ACAW 2016

Curated by ACAW Director Leeza Ahmady

The 11th edition of the curatorial and educational platform Asia Contemporary Art Week (ACAW) continues at full speed thru November, culminating with its annual signature forum—FIELD MEETING Take 4: Thinking Practice.

Over 400 New York- and US-based arts professionals gather for ACAW’s 4th iteration of FIELD MEETING, dedicated to the dismantling of perhaps the most commonly-used term in the art world today: “practice.” Inspired by artist-philosopher Rasheed Aareen’s declaration that to create art is to advance the "journey of an idea," the forum explores artistic practice in all its nuances and predications, yielding an experimental realm whereby new materials, concepts, and projects are tested and reflected upon collectively. Emulating the experience of a studio visit on a communal scale, FIELD MEETING transcends standard educational symposia to facilitate meaningful exchanges, and spark future collaborations.

Registration required here. 

30 compelling artists, scholars, and curators based in Asia and beyond share their work and perspectives through newly conceived performances, lecture-performances, and lively discussions. See lineup of presenters & titles below:

Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme (Ramallah & New York) / Amina Ahmed (Tehran, London & New York) / Heba Y. Amin (Cairo & Berlin) / Xyza Cruz Bacani (Hong Kong & Bambang) / Stephanie Bailey (London, Athens & Hong Kong) / Wafaa Bilal (Najaf & New York) / T-Yong Chung (Tae-Gu, Milan & Venice) / Mary Ellen Carroll (Houston & New York) / Shezad Dawood (London) / Erin Gleeson (Phnom Penh & London) / Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige (Beirut) / Ho Rui An (Singapore) / Ho Tzu Nyen (Singapore & Berlin) / Chia-En Jao (Taipei) / Michael Joo (New York) / Anthony Lee (New York) / Loo Zihan (Singapore) / Jennifer Wen Ma (Beijing & New York) / Umashankar Manthravadi (Bangalore) / Yasmin Jahan Nupur (Dhaka) / Sarah Rifky (Cairo & Boston) / Mithu Sen (New Delhi) / Mami Kataoka (Tokyo) / Raha Raissnia (Tehran & New York) / Rashid Rana (Lahore) / Nora Razian (Beirut) / Jonas Staal (Amsterdam) / Ye Funa (Beijing)

For FIELD MEETING speaker profiles and synopses, click here

A full schedule will be available on acaw.info
 

ACAW 2016

A packed month-and-a-half of exhibition openings and public programs across New York City included performances by the iconic artist Arahmaiani (Tyler Rollins Fine Art), the acclaimed art collective Public Movement (Solomon R. Guggenheim), and Jung Hee Choi (MELA Foundation). Among the exhibitions unveiled were the first US retrospective for Zou Wou-ki (Asia Society); a striking series of paper cut works by  Wu Jian'an (Chambers Fine Arts), shows featuring prominent artists from South Asia and its diaspora—Amina Ahmed (Twelve Gates Arts), Rasheed Araeen (Aicon Gallery), Zarina Hashmi (DAG Modern), and Reena Saini Kallat (MoMA); solo exhibitions for women artists known for their community-engaged, multidisciplinary practice, Mariam Ghani (Ryan Lee Gallery) and Mierle Laderman Ukeles (Queens Museum), and a private mid-season reception for ACAW, generously hosted by Sylvia Wald & Po Kim Foundation.

In October, ACAW co-organizes two discursive panels: "Points of Convergence: Arakawa and the Art of 1960s–1970s" on the life and philosophy of the late Japanese artist (with Reversible Destiny Foundation, hosted at artnet) and "An Evening with Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti: Decolonizing Architecture Art Residency," a conversation between the Palestine based architects and their work with refugees beyond notions of citizenship (with ArteEast, hosted at Columbia University School of Architecture). Exhibitions opening include Alfredo & Isabel Aquilizan’s works, fabricated in collaboration with rural communities across Asia (Sundaram Tagore Gallery); Jae Young Park's contemplations on human cognitive systems (Doosan Gallery); Reena Kallat’s installation, Woven Chronicle (MoMA); Simon Starling's expansive Noh theater installation (Japan Society); Anila Quayyum Agha’s illuminated cut-steel sculptures (Aicon Gallery); a show for three emerging artists living in Iran & the diaspora (Roya Khadjavi Projects at EWA Gallery); Sebastian Masuda’s "kawaii" collages (Ronin Gallery); Nikki Luna's cast resin lace sculptures (Owen James Gallery).

Also launching in October is ACAW’s first online journal, FIELD REVIEW: South Asia. Edited in collaboration with ACAW Consortium Partner Exhibit320 (New Delhi), FIELD REVIEW: South Asia considers the history of “Abstraction” within the region as well as exchanges between visual artists and other cultural producers through six essays.

In November, major exhibitions open for: renowned artist-activist Ai Weiwei (Lisson Gallery); new commissioned works by artists hailing from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan- Chia-En Jao, Kan Xuan, Sun Xun, Sun Yuan & Peng Yu, Tsang Kin-Wah, Yangjiang Group, and Zhou Tao in Tales of Our Time (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum); the debut of Jitish Kallat’s immersive installation, Covering Letter (Philadelphia Museum of Art); Eunsil Lee's brush works depicting tabooed narratives. (Doosan Gallery), and a symposium dedicated to Zao Wou-Ki’s significant contributions to the international abstraction movement (Asia Society).

For a full ACAW 2016 agenda and participating US and Asia-based Consortium Partner museums & galleries visit acaw.info