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CONTEMPORARY ART TRENDS URBANISATION EDUCATION CRITICISM

Part one of Art Radar‘s 2012 trends series focused on changes in where and how art is sold, while part two highlighted the shifting role of gallerists. In this third installation, we will be looking at trends that, while tangential to the contemporary art world, will have vital influence.

Chilai Howard Cheng, 'Doors', 2008, video; part of the "This is Hong Kong" exhibition.

Art and urbanity

Particularly since the industrial revolution, art and culture have been inextricable from the world’s urban centers, places which provide inspiration and, perhaps more importantly, patronage to artists. So it is no surprise that large cities are where Asia’s most important art districts are born, be it Beijing’s 798 Art Zone, Singapore’s impending Gillman Barracks or the cluster of art studios in the Hong Kong suburb of Fo Tan.

This is part three of our four part series on contemporary art trends in Asia in 2012 and beyond. Click here to read part one in this series, a post that talks about shifts in the business of art, and here to read part two, which highlights the changing role of gallerists.

Rapid urbanisation in Asia

Urban growth shows no sign of slowing. The year 2011 was a milestone for population statistics: the world’s inhabitants reached seven billion and, for the first time in history, urban residents became the majority. China also saw its demographics overturned that year, with over half of Chinese citizens now living in cities. What is especially remarkable is the rate of the country’s urbanisation: as recently as 1982, 80 percent of people in China lived in the countryside. And let us not forget the unprecedentedly large megacities popping up all over Asia, whose sublime expanses will increasingly define the lives those who dwell in the region.

Urban themes apparent in Asian art

Local artists have already begun responding to these new living situations, with urban themes becoming more prevalent in Asian art. In 2008, the London exhibition “Down Town Production” brought together eight young Chinese artists whose styles reflected the metropolitan shifts in mainland society. “This is Hong Kong”, a group show of fifteen video artists, illuminated the unique cultural position of the city and how this identity defines the lives of its residents. The personal relationship between artist and environment can even produce artwork all the more immediate and powerful. In 2010, Religare Arts Initiative invited a mix local and international to reflect on New Delhi’s construction frenzy in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games. The result was an acute and nuanced criticism of contemporary urbanisation in Asia.

Part of a mural from the 2011 Jakarta leg of the Kosmopolite Art Tour. Image courtesy of Kosmopolite Art Tour.

Urban environments become the canvas

Many artists now use the physical cityscape as their canvas. The diverse array of styles and techniques collectively known as street art is now widely considered a legitimate, though still controversial and occasionally illegal, art form. In 2010, we interviewed Jasper Wong, co-owner of the pioneering Above Second art space, to find out more about Hong Kong’s small but promising street art scene. The travelling graffitists of the Kosmopolite Art Tour made Indonesia’s Jakarta their first Asian stop, where they collaborated with local bombers and discussed potentially heading to other cities in the region. China has also seen a rise in the number of graffiti artists practicing in the country. Chongqing, Sichuan, is currently hosts to what is possibly the longest “graffiti wall” in the world, while French street artist JR used the style as a platform to highlight a social history embodied by Shanghai’s elderly residents.

This is part three of our four part series on contemporary art trends in Asia in 2012 and beyond. Click here to read part one in this series, a post that talks about shifts in the business of art, and here to read part two, which highlights the changing role of gallerists.

More schools, media outlets for Asia’s art scene

Art schools improve cultural landscape

Since the 2000s, a myriad of new art schools have cropped up around Asia. For sheer number, China is the champion, though the victory is tempered somewhat by the fact that much of the country’s current infrastructure, art or otherwise, can be considered new. Colleges are, of course, popping up in other countries. To name a few, the Iranian Academy of the Arts, Iran’s first and only art academy, was opened in 2000, while the Hong Kong Baptist University launched its visual arts bachelor’s degree in 2005.

Perhaps more important is that many millennial art programs are being established with a contemporary, international perspective at their core. At the India Art Summit in 2011, co-sponsor Rajshree Pathy sparked interest her new school, the Coimbatore College of Contemporary Art (COCCA). Tentatively slated to open in 2012, COCCA may become an entrenched and fertile establishment in India’s notoriously barren art institutional landscape.

Western institutions take root in Asia

In 2011, the historical China Academy of Art rebranded its new media department as the School of Intermedia Art, hoping to drive the future of contemporary art through dynamic and innovative pedagogy. Art institutions from outside Asia are also moving into the region. In 2011, the Savannah College of Art and Design opened a campus in Hong Kong, joining Australia’s RMIT University, who has partnered with the Hong Kong Art School since 1998.

The North Kowloon Magistracy, now home to the Savannah College of Art and Design's Hong Kong campus, before and after renovation.

Competition increases for Asian art media

Art magazines have seen an even more rapid mushrooming over the past decade. Some notable newcomers to Asian art journalism include Australia’s Artist Profile (2007), Contemporary Art Phillipines (2008) , Hong Kong’s RAW Magazine (2011) and, of course, our indisputable favourite, Art Radar, which made its debut in 2008.

This is part three of our four part series on contemporary art trends in Asia in 2012 and beyond. Click here to read part one in this series, a post that talks about shifts in the business of art, and here to read part two, which highlights the changing role of gallerists.

Why there should be such a massive uptick in magazines in such a short period of time is unclear. Many of the periodicals are passion projects, founded by individuals or organisations that are dedicated to a contemporary art scene that they feel lacks a definitive voice, be it academic or journalistic. In 2010, we interviewed Katherine Don, co-founder of the blog RedBox Review, who stated that she was seeking a platform through which to disseminate knowledge gleaned from her time as an art consultant in China. Art Radar’s Founder and Executive Editor, Kate Cary Evans, was similarly motivated by an impulse to gather together resources on contemporary Asian art and a desire to make this information accessible to all those interested in the field.

Katherine Don, co-founder of Redbox Studio and 'RedBox Review'.

Lack of substantive art criticism a driver?

Other publications may have been founded to bolster the anemic world of Asian art criticism. Substantive and informed critique is something which has undeniably lagged behind the breakneck development the Asian art market has undergone in recent years causing many of the region’s art professionals to conclude that an established, stable contemporary art world may be a long time coming. This phenomenon is most evident in China, where greed and a breakdown of unspoken protocol have left critical integrity in shambles. In an effort to counter this situation, some prominent collectors have established prizes for Chinese contemporary art criticism, such as Hallam Chow’s Central Academy of Fine Art’s Young Critic’s Award and Uli Sigg’s Chinese Contemporary Art Awards.

Masthead for 'Jing Daily'.

Luxury lifestyle publications embrace contemporary art

Included in this recent wave of art media are magazines and newspapers, online and in print, that focus on the coverage of luxury lifestyles. These publications target Asia’s nouveau riche and tend to include the contemporary art as a beat that sits alongside those focused on high-end fashion, design and culture. Notable examples include Dubai’s Quint Magazine, China’s AERIS magazine and Jing Daily, and Singapore-based Surface Asia, a sibling of New York’s Surface. These periodicals are an organic response to the growing wealth of many Asian countries, which in all likelihood also drives many of the periodicals above to some degree.

This is part three of our four part series on contemporary art trends in Asia in 2012 and beyond. Click here to read part one in this series, a post that talks about shifts in the business of art, and here to read part two, which highlights the changing role of gallerists.

How do you think these trends will play out in the coming decade? What role will urbanisation play in the creation and dissemination of art in Asia? How do you see the art education and media landscapes developing? Leave us a comment with your thoughts.

PR/KN

Related Topics: art schools, graffiti, urban art, Asia expands

Related Posts:

• What is ahead for contemporary Asian art, 2012 and beyond? Part II - January 2012 – part two in our trends series, on how galleries are adapting to the times
• What is ahead for contemporary Asian art, 2012 and beyond? Part I - January 2012 – the first installment of our trends series, on changes in art businesses
• Must-know global art trends from 6 art professionals – The Miami Herald - January 2012 – identifies a number of other trends in the contemporary art world today
• Engaging tour of public sculptures in Taipei – Borneo Post Online - December 2011 – another way artists engage with the urban sphere
• Can graffiti still shock and challenge? Top Art Radar post - October 2011 – a round up of our top posts about graffiti and street art

Subscribe to Art Radar for more contemporary Asian art trends and news

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ART DUBAI GLOBAL ARTS FORUM DOHA

Returning for a sixth year as part of the Art Dubai contemporary art fair, the Global Arts Forum 2012 will expand to six days and spread to two cities. The fair will begin in Doha from 18 to 19 March and continue in Dubai from 21 to 24 March.

The Bidoun Video Programme at Art Dubai 2011.

From the press release,

ART DUBAI’S GLOBAL ART FORUM_6 EXPANDS TO SIX DAYS: 18 to 19 MARCH IN DOHA AND 21 to 24 MARCH IN DUBAI

2012 TO FOCUS ON MULTIPLE MEANINGS OF MEDIA IN THE ART WORLD AND BEYOND

The Global Art Forum, the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region’s leading platform for cultural debate and discussion, expands to six days in 2012, and features commissioned projects and research, as well as live debates and presentations.

