peter Wilson (VIC) made an epic performance with the legendary dalang I Made Sidia in Bali.
Visual Arts Hiroharu Mori (Japan) completed a residency at Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA). Hiroharu exhibited 2 works, Workshop for Questions and PA Weapon in a solo exhibition that focused on concepts of acting and speech. Jia-Jen Lin (Taiwan) undertook a reciprocal residency at Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), where she developed a 20-minute performance piece called Entre that occurred in 3 separate spaces. Jeong-Hoo Lee (Korea) became the first Korean artist to undertake a residency at Artspace, Sydney. She exhibited during an open studio at Artspace In October. cobra (Japan) took on a residency at Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne where he decided that his dream was to open up a new artist-run exhibition and residency space in Tokyo in 2011. Mark Siebert (SA) fulfilled his residency at Beijing Studio Centre where he exhibited in the Songzhuang Art Festival. Mark will be exhibiting at the Space Station Gallery housed in the 798 Art District in April 2011. Sangeeta Sandrasegar (VIC) undertook a residency at 1 Shanthi Road in Bangalore, where she seeked to examine the site of India in relation to her self and her practice. Tim Woodward (QLD) formed part of Cemeti Art House’s new Hot Wave program. Woodward completed his residency with an exhibition at The Yogyakarta National Museum and a public presentation at his host organisation. Bic Tieu (NSW) spent her residency at Kitamura Koubou in Wajima to learn from lacquer master Kitamura Tatsuo. Bic acquired a technical understanding of 2 very specific techniques, botan karakusa and togidashi makie. The first mentioned is a technique that is almost obsolete. Will French (NSW) explored Japanese subculture and fashion at Tokyo Wonder Site. Will was included in a group exhibiiton based around the themes of Luxurious Time and Space and
Image: Bahbak Hashemi-Nezhad Untitled (Tokyo), 2009 from the series Orderly Conduct type-c print, 100 x 70 cm
Editorial
the geographical location of Asakusa. Locust Jones (NSW) completed a series of 10 large-scale text-based ink drawings at Changdong Art Studio, Seoul. A work from this series was shown in the exhibition SubText: Art for Literacy at Carriageworks, Sydney. Anthony Pelchen (VIC) took on a residency at Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia resulting in a series of charcoal drawings and a separate installation for the Melaka Art & Performance Festival (MAP10). Anthony also co-curated the new visual arts component of MAP. Simon Cooper (NT) Spent his residency in Taiwan creating garments and photographs that responded to the country’s unique relationship to clothing.
touring exhibition program 2011 Asialink is currently touring 3 exhibitions including the screen-based Face to Face: portraiture in a digital age; the design exhibition Abandoned Boudoir and the artist-run exchange project Invisible Structures (formerly referred to as Structural Integrity). Marisia Lukaszewski of aestheticalliance* curated The Abandoned Boudoir, a pop-up exhibition of Australian craft and design objects planned to coincide with International design fairs. Using the hotel room as an intimate exhibition space, the curator changes the display and conducts visitor tours on a daily basis. The exhibition was launched alongside the 2010 Bangkok Design Festival in November. Stemming from the success of Structural Integrity included in the Next Wave Festival 2010, Invisible Structures: Australian artist collectives in Tokyo, Singapore and Yogyakarta connects 3 Australian artist collectives with arts centres in 3 Asian countries where they will collaborate on organic and developmental projects. Y3K Gallery from Melbourne collaborated with Art Center Ongoing, Tokyo where they produced live sound performances, social sculptures and publications. Boxcopy from Brisbane teamed up with Singapore’s Post Museum and
Left, top: Channon Goodwin of Boxcopy, outdoor installation at Singapore’s Post Museum as part of Invisible Structures exhibition; below: Bindi Cole Ajay 2009 (detail) (from the series Sistagirls 2010) Courtesy the artist and Nellie Castan Gallery.
established a free deliveries service, The Knowledge as a means of exploring the city and its’ people. Six_a Inc. will head to House of Natural Fibre (HONF), Yogyakarta in May to explore their mutual interest in lo-fi technology. Independent curators Natalie King and Djon Mundine oam will present Shadow Life: contemporary Aboriginal photo-media in partnership with the Bendigo Art Gallery where it will be exhibited in 2013 after completing its Asian circuit. Shadow Life includes 9 leading artists who engage with socio-political issues of Aboriginality and the shadow cast by the experiences of different communities rendered invisible by the vagrancies of dispossession. For updates and more information on the touring exhibition program visit http://www.asialink. unimelb.edu.au/exhibitions
POSTAGE PAID AUSTRALIA Sidney Myer Asia Centre The University of Melbourne Victoria 3010 Australia Telephone 613 8344 4800 Facsimile 613 9347 1768 www.asialink.unimelb.edu.au
Writing Alan Fewster (ACT) travelled to Sri Lanka to research
and write a book on the ‘Bracegirdle Affair’, exploring the 1936 deportation of a young Australian tea-planter for communist agitation, and the international furore that resulted. Allyson Hose (VIC) undertook a writing residency in Phnom Penh where she organised literary events, assisted with establishing a Cambodia PEN group, and worked on short stories, a children’s story, and her first novel, all of which are set in Cambodia. Benjamin Law (QLD) researched queer Chinese youth in Beijing, which will inform the China section of a larger book of creative non-fiction called Gaysia. Brionhy Doyle (VIC) travelled to Hiroshima where she met and talked with survivors of the 1946 nuclear attacks. The stories of these hibakusha, along with archival research, atomic fiction and film have informed her ongoing work on a collection of poetry that aims to splice the cinematic image with a poetics of ‘The End’. Jennifer Mills (NT) used her Beijing-based residency to write a number of short stories and poems around issues of development and progress situated at the intersection of expat/foreigner and Chinese culture. Kalinda Ashton (VIC) conducted workshops for young writers, writing numerous short stories, and conducting in-depth research for nonfiction pieces in Cambodia. Meg McKinlay (WA) spent her residency at Aichi Shukutoku University, Japan, where she researched and wrote the first draft of a novel centreing on Japanese/Australian cross-cultural negotiations against the backdrop of the Second World War. Shane Strange (ACT) worked with The Gioi Publishers in Hanoi, editing a manuscript on the political philosophy of Ho Chi Minh, and conducting research towards short fiction that explores historical and contemporary attitudes to Ho Chi Minh.
Asialink
The University of Melbourne
An initiative of the Myer Foundation
Asialink arts Residencies 2012 VISUAL ARTS PERFORMING ARTS writing ARTS MANAGEMENT Asialink Arts is supported by the Australia Council, the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body, and through the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian State and Territory Governments, and the Australian Government through the Australian Visual Arts Touring Program of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. • Support is also provided by Arts Victoria, Arts NSW, Arts Queensland, artsACT, Arts NT, WA Department of Culture and the Arts, Arts SA and Arts Tasmania. • Additional support is provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Public Diplomacy Branch, Australia-China Council, Australia-Indonesia Institute, AustraliaIndia Council, Australia-India Institute, AustraliaJapan Foundation, Australia-Thailand Institute, Australia-Malaysia Institute, as well as the Malcolm Robertson Foundation.
The closing date for all 2012 Residency applications is monday 1 august 2011 Updated application information will be available from June 2011 Enquiries can be directed to arts@asialink.unimelb.edu.au For further information, email updates or to download application forms visit the website www.asialink.edu.au/our_work/arts
Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade