Blogfest Asia

Bloggers in Asia -- Come Together

6~8 November 2009

Henry Leong Community Center, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong

Come join the festival of bloggers in Asia.

1st regional gathering in Hong Kong.

Everyone is welcome!

Highlights:

· Meet bloggers from 20 countries / economies in Asia
· Learn how "Me Media" is making Asia 2.0, addressing "Change & Responsibility"
· Voice out for Hong Kong & for Asia! - 2009 Hong Kong Blogger Con (www.hkbloggercon.asia)
· Free workshops for NGOs and New Media advocates

Featuring :

· ABCA awards
· Charlesc sharing the success of Ma Ying Jeou election utilizing Web 2.0 (netvism.tw)

REGISTER NOW! @ www.blogfest.asia

A New Geography of Art in the Making

Organised by ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany and Goethe-Institut Hongkong

In collaboration with Chinese University of Hong Kong

Two-day workshop

A New Geography of Art in the Making

May 21 & 22, 2009 (Thu & Fri)

Goethe-Institut Hongkong

14/F Hong Kong Arts Centre, Wanchai

Organised by the ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe and Goethe-Institut Hong Kong in collaboration with Chinese University of Hong Kong, the third Global Art and the Museum (GAM) platform will be held at the Goethe-Institut Hongkong on May 21 and 22, 2009 (Thu & Fri).

The programme is in a way a different approach to the museum topic which is taken in Hong Kong. Hong Kong thinks from the ‘hardware’, from the museum building itself, and we try the approach from the ‘software’. Questions like ‘what is the relationship between contemporary art and the idea of a museum?’, ‘what kind of art finds its way to the museum and what not?’, ‘what does it mean when we talk about contemporary art?’ – these questions will be raised and discussed among the invited curators, museum directors and experts from the field.

Like in the previous GAM platforms which took place at the Goethe-Instituts in Sao Paulo and New Delhi, the third platform also intends to discuss some of the most important issues of the globalisation of contemporary art, this time from an Asian perspective. The platform will be organised in three sessions. An introductory session will serve to present the project GAM - Global Art and the Museum (www.globalartmuseum.de) and to discuss its agenda with the participants of the workshop.

Initiators: Prof. Dr. Hans Belting and Dr. Andrea Buddensieg (ZKM).

Session 1: China: Museum and Audiences of Contemporary Art

Session 2: South East Asia: A New Territory of Contemporary Art

Session 3: Hong Kong and Beyond: Metropolitan Art Centres in Comparison



Confirmed participants:
Jahman Anikulapo, Johnson Chang, John Clark, James Elkins, Patrick Flores, Fei Dawei, Gao Minglu, Gao Shiming, Huang Zhuan, Kuroda Raiji, Dinh Q Le, Lu Jie, Charles Merewether, Nathalie Boseul Shin, Jim Supangkat.

Moderators: Jane Debevoise, Oscar Ho, David Clarke


Please note:
May 21 & 22, 2009 (Thu & Fri):semi-internal workshop
May 22, 2009 (Fri) 6:00pm – 8:00pm:open session
Enquiries: Goethe-Institut Hongkong (Alice Ho) Tel: 2802 0088/ kultur@hongkong.goethe.org

www.goethe.de/hongkong

INTERSECTIONS. 9 artists from 3 places@Gallery Benten 17

INTERSECTIONS. 9 artists from 3 places
Opening Time and Place Date: Friday, April 11, 2008
Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Location: 12 Shing Wong Street
Gallery Benten 17 announces INTERSECTIONS, an inter-cultural art project featuring 9 emerging artists, 3 each from Hong Kong, Japan and Korea.

ARTISTS:
Kwong Yin Brian Hung, Hong Kong
Kira Kim, Korea
Hyungmin Moon, Korea
Yoh Nagao, Japan
Phoebe Junghee Shin, Korea
Yuko Tanaka, Japan
Ali Wong, Hong Kong
Seiji Yonehara, Japan
Samson Young, Hong Kong

INTERSECTIONS attempts to interpret the traditional, cultural and technological influences which are crucial for understanding today’s globalised societies, where identities and social relations are constantly being challenged. This exhibition facilitates the crossing of these paths to allow new connections to be made.