Now in its sixth year, the Global Art Forum is directed by writer Shumon Basar and is characterised by a particularly innovative and dynamic approach.

Art Dubai’s Global Art Forum_6, presented by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and in partnership with Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art (Qatar Museums Authority), starts in Doha 18 to 19 March before continuing to Art Dubai, Madinat Jumeirah, 21 to 24 March.

Salem Belyouha, Projects & Events Director, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, said: “Over the past five years, the Global Art Forum has served as a substantial platform to encourage intercultural dialogue between artists and art-enthusiasts, bringing together those that contribute to the growing cultural and artistic fabric of the city. As the only conference that debates topics surrounding the arts industry, Global Art Forum has become an integral event in Dubai’s cultural calendar. The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority is delighted to once again extend its support to the Forum.”

Entitled ‘The Medium of Media’, the Forum is re-inventing itself this year. Along with the familiar array of lectures, conversations, discussions, and workshops, it includes a new roster of commissioned projects that precede and succeed the live days. Thematically, GAF_6 looks at the double meaning of the term ‘media’, both within the art world and referring to the world of publishing and reportage. Underpinning this is a look back at the past year in the Arab world, and how fundamental events have been both produced and consumed as media. GAF_6 is, effectively, a media production about media.

Over 50 contributors to Global Art Forum_6 include: LACMA director Michael Govan; Serpentine Gallery co-director of exhibitions and programmes and director of international projects Hans Ulrich Obrist; novelist and artist Douglas Coupland; writer/critic Sukhdev Sandhu; art market reporter Georgina Adam; film-producer Anna Lena Vaney; artists Wael Shawky, Shezad Dawood and Michael Rakowitz; curators Jack Persekian and Nat Muller; Demotix founder Turi Munthe; commentators Sultan Suood Al Qassemi and Yasmine El Rashidi; blogger Hind Mezaina; as well as filmmaker Sophie Fiennes with a special screening of ‘Over Your Cities the Grass will Grow’.

Commissioned projects include a series of PowerPointsTM by writers and artists, curated by Victoria Camblin, including Goldin & Senneby and Alexander Provan/Triple Canopy; a Dictionary of the Mediatized Gulf by Qatari artist-writer Sophia Al Maria; a series of publications entitled ‘Some Medium Stories’, edited by Michael Vazquez featuring Emily Dische-Becker, Tom Francis, Kristine Khouri; and a Media Archiving blog by Mariam Wissam Al Dabbagh. Two new collaborations between Art Dubai and Mathaf will be announced: an interactive Arabic Art Glossary, led by curator Lara Khaldi, and an Artist’s Residency at Al Jazeera news network, Doha. These works will be made available, in both Doha and Dubai, at the new Forum Forum resource space, which will include UAE research by Brusselssprout.

Click here to read the entire press release on Art Dubai’s website (PDF download).

PR/KN/HH

Related Topics: Asia expands, fairs, forums, art in Dubai, art in Qatar

Related Posts:

• Qatar top contemporary art buyer international, reports Art Newspaper - August 2011 – how the Qatari Royal family is driving Doha’s cultural development
• Art Dubai’s aim of giving back to region realized? Media round-up - March 2011 – a collection of impressions from last year’s fair
• Art Observed reports on Mathaf Arab art museum inauguration and preview - January 2011 – coverage of the opening of the first modern Arab art museum in the Middle East
• Sotheby’s to hold first ever international auction house sale of calligraphy in Doha - July 2010 – yet another indicator of Doha’s rise as a major art center
• Antonia Carver named Art Dubai director, lends Middle Eastern art insight to fair - July 2010 – the newest director of Art Dubai and what her expertise might bring to the event

Subscribe to Art Radar for more on Middle Eastern contemporary art fairs

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REGIONAL ART SHOWS JAPAN ARAB CONTEMPORARY ART

As highlighted in an article published in The Japan Times in December 2011, the decision of Japanese curators Kenichi Kondo and Fumio Nanjo to bring contemporary Arab art to Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum also brought with it a number of curatorial challenges, among them, how to define the “Arab world”.

Tarek Al-Ghoussein, 'Untitled 23' (D Series), 2008, digital print. The works of this Palestinian artist are expected to be on display in "Contemporary Art from the Arab World", at Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum from 16 June through to 28 October 2012.

West Asian art comes to Japan

New art from the West Asian region is attracting the attention of those in art world power cities like London and New York, and those in know in Tokyo want to see art from the region in local museums, too. As a result, the first exhibition of its kind ever to be arranged in Japan, called “Contemporary Art from the Arab World“, is scheduled to be held at Mori Art Museum in Tokyo from 16 June through to 28 October 2012.

