October 28–November 8, 2015
"When one arrives at an insight, whereby the next natural step is to risk jumping into the mysterious void of the unknown in order to manifest that into a language, visual or otherwise; that manifestation, the act of giving form or communication to creative insight, which inherently involves the act of engaging or seducing others, is performance."
The 10th edition of ACAW focuses on performance with two signature programs: Sonic Blossom by Lee Mingwei and FIELD MEETING Take 3: Thinking Performance, in addition to citywide opening receptions, performances, screenings and festivities in collaboration with over 40 New York and Asia-based art institutions, spotlighting over 150 artists from across all regions of Asia and beyond. ACAW is a pioneer and leader in serving the growing interest in artistic practice and cultural production from Asia. Each edition provides a concentrated and critical examination of Asia’s increasingly expanding contemporary art phenomenon, now more than thirty years in the making. View ACAW schedule-at-a-glance here.
In collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ACAW 2015 presents its signature exhibition Sonic Blossom, a heartwarming participatory installation by critically acclaimed artist Lee Mingwei within The Met’s Levine Court and Sackler Galleries over the course of ten days, where museumgoers will randomly be chosen for one-on-one personalized performances of Schubert’s lieder. Opening on Friday, October 30 through November 8 during museum hours.
FIELD MEETING Take 3: Thinking Performance is conceived as an exclusive two-day forum staging lecture-performances, talks and discussions by over 30 compelling creative minds to foreground the multiplicity and critical role of performance work coming out of the context of Asia. Emulating the experience of a studio visit on a communal scale, the forum departs and builds on the synergy of ACAW Consortium Member museums and gallery exhibitions / programs to spotlight diverse creative practices—artists, novelists, curators, filmmakers, architects, educators and others—in an effort to liberate performance from contemporary art world-institutionalized prescriptions, inviting broader, more nuanced interpretations and fresh understandings of performativity as an inherent part of all forms of artistic expression and production.
On Saturday, October 31 at Metropolitan Museum of Art & Sunday, November 1 at Hunter College Art Galleries, 208 Hudson Street. Space is limited—registration is required here.
Curated by ACAW Director Leeza Ahmady.
FIELD MEETING presenting artists & professionals:
Defne Ayas (Rotterdam & Istanbul), Bingyi (Beijing), Holland Cotter (New York), Jeff Cylkowski (New York), Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker (Seattle), Nezaket Ekici (Berlin & Stuttgart), Arash Fayez (San Francisco & Tehran), Christopher K. Ho (New York & Providence), Ištvan Išt Huzjan (Brussels & Ljubljana), Vibha Galhotra (New Delhi), Natasha Ginwala (Berlin & New Delhi), Zeynep Kayan (Ankara), Anthony Lee (New York), Liu Ding (Beijing), Aman Mojadidi (Paris & Kabul), Qasim Riza Shaheen (Manchester & Lahore), Shuddha Sengupta (of Raqs Media Collective- New Delhi), Tang Dixin (Shanghai), Nora Taylor (Chicago), Xiaoyu Weng (New York), Ming Wong (Berlin & Singapore), Sislej Xhafa (New York), Lantian Xie (Dubai), Yan Xing (Beijing & Los Angeles), Fu Xiaodong- Double Fly Art Center (Beijing), ArtAsiaPacific—H.G. Masters (Istanbul) & Lee Mingwei (Taipei, Paris, New York), LEAP—Robin Peckham, Korakrit Arunanondchai (New York & Bangkok), Nadim Abbas (Hong Kong)
For brief profiles and abstracts visit our website.
For a complete schedule of ACAW 2015 exhibitions, events, and information on participating artists and organizations, visit www.acaw.info.
For press inquiries, please contact Michelle Y. Loh
Asia Contemporary Art Week (ACAW)
T +1 646 416 6454 / F +1 646 590 0066 / acawpr@asiasociety.org
ACAW Consortium Members & participating institutions
Asia Society Museum / Asia Art Archive / China Institute / Japan Society / The Metropolitan Museum of Art / MoMA-Museum of Modern Art / Queens Museum / Rubin Museum of Art / Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum / +91 Foundation / Twelve Gates Arts / Aicon Gallery / Art Projects International / Chambers Fine Art / Doosan Gallery / Jane Lombard Gallery / Ronin Gallery / Sundaram Tagore Gallery / Tyler Rollins Fine Art / Aike-Dellarco Gallery (Shanghai) / Alserkal Avenue (Dubai) / Chi-Wen Gallery (Taipei) / Edouard Malingue Gallery (Hong Kong) / Exhibit320 (New Delhi) / Galeri Zilberman (Istanbul) / Ink Studio (Beijing) / Space Station (Beijing) / Total Arts (Dubai) / Art Institute of Chicago / Bliss on Bliss Art Projects / Brooklyn Museum / Frye Art Museum / Galerie Urs Meile (Beijing-Lucerne) / Honolulu Biennial / Hunter College Art Galleries / Kadist Art Foundation / Owen James Gallery / Performa / Pi Artworks (Istanbul & London) / Ryan Lee Gallery / SCREEN / Shirin Gallery NY / Slovenian Embassy / SVA-MA Curatorial Practice / Taipei Cultural Center / 599 West