This is the inaugural launch of what will be an annual event featuring artists from these three locations.

www.benten17.com

Expenditure" - the 2008 Busan Biennale will take place this September bringing approximately 200 artworks from 30 countries

The 2008 Busan Biennale unfolds at the Busan Museum of Modern Art, Gwangalli Beach, and APEC Naru Park between September 6th to November 15th under the theme of "Expenditure." Made up of the Contemporary Art Exhibition, the Sea Art Festival, and the Busan Sculpture Project, the 2008 Busan Biennale will exhibit a distinctive philosophy of "expenditure" and a vivid scene of contemporary art through a variety of artworks including paintings, photographs, videos, installations, outdoor sculptures, etc.

The theme of the 2008 Busan Biennale, "Expenditure," was borrowed from Georges Bataille's discussion. Since it means consumption, release, and exhaustion, and extends into extravagance and reckless expenditure, "expenditure" is a concept contrary to goal-oriented, power-oriented, and phallic economic concepts, such as production, moderation, accumulation, acquisition, regime, control, etc. Though it has political and economic implications, it also has a great deal of implications for the perspectives of aesthetics and cultural criticism. Bataille pointed out that all studies had pursued to understand a society or a culture through the lens of production and accumulation and this had been an attempt to look at the whole from a part of a society or a culture, leading to a half-baked interpretation. According to Bataille, a complete discussion could be produced when we look at a society or a culture through the lenses of spending, consumption, exhaustion, etc., or concepts that are the antipodes of production, accumulation, acquisition, control, etc., that is, concepts employed in existing discussion methods. He asserted that, after all, culture had been maintained through activities deemed meaningless, such as releasing and consuming what was produced and accumulated.

The 2008 Busan Biennale attempts to reinterpret the trends of contemporary art as the aesthetics of "expenditure" through a microscopic lens, as well as to interpret "expenditure" through a macroscopic lens from the perspectives of cultural theories. Differentiating itself from existing biennales, which focus on exhibiting latest art trends "with speed" and "in abundance," the 2008 Busan Biennale seeks to illuminate and predict the latest directions of contemporary art, from paintings to sculptures to videos, under the theme of "expenditure," employing thorough analyses and maintaining critical views.

First, the Contemporary Art Exhibition will unfold at the Busan Museum of Modern Art, Busan Yachting Center, and other places, under the direction of Kim Won-bang, a professor at Hongik University and art critic, exhibiting some 120 works of 100 artists from 20 countries. The Contemporary Art Exhibition, whose theme is "Expenditure, Art, Culture," presents the driver of today's cultural activities through the concept of expenditure, shifting directions from existing production-oriented and appearance-centered values to the disintegration of supernatural values and power of culture.

The Sea Art Festival will be hosted in the Gwangalli Beach, nearby shopping centers, Samik Leports Town, Geumnyeonsan Subway Station, etc. under the direction of Jeon Seung-bo, an independent curator. Some 60 artists from 20 countries will participate in the Festival with 70 artworks. The Sea Art Festival, whose theme is "Voyage Without Boundaries," seems to be in line with the theme of the biennale, "Expenditure," in that the Festival embraces contradiction and paradox as the essence of life, addressing formation and creation.

The Busan Sculpture Project, which is headed by a sculptor Yi Jeong-hyeong, is hosted in APEC Naru Park, inviting 20 works of 20 artists from 15 countries. The theme of the Busan Sculpture Project, "Avant Garden," combined "Avant" from avant-garde with "Garden," which indicates a more private space than a park. Thus, "Avant Garden" implies the intention of transforming everyday spaces into creative ones by combining epistemological and aesthetic notions with ordinary parks.

Busan Biennale Organizing Committee
23rd Floor, Busan City Hall
Yeonsan 5-dong
Yeonje-gu
Busan Metropolitan City
Tel. 82-51-888-6691~9 / Fax 82-51-888-6693
bbiennale@paran.com