Backroom Conversation

Talk


ArtHK11: AAA Backroom Conversations

May 26, 2011 – May 29, 2011
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition

1 Expo Drive, Wanchai
Hong Kong

For the fourth year in a row, Asia Art Archive presented ‘Backroom Conversations’ during ART HK 11, a series of panel discussions in which leading experts and practitioners in the contemporary art field consider regional artistic currents within a global context. New to the programme, the ‘Inaugural Burger Collection Keynote Lecture’ honours a significant voice in the field today and ‘Open Platform’ invites cultural producers and organisers to submit proposals for 28-minute presentations to be given during the fair.

Thursday 26th May from 3.30pm – 5.30pm, a panel discussed ‘Is ink painting dead? Is it contemporary?’ In this panel, three contemporary artists who work with ink each partnered with a scholar or curator to talk about their practice and address some key questions and concerns that arise today in relation to contemporary Ink artworks.

This event followed by the Burger Collection Keynote Inaugural Lecture on the 26th May from 6-8pm. The Burger Collection Keynote Lecture recognized an academic voice that has made significant contributions to the field. This year AAA welcomed Professor Sarat Maharaj, Professor of Visual Art & Knowledge Systems, Lund University and the Malmo Art Academies, Sweden.

Friday 27th May from 4-6pm, a panel discussed ‘Korea, Be Inspired’. This panel considered the case of Seoul; addressed how its development as a cosmopolitan city in the last decade has shaped internal and external perceptions of the city and how these perceptions affected Korean cultural production.

Saturday 28th May from 10.30-12.30pm, a panel discussed ‘Hong Kongism’. Over the last decade, an increased awareness of Hong Kong’s cultural heritage and local identity have developed alongside ambitious cultural goals as evidenced by major projects like the West Kowloon Cultural District.  This panel asked how this political and cultural awakening has manifested in the work of the city’s cultural practitioners while attempting to identify the essence of the Hong Kong condition and its impact on the work being produced here.

Saturday 28th May from 2-4pm, a panel discussed ‘The Decade Revisited …’ AAA asked art professionals to reflect on the past ten years through the introduction and consideration of three key works or projects that address the tumultuous times in which we live. Which were prescient? Which were insightful? Which have the potential to impact the way we will consider the decades to come?

Sunday 29th May from 2-4.30pm ‘Open Platform’. AAA gave a voice and a platform to projects and ideas that demand to be heard. A panel of judges consisting of editors from international art magazines selected four presentations for ‘Open Platform’, based on diversity of content, originality, format, and relevance to today’s world.