According to The Japan Times feature, the decision to hold an exhibition of contemporary Arab art was problematic for Kondo and Nanjo, Associate Curator and Director of the Mori Art Museum, respectively.

Curating an exhibition or [set of works] from a particular region is never easy, but the Mori’s attempt to create a show of Arab art – a project that began in summer last year, long before the emergence of the Arab Spring – presented a unique set of challenges.

Click here to read the whole article, titled “Restless Arab region presents curatorial challenge”, on The Japan Times website.

Defining the Arab region

In this increasingly globalised world, is it still necessary to put on art shows that focus on a particular region? Members of the Japanese public, explain the curators, are broadly aware of Middle Eastern region, but know little of its art scene, and Kondo believes that a regional approach is necessary in order to introduce the West Asian artists effectively to Japanese audiences and stir public interest in the exhibition. “In order to grab [the public's] interest, you need to start with what they know,” he states.

Reem Al Ghaith, 'Dubai: What's Left of Her Land?', 2008, mixed media installation. This artist’s works are expected to be shown in "Contemporary Art from the Arab World", at Mori Art Museum in Tokyo from 16 June through to 28 October 2012.

The exhibition will present, as quoted on the Museum’s website, works by approximately thirty artists “from ten or more countries in the Arab world, those on and around the Arabian Peninsula including Iraq, the Gulf countries, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan [and] Egypt.” In order to choose the artists for this five-month-long exhibition survey, several research trips to countries in the West Asian region were initiated. Catalogues of important cultural events in Middle Eastern and European countries, such as the Sharjah Biennial, the Istanbul Biennial and the Venice Biennale, were studied by the curators as part of their search.

Need for local experts

A show like ”Contemporary Art from the Arab World” requires of its curators an extensive knowledge of the current art climate in the region in focus, and not just its artists, but its art scholars and other professionals, too. “Of course, I studied the history and politics of the region, but it is equally important to use existing networks of specialists there,” Kondo explains. Connections with West Asian art experts, such as Sheikha Hoor Al-Qasimi, the president of the Sharjah Biennial, proved particularly valuable during visits to countries like Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia where security can be an issue, either with regard to obtaining visas or navigating violent conflict.

As stated in the curatorial notes for the exhibition,

This exhibition will not subscribe to the commonly held, negative stereotype of the Arab world as a realm of terrorism, conflicts, religious fundamentalism and so on. Instead, through the diverse creative expression of the region’ s own artists, it will depict the people of the Arab world as they are, in real time.

LP/KN

Related Topics: museum shows, Tokyo art events, curatorial practice

Related Posts:

• Japanese curator Yuko Hasegawa plans multi-disciplined Sharjah Biennial 11 - December 2011 – Japanese curator heads curatorial team for this Middle Eastern biennial
• 12th Istanbul Biennial: women artists and emerging regions stand out - November 2011 – explore position of the Middle Eastern artists at the twelfth edition of the Istanbul Biennial
• Collect Arab art? Journalist Mustafa Akyol demystifies Islam – TED video - July 2011 – read highlights of journalist Mustafa Akyol’s TED Talk on the past, present and future of Islamic culture
• Asian Curatorial Network Forum challenges traditional exhibition practices - July 2011 – looks at alternatives to conventional museum venues and brings to the fore new ideas for curatorial  practice
• Contemporary Art in the Middle East – a first book survey – May 2011 - Art Radar reviews this book on contemporary Middle Eastern art

Subscribe to Art Radar for more on museum shows of contemporary art in Japan

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CONTEMPORARY ART TRENDS CHINESE GALLERIES GLOBALISATION

For the second post in the Art Radar art trends series we take a look at changes to contemporary art galleries. The past decade has seen galleries expand, both in their reach and roles. Just how are they responding to the challenges of a globalised world?

Chart of the demographics of ArtReview's Power 100, 2008 vs 2009.

Gallerists become agents

Undeniably, globalisation has dramatically broadened the range and diversity of operations in contemporary art dealership, and a new generation of gallerists is casting off the constraints of the permanent gallery in favor of a more dynamic approach: organising temporary exhibitions in loaned and non-traditional venues.

Aspiring London dealers organise shows in alternative art spaces – some have transformed their own homes into ersatz salons – to bring operating costs down, and there are even some art professionals that are shunning the title of ‘gallerist’, acting instead as art advisor and intermediary between the collector and the dealer or artist.

