COMMUNITY NOW＿(Artistic) Practices of Self-Organization in Hong Kong and Malaysia

This workshop/talk is a short revision on the self-organization (art) practice in the context of East Asian Art Activism, taking Hong Kong and Malaysia as an example.

"building (autonomous) community of our own", it has become an important statement among activists scene in East Asia. cases like Ammeter Riot（素人之亂）in Tokyo is one of the examples that an activist network is rooted in a community. It influences not only the local level but also spreading to the near region. Trans-local network of activism is sparked up, like East Asia Multitude Meeting in HK in 2012, and the No Limit Festival from 2015 till now. Japanese thinker, Karatani Kojin (柄谷行人) has suggested a new way of autonomous association in response to the global capital-state structure, known as “NAM" (New Association Movement) in 2001. It has been around 17yrs afterwards, last year, the Chinese version of Principle of NAM was published, followed with the traditional Chinese version in HK this year. The discussion of NAM is re-triggered with its growing needs and exchange, but in detail, how should the exchange go further?

In this workshop, 2 artist-researchers, would share their perspective on the communal/self-organized practice from their local perspective. Krystie Ng, would share her recent study on the collaborative art practice in Malaysia, and Lee Chun Fung would share his project, AAiR and Can we live together, which is a mapping of east Asia art activism and self-organized practice in HK. Rather than the optimistic side of self-organization, they would also like to discuss the difficulties and challenges that activists are facing, hence a deeper understanding of the possibilities of building an (autonomous) community.

About The Speakers:

Lee Chun Fung (李俊峰), is an artist, community activist and curator from Hong Kong. He is the co-founder of Woofer Ten, a community art space based in Yau Ma Tei. His artistic focus is about the interconnection between the sense of community and political activism. His practices cover different media and disciplines, ranging from installation, video, photography, action/situation, zine publication, participatory workshop, writing, curating etc.

Krystie NG(吳君儀) is an artist and researcher from Malaysia. Upon completing her fine arts training, she has worked in galleries, as an art publisher and as an art auctioneer, where she gained insights into the local art scene and opened up her reflection of the role and functions of arts in a society. Her main interest is now focused on socially-engaged art in the context of the post-colonial era in Malaysia, which is diverse in culture and racial tension is emphasized. Her current research is looking at the validity of arts in achieving social equality by artists and art groups independent from institutions.

Date:2018.12.20 19:30~22:30
Place: art space tetra
Fee : Donation ＋ 500 yen (Food)