Almanac 2009
Annual Issue Volume 4
2008 will be remembered as a topsy-turvy year for art around the world. Along with the explosive growth of emerging art centers from Qatar to Bangkok, the Beijing Olympics attracted international attention to China—along with its art scene. The Games were followed by a whirlwind of biennials and triennials that swept Asia in September, beginning in Sydney and leaping to Gwangju, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Yokohama, and Christchurch. On the other side of the globe India sparked the imagination of museum curators in the US and Europe from Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art to the Serpentine Gallery in London.
Although the art world continues to expand as a globally integrated community, many countries’ national art scenes remain independent of the post-post modern international network. The structure of The Almanac reflects this. The core of The Almanac is the “Countries” section, spanning Afghanistan and South Korea to New Zealand, Uzbekistan and Yemen, in individualized, country-by-country reports, each featuring an overview of the year’s major exhibitions and new developments. Our regional editors provide insider analyses of events and trends that emerged in 2008, pinpointing each country’s notable artists and exhibitions while offering a glimpse of what will follow in the year ahead. In addition, statistics on government arts funding along with listings of the influential galleries, museums, non-profits and art schools are provided for each country.
The Almanac also publishes essays by 10 special contributors who reflect on future developments. The Almanac Volume 4 features visionary artists Dinh Q Lê and Xu Bing, market mavens Minal Vazirani, Rivka Saker and Yoshiko Issiki, iconoclastic British collector Frank Cohen and forward-thinking curators Tobias Berger, Vasif Kortun, Letila Mitchell and Farah Wardani.
In the “Global” section, ArtAsiaPacific takes a broad view of the rest of the world, recapping seminal international events. In News, we discuss the year’s major scandals, censorship debates, artistic prizes and new institutional ventures. There is also extensive coverage in the sections on Art Festivals, Art Fairs and Auctions, the major exhibitions of Asian art in Europe and the Americas, and the year’s important art books. In addition, ArtAsiaPacific also singles out path-breaking artists in Five for 2008: Mike Parr, NS Harsha, Kimsooja, Huang Yong Ping and Shigeyuki Kihara; and nominates One for 2009: Hamra Abbas. There is also a round up of the best 10 gallery shows, museum exhibitions and art publications of 2008, with a preview of notable museum exhibitions in 2009.
ArtAsiaPacific’s The Almanac, with its unique mix of pictures, maps, figures and forecasts of the contemporary art scene, remains an essential source of information and ideas and a guide for future developments in Asia.
