Art in Lockdown: Contemporary art and exhibition making during a crisis
July 2 (Thu), July 4 (Sat), July 6 (Mon) 2020
Online via Zoom
Hosted by Load na Dito
With support from the Japan Foundation, the Art Studies Foundation, the Philippine Contemporary Art Network and the Department of Art Studies, University of the Philippines Dilliman
This workshop will explore the various materialities of contemporary art exhibitions. It will consider new modalities of exhibition making during crises, specifically the current pandemic. It aims to contribute to a thriving ecology for contemporary art in the Philippines and the Asia region.
Do exhibitions remain relevant during this time? In what ways does a crisis redefine the relationships between curators and the art world? How do we rethink curatorial and artistic practices, and other creative engagements during periods of crises?
Day 1
Curators in conversation
Speakers: Makiko Hara and Tessa Maria Guazon
This live session will hold short lectures by two curators on their individual curatorial practices, followed by discussions to explore curating in specific contexts.
Day 2
Participants’ Presentations
Melissa Abuga-a, Mariano Batocabe, Laya Boquiren, Louise Lane Calicdan, Faye Cura, Asia Jong, Henry Heng Lu, Fara Martia Manuel-Nolasco, Raquel Lim Oyek, Jaime Pacena II, Pam Quinto, Mariah Christelle Feliciano Reodica, Zarani Risjad, Bea Rubio-Gabriel, Maria Sofia Amparo F. Santiago
The online sessions will be a venue for presentation & feedback session. Participants are expected to present a preliminary concept for a contemporary art exhibition, project or program that explore: In the context of the pandemic, are physical exhibitions still relevant? How can we rethink materialities in terms of exhibitions making? What are the parameters of online platforms?
These will be facilitated by curator Makiko Hara; workshop team members Tessa Maria Guazon, Mayumi Hirano, and Louise Anne Salas.
Day 3
Lecture: Gridthiya Gaweewong
The live session will review the main points from the lecture followed by a discussion with the keynote speaker. The video recording of keynote lecture will be available ahead of the live virtual sessions for the participants' viewing. Participants are asked to send questions regarding the lecture to the organizer prior to the live session.
Bio of speakers, facilitators and organizers
CURATORS IN CONVERSATION
Makiko Hara
Born in Tokyo, Makiko Hara is an independent curator living and working in Vancouver, Canada. She was appointed as the Chief curator of Centre A, Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art in 2007 and became an independent curator in 2013. Since the late 90’s, Hara has curated numerous contemporary art exhibitions and art projects with different organizations in Canada, France and Japan.
Recent curatorial projects include: Scotia Bank Nuit Blanche, (Toronto, Canada, 2009), AIR YONAGO, Tottori Artist in Residence Art Festival (Yonago, Japan, 2014-15), Fictive Communities Asia- Koganecho Bazaar (Yokohama, Japan, 2014), Rock Paper Scissors, (National Nikkei Museum, Burnaby, Canada, 2017, Yonago City Museum of Art, Tottori, Japan, 2018). Hara has been appointed as the Direction Advisor, International Exchange Center, Akita University of Art since 2017.
Tessa Maria Guazon
Tessa Maria Guazon is contemporary art curator and assistant professor of Art Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Past projects include Island Weather for the Philippine Pavilion at the 2019 Venice Art Biennale, an exhibition of Mindanao artists in Southern Philippines in 2019, Tropical Cyclone at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts Taipei in 2017. Her public art projects include Lawas (2018) and Plot (2013) at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus grounds. Her current projects include Southeast Asia Neighborhoods Network project organised by the Urban Knowledge Network Asia and the International Institute of Asian Studies Leiden, the Netherlands; the Philippine Contemporary Art Network (PCAN) and the interlocutor program of the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial in Brisbane, Australia.
She has received fellowships for research and fieldwork in Asia and has lived in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan. She was recipient of the 2013 Nippon Foundation Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship and was researcher in residence at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan in 2017. Her essays and reviews have been published in anthologies, academic journals, and exhibition catalogues.
WORKSHOP FACILITATORS
Mayumi Hirano
Mayumi Hirano is the co-founder of a mobile art project, Load Na Dito, and co-founder of an art initiative 98B COLLABoratory, where she was active until 2018. As an Asian Public Intellectual Fellow, she carried out research "Roots of Engagement in the Philippines and Thailand" (2013-2014) and researcher of Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong (2006-2008). She was the curator of the annual art festival and residency program, Koganecho Bazaar in Yokohama (2008-2013) and curated “The Lizard Says You Are a Liar”, a group exhibition at the UP Vargas Museum in 2014 supported by the Japan Foundation. Mayumi worked as an exhibition manager of the Gwangju Biennale 2018 and as a curatorial staff of Yokohama Triennale in 2005. She is currently researching on artistic exchanges through artist-run festivals in the Philippines and Japan in the early 1990s. She is a lecturer at the Art Studies Department of the University of the Philippines Diliman. She completed her graduate studies at Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, New York.
Louise Anne M. Salas
Louise teaches at the Department of Art Studies, University of the Philippines, Diliman (UPD) where she finished her MA in Museum Studies in 2016. Her recent curatorial work includes Pagsasangang-Dunong: 35th Anniversary of the CAL, CSSP, and TriCollege PhD Philippine Studies Program organized by the UPD College of Arts
and Letters; Women in the Biggest Little Room: Lyd Arguilla, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, and Nena Saguil at the PKL Center; and Aligning Histories: Jorge B. Vargas and Purita Kalaw-Ledesma at the UP Vargas Museum. She is currently the projects consultant of Kalaw-Ledesma Foundation, Inc.
ORGANIZERS
Load na Dito
Load na Dito is a mobile art site that explores various modes of producing and presenting contemporary art. It creates situations that may trigger interactions of individuals, objects, images and ideas in order to facilitate the free flow of creative energies that would possibly contribute to the development of a sustainable ecology for contemporary art. By organizing and co-organizing a wide range of programs, Load na Dito hopes to critically address the questions of participation and collaboration. Load na Dito was initiated by Mayumi Hirano and Mark Salvatus in 2016.
Website: https://loadnaditoprojects.cargo.site
Curatorial Workshop Series: Curating in Local Contexts
The workshop 'Curating in Local Contexts' is spearheaded by Mayumi Hirano, Louise Anne Salas, and Tessa Maria Guazon. The workshop series has been hosted by Art Sulok (Cavite), the Museum of Three Cultures at Capitol University (Cagayan de Oro), and Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Center (Makati) in 2019.
Technical team:
Mark Salvatus
Gerome Soriano
