Asian Art Report: January 2007

Gina Fairley, in this journal style of presentation writes on what is happening on the art scene of South East Asia. Fairley is an Australian arts writer working in South East Asia. She's worked as an arts manager in America and Australia, and since 2000 has split her time between the Philippines, Singapore and Sydne

Asian Oink
Why not start the year with a good punch of commentary... tutoK are doing it, the artist initiative in the Philippines questioning political killings; and The Danger Museum are doing it with a Cultural Podcast series dissecting the recent Singapore Biennale from the ground roots; and how about exchange projects in Vietnam with Saigon Open City continue on despite difficulties, Berlin’s new Glowing Whistle Festival, or Taiwan’s Avant-Garde Documenta III chewing on contemporary regional issues.

And to keep stirring the pot, an interesting juxtaposition is to take a look at Asialink and Singapore’s National Art Council’s Annual Report. Although providing different functions, I would argue both are deeply seated in bureaucracy and their own agendas, however I am delightfully surprisingly by the breadth of NACs funding over the past year, trickling down to alternative spaces and independent projects – counter to the accepted opinion.

Ouch! - Oink! Welcome to the year of the pig and the Asian Art Report for 2007.

Sadly, Focal Point is ‘on holiday’ this month, but I am back on the road in February and will bring you the word from the ground – having a gaze beyond the back fence at one of our neighbour’s art scene, from the inside out.
By Gina Fairley

TOO : SITE
This month’s website to check out is www.artconcerns.com Whilst not in the usual sweep of sites for their ‘cool factor’, Artconcerns is definitely one to check on every now and again to stay abreast of the Indian art scene. Touted as ‘the true voice of Indian contemporary art’, just launched this new site is a bit of a chat and listing zone that offers some critical reviews. Set up by JohnyML, an alumnus of the Goldsmiths College Curating Program and Dilip Narayanan, a Kerala-based gallerist, it looks to be a promising resource for Indian contemporary practice.

And similarly void of cool interface gadgetry, Ctrl+P Journal of Contemporary Art is a clean, simply designed site and I would recommend anyone interested in sinking their teeth in for a good chew on Filipino art to check it out at http://www.trauma-interrupted.org/ctrlp  With the catch-call, “a journal of contemporary art published digitally for easy reproduction and circulation by anyone and everyone around the world”, it is lead by the renown editorial team of Flaudette May V. Datuin, Judy Freya Sibayan and Varsha Nair from Bangkok. Be sure to download their monthly issue or why not subscribe to their free mailing. I am terribly excited by this initiative – to publish quality writing from a place that economically struggles to sustain your ‘traditional’ art journal.

THE ASIAN PICTURE: EXHIBITIONS & EXCHANGES

Congrats to all those who got the golden plane ticket to Asia this year courtesy of Asialink. Of the 10 Arts Management Residencies offered, 4 were appointed and the remaining 8 of the 12 residencies granted were self-initiated projects. Last year only 4 of the 11 offered by Asialink were appointed, so one could say they are pretty consistently open to new ideas, but what does this signal to Asian host venues when Asialink, repeatedly, does not deliver its promised Arts Management resident? While a record number of Art Management residencies were granted this year, the number of applications is slightly on the decrease: 34 this year, 35 in 2006 and 41 in 2005 – I suppose that makes the odds pretty good – Oh, but be sure to suggest your own project if you want to work the odds! Applications for Visual Arts residencies average around 100-150 each year with 145 applications applying in 2006 and 10 selected - clearly a tougher field. Sadly at the time of writing this column, I did not have a full list of the 2007 visual artists residents (will endeavor to present next month). Given Asialink still has not posted the 2007 recipients on their website, here’s the Arts Managers list to chew over. Congrats to all – I am particularly excited to see a little blah blah and East Timor feature.

2007 Asialink Arts Management Residents are:
Joanna Barrkman, NT at Babaran Segaragunung, Indonesia; Thea Baumann, QLD at a little blah blah, Vietnam; Zoe Butt, QLD visiting Saigon Open City, Vietnam; Kelly Gellatly, VIC to Red Gate Gallery, China; Jane Hindson, VIC with Tokyo Performing Arts Market, Japan; Virginia Hyam, NSW to the Seoul Performing Arts Festival, Korea; Henry Judge, ACT at the Paradox Literary Centre, Indonesia; Hannah Matthews, WA to AIT, Art Front, Art IT, Japan; Vanessa McRae, QL to Videotage, Hong Kong; Jennifer Pfeiffer, VIC, to Teamwork, India; Kristin Phillips, SA to the Sonobudoyo Museum, Indonesia and Julien Poulson, TAS to Arte Moris / Bibi Bulak, East Timor.

From one funding body to another, the National Arts Council of Singapore has just released its Annual Report for last year, pumping some $S120 million a year into the arts over the past five years. If you can lay your hands on a copy of the report, I am sure you will be surprised at the breadth of their funding initiatives and with $S1 million granted to artist, art societies and collectives in 2005, the visual arts scooped 15% of General Grants funding for the year (positioned against literary and performing grants). Is it just Singaporean propaganda or does it plant the question of the often decried complaint that the NAC is all splash for Singapore’s hardware, pumping money into big gloss venues such as the Esplanade rather than support the ‘software’ – aka individual artist projects? Streaming down the list I notice an Emerging Artist Grant, International touring grants for individual artists to attend exhibitions (well awarded I might add), funding for artist associations and project grants that trickle to alternative spaces and individual artists. Given the population of Singapore, I would have to say the negative hypes seems to appear to out-weigh the figures … but then of course that is not the ‘popular’ view and some will say 15% is really not that great.