With the economics of the storefront gallery growing prohibitive for small dealers, younger curators, seeking venues for projects, are taking advantage of these innovative models when putting together commercial and non-commercial exhibitions. Gallerists and curators are increasingly prevalent on Art Review’s list of powerful figures in the arts and this emergent group of highly-connected, independent professionals are using their new-found mobility to promote works of art with unprecedented flexibility.

Co-founder of Korean Eye, David Ciclitira.

Many rogue gallerists have used their acuity to promote specific causes in the contemporary art market. Sports promoter and art collector David Ciclitira is the founder of Korean Eye, an initiative that is generating new audiences for the comparatively neglected world of contemporary Korean art. Other organisations, such as The Ministry of Art in China, connect upcoming artists with Western museums, galleries and collectors.

This is part two of our four part series on contemporary art trends in Asia in 2012 and beyond. Click here to read part one in this series, a post that talks about shifts in the business of art.

Galleries move east

The 2000s saw several Asian cities become new art epicenters, and major international galleries have opened branches to gain a foothold in these budding markets. Sundaram Tagore was among the first to establish a gallery in Hong Kong in 2007, and was quickly followed by Ben Brown Fine Arts in 2009 and Gagosian Gallery in 2011. White Cube recently announced that they will be opening their new location in Hong Kong on 2 March 2012.

Hong Kong's historic Pedder Building, home to Ben Brown Fine Art and Gagosian Gallery. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Hong Kong is not the only city to see a rapid influx of gallery giants. Beijing’s sprawling industrial art districts are home to an increasing number of Western galleries, such as first-comers Chambers Fine Art and The Pace Gallery, as well as newer arrivals like Eli Klein Fine Art. Though some thought these galleries entered the Chinese art market surprisingly late, they are wasting no time in expanding their Asian operations. The Pace Gallery is now considering a move into Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Chambers Fine Art Beijing, situated in the Ai Weiwei-designed Caochangdi art district.

Many new Asian galleries are broadening their reach through collaboration with more established and better connected foreign galleries. The first exhibition space in Beijing’s 798 Art Zone, the non-commercial Beijing Tokyo Art Projects, was the product of a collaboration between contemporary artist Huang Rui and Japanese gallerist Tabata Yukihito.

Exhibition partnerships are also common; Redbox Studio’s 2011 exhibition of sculpture by Wang Shugang was organised in conjunction with Alexander Ochs Galleries Berlin. In India, joint venture-style relationships are on the rise, such as Grosvenor Vadehra, which is the result of a partnership between London’s Grosvenor Gallery and Vadehra Art Gallery in New Delhi, and South Delhi gallery Nature Morte’s collaboration with the Bose Pacia Gallery which gave rise to Bose Pacia Kolkata.

This is part two of our four part series on contemporary art trends in Asia in 2012 and beyond. Click here to read part one in this series, a post that talks about shifts in the business of art.

Gallery hopping artists settle

Damien Hirst’s 2008 decision to bypass dealers entirely and sell his work directly through a Sotheby’s auction shook the international art world. Hirst’s (ultimately successful) gambit exposed an anxiety that was subtly but surely present in the minds of numerous art professionals, the event got observers contemplating the usefulness of the traditional networks of dealers and collectors.

Perhaps none have bucked this system more than the contemporary artists coming out of China. Roberta Smith of The New York Times pointed out in 2008 that overheated art markets tend to spur mobility between artists and dealers. In Beijing’s cutthroat art market, artists balked at restraints on their commercial ascent, and they would often enter into “exclusive” contracts with multiple galleries or sell works directly from their studio. The questionable practices do not run one way: Beijing galleries are known to renege on settled deals should they sense the potential for a higher price elsewhere.

Zhang Xiaogang's 'Forever Lasting Love (Triptych)', was auctioned in April 2011 as part of the sale of Guy Ullen's collection of contemporary Chinese art.

Though the dynamic between artist, dealer and collector is undeniably changing, some in the industry see potential for artists to establish relationships with smaller dealerships who offer individual attention and dedicated promotion instead of simply brand association. Younger Chinese contemporary artists are already more willing to sign into long-term partnerships with dealers, and a possible slowdown for the Chinese art market could mean a return to a more stable, gradual development for Chinese artists and galleries, ushering in a more mature market.

This is part two of our four part series on contemporary art trends in Asia in 2012 and beyond. Click here to read part one in this series, a post that talks about shifts in the business of art.

How do you think these trends will play out in the coming decade? Is the traditional gallery as we know it on its way out? Leave us a comment with your thoughts.

