Acts of Life
October 28–November 25, 2018
Acts of Life: An interdisciplinary collaboration of NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore and Museum of Contemporary Art and Design Manila commissioned by Goethe-Institute Singapore and Goethe-Institute Manila
The digital transformation of almost all aspects of life has changed the domain of life itself; how we inhabit the everyday and its habitual, spiritual, material, technological worlds. With it, a radical transformation of spheres of knowledge comes across, which affects any critical reading of the world. Increasingly, there is a focus on entanglement and complicity, rather than the classic division between subject and object.
The critical research residency project Acts of Life looks into the deeper changes of such worlding (forming worlds) caused through our habitation of digital times: How does it impact the (post-) human perception on co-shaping/-constructing of nature as culture, and vice versa, in future (smart) urban environments? What is the future, and how does it relate to the “nature” of the historical as well as non-digital histories?
Crossing time and space as it becomes a way of planetary inhabiting, Acts of Life seeks to understand the intertwined idea of nature and culture, as a character that plays out differently in new urban settings between vulnerability and resilience, ephemerality, and viscosity.
We invite creative and interdisciplinary working scholars of related fields (e.g. art, design, architecture, urbanism, humanities, digital sciences, etc.) to participate in a short-term residency in both Singapore and Manila, Philippines. The participants will work on their respective fields of research, together with selected counterparts of their interest, deploying conceptual, terminological, or methodological research tools.
Curatorial supervisors will further guide the participants through the residency period and the following presentation period with a focus on rethinking representation and display politics as key to making research public.
The selection committee and artistic team will consist of:
Ute Meta Bauer, Founding Director, NTU CCA Singapore and Professor, School of Art, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University Singapore; Joselina Cruz, Artistic Director, MCAD, Manila; Patrick Flores, Professor, University of the Philippines, Department of Art and Curator of the Vargas Museum, Manila; Sophie Goltz, Deputy Director Research and Academic Programmes, NTU CCA Singapore and Assistant Professor, School of Art, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University Singapore; Khim Ong, Deputy Director Curatorial Programmes, NTU CCA Singapore
The residency duration is two weeks each, in Manila from October 28 to November 11, 2018 and Singapore from November 12 to November 25, 2018.
Within this timeframe, an intensive workshop in both places will bring the following questions into focus:
–How have digital technologies and Internet culture shaped contemporary interpretation and translation of the nature/culture complex in the arts?
–Have digital times result in a shift from artistic representation of the physical world to creative construction of supernatural and hyper cultural realities?
–What role does historical, traditional, or indigenous knowledge of nature and culture play in the future of world making and acts of life in general?
Selected candidates will also have the chance to present their research projects from January 24 to 27, 2019 in Singapore and January 31 to February 3, 2019 in Manila, in a series of events conceived by the artistic team. The residency grant includes travel expenses (international and regional economy flights), accommodation, per diem during the residency period, and a production budget for final presentations including a contributor’s fee.
We invite international participants who live and work in Southeast Asia and/or Germany to apply. Please submit the following documents to www.goethe.de/actsoflife
–Proposal for project or production to be further developed or completed during the residency period to investigate their subject collaboratively (max 500 words)
–CV including examples of previous work and engagements (texts, images, video links, websites in 1 PDF up to 10 MB).
–Full contact details (including email, mobile / WhatsApp contact, and address)
The deadline for application is May 31, 2018. Selected candidates will be notified in late June.
For any further information please contact Amrit Dhillon at amritdhillon [at] ntu.edu.sg
About Goethe-Institute
The Goethe-Institute is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global reach. Goethe-Institute promotes knowledge of the German language abroad and fosters international cultural cooperation. It conveys a multi-layered and contemporary image of Germany by providing information about its cultural, social and political life. With a worldwide network of institutes and centres in over 150 locations, the Goethe-Institute forms close partnerships at both the local and the regional levels with artists, cultural professionals, researchers, educational experts and institutions. Its cultural and educational programmes encourage intercultural dialogue and enable cultural involvement. They strengthen the development of structures in civil society and foster worldwide mobility. The Goethe-Institute is a partner for all who actively engage with culture and education, working independently and without political ties. Its interdisciplinary work brings together people from different disciplines, cultures and countries. These encounters are open and creative, paving the way for new developments and creating sustainable relations for the future.
About NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore
Located in Gillman Barracks, the NTU CCA Singapore is a national research centre of Nanyang Technological University and is supported by a grant from the Economic Development Board. The Centre is unique in its threefold constellation of research and academic programmes, international exhibitions, and residencies, positioning itself as a space for critical discourse and diverse forms of knowledge production, focusing on Spaces of the Curatorial in Singapore, Southeast Asia, and beyond.
About Museum of Contemporary Art and Design
As part of the artistic community of the College of Saint Benilde’s School of Design and Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) is a unique institution that offers the experience of and exposure to contemporary art and its various publics, with a focus on Manila, Philippines as context. Distinct for its position as a non-collecting institution, MCAD’s contemporary art exhibitions, public programs, as well as other cultural and art-inspired undertakings showcase the possibilities of technology, new media and presents content that encourages engagement with art and culture, its practice and production, as well as its presentation and interpretation. Professionally recognised for its standards in curatorial and exhibition practice, MCAD is a space where art is central. By remaining reflexive and responsive to changes in society, politics and the production of ideas, the Museum seeks to develop an innovative and inclusionary paradigm where “free access for all” addresses not only a cross-section of social classes, but also of knowledges.