PR/KN

Related Topics: galleries, globalisation, Asia expands

Related Posts:

• What is ahead for Asian contemporary art, 2012 and beyond? Part I - January 2012 – the first post in our contemporary art trends series on shifts in the business of art
• Must-know global art trends from 6 art professionals – The Miami Herald - January 2012 – various art professionals weigh in on what they see as the most important trends in contemporary art
• Hong Kong home for top-shelf White Cube art - July 2011 – announces White Cube’s expansion to Hong Kong and its implications
• Contemporary galleries face intense competition, must re-think game plan - January 2011 – How many galleries are getting squeezed by real estate prices and competition from auctions?
• Is globalisation of the art market slowing down? The Economist reports - June 2010 – With the continuing predominance of Western contemporary artists at auction, is globalisation of the art market overstated?

Subscribe to Art Radar for more contemporary Asian art trends and news

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MIDDLE EAST ART ORGANISATIONS EDUCATING ARTISTS

Art Radar interviews Rijin Sahakian on the functions of Echo, or Sada in Arabic, a non-profit organisation formed in 2010 to support the growth of contemporary visual art in Iraq and its diaspora. Discover how Echo is dealing with the social challenges created by war and isolation.

Echo for contemporary Iraqi art (Sada) website.

Click here to visit the Echo website.

Echo [Sada] was founded in 2010 by Rijin Sahakian to support artistic practices and preserve Iraqi art. In 2011, Echo launched their website and their live-stream workshop in Baghdad. Through a series of events, including a Christie’s benefit auction in Dubai in October, and programmes at the 54th Venice Biennale 2011, the Echo is swiftly gaining the attention it needs to fund and develop an ambitious multi-faceted organisation. Workshops are already under way, aimed at educating Iraqi artists and connecting them to the international art world, an online database is planned that will record Iraqi art, and a variety of activities have been organised which are aimed both at creating opportunities for their artists to partake in international residency programmes and at promoting Iraqi art around the world.

In the interview below, Sahakian discusses the state of Iraqi contemporary art, the ideas and motivations behind Echo and the organisation’s programmes and goals. Read on to find out more.

Rijin Sahakian. Image courtesy of Echo for contemporary Iraqi art. © Echo.

Can you explain how Echo developed from an idea into the organisation that it is today? Can you name the key challenge/s that Iraqi contemporary art and artists face today and explain how Echo is addressing these challenges?

One of the main motivations for founding Sada is that there seemed to be a significant absence in directed, independent support for arts and cultural projects in Iraq. Because of the multi-faceted needs that lie within the context of Iraqi arts today, we have developed these interlinking strategies of education, advocacy, research, preservation, and of course the support and presentation of works and practices. We are basically trying to provide a system of support within a fragile and fragmented field.

If we look at the arts as a kind of recorded history through individual expressions, you begin to realise the extent of the losses taking place that have serious ramifications for not only a shared and dynamic history produced by individuals, but also how the potential contributions of these expressions are being erased and suppressed as a result of the mechanism of war and ongoing conflict. … So you have a situation where critical works and materials have been destroyed, looted and taken out of the country (or not properly maintained within the country), and at the same time a very rich and influential legacy of work and a currently active artistic and cultural field…. It is also a time where possibilities for expression and preservation … have been highly compromised, but hold great potential [if they are] given the chance to be realised.

So, I think the purpose of a geographically or nationally focused organisation in this case is … to take into consideration specific needs and current circumstances in order to effectively … address how work is produced or enabled for long-term investment, research and support … [in] an environment that can foster artistic and cultural work – education opportunities, production funds, exhibition venues, exchange and access to materials – whether it is a photographic collection, historical record or art journal.

According to an article in The National, Echo’s virtual eight-month workshop held in Baghdad started on 3 November 2011. Tell us a little more about this project.

The launch of our arts workshops in Baghdad has been a very exciting start to our education program. It was, and is, a very experimental program, and so we are learning from it as well. It was born out of the need to find a solution to the question of how to provide workshops in new arts practices to students in Baghdad – who do not have access to this kind of work or training and who have been, and remain, extremely isolated – at a time when it is extremely difficult for artists to go to Baghdad to conduct this kind of program. Fortunately, we live in a time where technology can work to facilitate the idea of ‘transporting’ [teachers] to students. We began to work on this concept of ‘distance teaching’, [in which] teaching artists could conduct lectures from any point on the globe and be beamed into Baghdad, where students would be assembled in a physical classroom. I wanted to take the concept of online learning but make it more engaged, … as close to an interactive classroom setting as possible. With the use of Skype and interactive software designed specifically for this purpose, it seemed that we had a start.

How is the workshop structured?

I went to Baghdad several times this past spring and fall and worked with the film center, which was incredibly supportive of the project. We agreed on the space, provided the equipment and identified a young documentary filmmaker, Mohaned Heal, to serve as the classroom facilitator. Lectures would be conducted live via Skype with the teaching artists projected on a large wall in the classroom. Students could ask questions and engage in conversation with the teachers in real time, and the software would enable videos, images of works and texts to be seamlessly presented and downloaded by students. It was important that the workshops be conducted in Arabic, since students were not fluent in English and we wanted to enable as much communication as possible without translation. We also wanted to start the first year of the program with artists from Iraq, as they were most aware of the context and challenges these students faced. Again, we were very fortunate to have an exceptionally talented and generous group of artists nearly unanimously agree to come on board this inaugural project.

During the next eight months, different teaching artists will conduct two workshops each, so that during the course of the eight months each student will attend sixteen workshops by leading artists in a variety of fields. The software was developed by Binta Ayofemi, a professor at the California College for the Arts in San Francisco where our education advisor Brian Conley is also professor and former Chair of the Graduate Fine Arts program, our program manager in Baghdad is Mohaned Heal, oversight at the Film Center is through Mohamed Al Daraji and Oday Rasheed and the teaching artists are Wafaa Bilal, Sundus Abdul Hadi, Jalal Toufic, Dena Al-Adeeb, Tamara Abdul Hadi, Sinan Antoon and Adel Abidin.

Echo workshop in Baghdad, 2011. Image courtesy of Echo for contemporary Iraqi art. © Echo

Echo workshop with live lectures, 2011. Image courtesy of Echo for contemporary Iraqi art. © Echo

How, what and when will the organisation be accessible to the public? Will the public have access to Echo mainly online, through your website and blog or will there be a physical space that people can visit in Baghdad or elsewhere?

We hope to continue making the organisation public in a number of ways. Through the website, the launch of the blog will encourage user-generated content and all research and materials that we collect will be accessible online. It is also an open space where we are open to contributions and dialogue that may be facilitated online. Offline, our public programmes have been taking place and are planned in various cities around the world through partnerships and collaborations with art centers, universities, exhibition programmes and individuals. These range from the Film Center in Baghdad to the Desert Initiative at the ASU Art Museum to the Venice Biennale and Darat al Funun in Amman. These talks, curatorial projects and public programs will continue in the future. We are fairly mobile because Baghdad is not, at this point, a feasible site to have a physical space. In addition, because of what has taken place, Iraqi artists and Iraqis in general are dispersed throughout the world, Iraq has endured the largest migration in recent history. … For the time being, our programs will take place in a mobile fashion in various cities and sites, though physical sites will emerge in the next year, growing out of the programmes, artists and partners we are working with.

Click here to read more about Iraqi diaspora.

How do you plan to increase the visibility of this organisation in Iraq as well as in the international art community?

Regarding Iraq, one of our main ways of becoming visible was to students and young artists, which we have initially done through the workshops. We hope to continue the education programme in a substantial way and to act as a resource so that there is a means of effectively linking students and artists with the resources and opportunities that may be available to them, or that we can initiate. Apart from the workshops, one of the aims of the website is to engage those in Iraqi with resources, work, and conversation that is taking place. In addition, we are planning on working with writers and artists in Iraq to contribute essays, articles, and other work on the cultural sphere and field in Iraq so that the site may also act as a platform that can further the work already taking place and make it accessible to readers and others both in and outside of Iraq.

Internationally, much of our work is taking place in cities around the world, and as part of the international arts sphere, so that … is taking place intrinsically through the work. Also, because again, the artists are so dispersed, it is important for us to present and have a presence internationally. So, for example, we curated the public programs for the Iraq Pavilion in 2011 in Venice, have partnered with the Desert Initiative at the ASU Art Museum in Phoenix, will be in residence with public programs at Darat al Funun in Amman, presented at the March Meeting at the Sharjah Biennale, held our benefit with Christie’s in Dubai, will be part of the public panels at the Royal College of Art and Gasworks as part of the Arts and Patronage Summit this January in London, will be collaborating on a project at the Glasgow Festival of Art, and so on and so forth.

[Writer's note: The Christie’s auction for Echo took place in Dubai on 26 October 2011 with works donated by international Iraqi artists including Ahmed Alsoudani, Jananne Al-Ani, Walid Siti, Wafaa Bilal, Azad Nanakeli and Rheim Alkadhi.]

Click here to read more on the Iraqi Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale.

Ahmed Alsoudani, 'Untitled', 2011. Image courtesy of Echo for contemporary Iraqi art. © Echo

Jananne Al-Ani, 'Aerial I', 2011, archival chromogenic C-type print, 2011. Image courtesy of Echo for contemporary Iraqi art. © Echo

Wafaa Bilal, '…and Counting', 2010, photographic print. © Echo

Is the artist-in-residency programme at Darat Al Funun a major component of the organisation? How was the inaugural artist, Rheim Alkadhi, selected? How many artists will be participating per year and how long will each residency period last?

The artist-in-residency programme at Darat Al Funun is one that they have on an ongoing basis as part of their art center, galleries, and exhibitions programmes. This is a specific collaboration that is taking place through a collaborative curatorial selection of Rheim Alkadhi by Sada and Darat al Funun, where Alkadhi will be in residence for two months with an exhibition planned for 2013. Sada will be in residence doing research for the web archive, utilising the libraries, materials and artworks available through Darat al Funun and their collection. This is not necessarily part of an ongoing residency programme with Darat al Funun, however, Sada will be working on artist residencies and exchanges with various partners internationally as a major part of our programming in the future.

Rheim Alkadhi, 'Captive Lover', 2009, photographic prints, polyptych. Image courtesy of Echo. © Echo

In The Daily Star, you spoke about creating an online archive of research materials on the history of modern and contemporary Iraqi art. How are you collecting/gathering these materials? When will this archive be available to the public?

We are planning to launch the bilingual, multimedia Sada Web Platform in the Fall and Winter of 2012. The site will archive, research, map and disseminate the work of diverse artists and act as a location for research, creative production and writing on contemporary Iraqi art, providing a much needed research tool for art historians, artists, and interested users worldwide. The site will serve as a hub connecting artists inside Iraq with those in the diaspora, as well as with the broader international community. By engaging students, artists, and other interested users in Iraq and globally, we hope to create a new space for education and the presentation and exchange of artistic ideas and practices.

Translated materials will make the site accessible to both Arabic and English-speaking populations, breaking down the barriers of isolation built by the limitations of language [and] physical mobility in the Iraqi context. The site will contain curated material, but will also be an interactive space where users are invited to contribute. The Echo blog will serve as an open space for user-generated content. A resource section will also be included with information on grants, grant writing, and residencies to provide cultural practitioners with independent avenues for sustaining their work.

Is Echo mainly funded by ArteEast and the Hivos Foundation? Will the Christie’s auction, held to benefit Echo, become an annual event? How will Echo be funded in the coming years?

Sada is fiscally sponsored by ArteEast, a registered 501(c)(3) based in New York City, and it receives funding through the generous support of the Hivos Foundation. The Christie’s auction was a great source of support for Sada’s ongoing development, and we look forward to the possibility of continuing the auction in the future. Sada is launching a comprehensive fundraising campaign in the spring of 2012, where we see a mix of public and private funding through individual donors and philanthropic giving, sponsorships and Foundation grants.

Exciting times ahead for Echo

In January of 2012, Echo will participate in a public panel at the Royal College of Art and Gasworks in London, and will be collaborating on a project at the Glasgow Festival of Art in April and May of 2012. Echo is also planning to launch its bilingual (Arabic and English) multimedia web platform with a comprehensive online archive in the fall or winter of 2012, a major component of how Echo is addressing its commitment to recording and preserving modern and contemporary Iraqi art.

CSL/KN/HH

Related Topics: nonprofit, art spaces, art and the community, Iraqi artists

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Copyright 2011 :: Open photo contests and competitions

Artists are invited to reflect on contemporary photography and video’s role in perceiving history and collective memory.

Theme: "beyondmemory" reflects on photography and video’s role in the perception of history and collective memory, with particular attention given to the importance of archives and photographic documents in artistic research – a cultural phenomenon which the philosopher Jacques Derrida called “le mal d’archive.”

Archive fever is one of contemporary art’s principal themes. Photography provides another viewpoint on history, revealing misunderstood or possible ‘truths’, transforming traces of information and documents into visual monuments of our time, often creating their own devices and taking up other languages of expression. Works submitted to Beyond Memory can contain images as clues for paradigms, textual elements, photographic installations with archive material, sound fragments, the use of photographs which are simply found or tell a common story, are some of the forms adopted by contemporary photography to give images various levels of significance to history and collective memory.

Prizes:

• First prize: 1,000 €
• Second prize: 500 €
• Third prize: 500 €
• The three winning projects will be chosen by Marinella Paderni and announced on 15 May at the opening of the exhibition, which will last from 15 May to 12 June 2012.

How to enter this contest

Take a look at Photocompete Facebook page. You will find more photography contests and competitions there! Join Photocompete on Twitter.

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