Policy Archives

Everything Points Inward: Capitalism and Its Discontents at an Art Fair in Singapore

A pop-up market of contemporary luxury goods being sold to a wealthy elite doesn’t begin to encapsulate the diversity of languages, countries, and cultures of the region, not to mention the many kinds of artistic spaces and projects embedded therein, all of which are largely unseen at Art Stage. Like Singapore’s mega-city aspirations of being […]

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Children of Ampatuan Massacre victims turn to art to demand justice

At seven years old, Flora Mae lost her father Lindo Lupugan, one of the 58 individuals who were brutally killed in barangay Salman, Ampatuan town, Maguindanao on Nov. 23, 2009. Flora Mae, the youngest of three siblings, was her father’s favorite, her mother Arlene told Bulatlat. Now a Grade 8 student, Arlene said that after

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See what’s made to order at North Korea’s blacklisted art factory (The Nation)

…The North’s art scene is tightly controlled – there is no abstract art, which is regarded as anti-revolutionary – and even the top artists earn monthly salaries that bear little relation to the sale value of their work. “We produce pieces that are demanded by revolution, that move people to revolution,” says Hong Chun-Ong… Tags:

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Sobat Budaya collects digital data on cultural heritage

Culture enthusiast group Sobat Budaya (cultural buddies) announced on Tuesday that it had collected digital data and information on 34,000 pieces of Indonesian cultural heritage, a move it sees as essential to prevent such heritage being stolen by other countries. The data, which has been collected since 2005 by the group and Bandung Fe research

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The special effect of Apichatpong Weerasethakul

… anyone who gained the respect and friendship of the late Benedict Anderson, author of the immensely important critique of nationalism “Imagined Communities,” is entitled to as much cake as they want. The creative invention and emotional candor of Weerasethakul’s exhibition “Ghosts in the Darkness” at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum sucker-punched me after my

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9 – 22 Jan 2017: Indonesia

Meta’s Top Picks in Bali, Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta from 9 – 22 January BALI Way Up Project, 8 January – 11 February 2017, Cata Odata, Bali Cata Odata’s Street Art Collaboration continues with an exhibition featuring 20 street artists’ works. The term “Way Up” is used in the project to refer to

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Scattered Thoughts on Indonesian Music and Romanticism

By Azzief Khali for The Wknd Indonesia tends to loom large in the Malaysian cultural imagination, and likely for good reason: the quality and quantity of cultural production coming out of Indonesia tends to dwarf what we can produce ourselves. This perceived gulf in quality and mentalities has been the topic of many a

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Singapore Biennale 2016: A/political Performance – Atlas of Mirrors in Context

By Wei Er Xun, Finalist, Best Essay by an Emerging Art Writer Competition* (2700 words, 30-minute read) Introduction The stakes of exhibitions have always been high. Before the advent of the cinema, television and other mass media, large-scale exhibitions and world expos were primary sites for cultural exchange. As Maria Lind explains in a text

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19 – 25 Dec 2016: Indonesia

Meta’s Top Picks in Yogyakarta, Jakarta and Bali from 19 – 25 December Meta is a freelance arts administrator and a traveling yogi. She spent 16 years of her life as an art practitioner and the last few years as an arts administrator. Her first love in the arts is dance. She left her heart

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Image: Gerakbudaya

5 -11 Dec 2016: Malaysia

5 – 12 Decem Kemandirian Seni Persembahan di Pulau Pinang (Independence of the Performing Arts in Penang), 6 De 2016, George Town, Penang. Culture can be defined from various perspectives: it is a way of life that arises from and is shared by a community, and passed on from one generation to the next. This

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Co-Create Charoenkrung Project: Interview with Charintip Leeyawanich

Tags: ASEF Culture360 Creative Economy

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NYT: A Malaysian Political Cartoonist on Facing His Fears, and Prison, for Art

Malaysian political cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, known as Zunar, speaks with the New York Times about the dangers of self-censorship, and continuing make art in the face of possible imprisonment.

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An Immigrant’s Experience, Recast As Noir, In ‘Dragonfish’

An Immigrant’s Experience, Recast As Noir, In ‘Dragonfish’ Read More »

28 Nov – 4 Dec 2016: Malaysia

Talk Prof. Dr. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof: Kelantan Shadow Play: Some Challenges, 29 Nov, KL Following a brief introduction to the Kelantan shadow play, principally in terms of dramatic content, this lecture will touch upon socio-political as well as religious issues surrounding this genre, questions related to State policies and other factors which, in recent decades, have

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Two LGBT-themed films win big at Philippines Cinema One Awards

Jasmine Curtis-Smith won Best Actress for her role in the movie Baka Bukas, while the gay-themed coming-of-age flick 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten was declared Best Picture. (ABS-CBN) Tags: LGBT

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Safe Space: Southeast Asia Choreolab

By Bilqis Hijjas (1536, 20-minute read) The recent US election has Bilqis Hijjas reflecting on the politics of minority safe spaces and her Southeast Asian identity. In the weeks since the US election, I have had ample opportunity to ponder the nature of social unity and division. Within the broadly Democratic enclave of New York

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SWF 2016 Panel: Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction

By Akanksha Raja (608 words, 6-minute read) Speculative fiction (or spec-fic) is an umbrella term for a number of literary genres including science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, magical realism, and horror. It’s the term for all those movies and books that for most of the 20th century used to be typified as the domain of

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Tanya Habjouqa

Full View: Women in Photography 2016

By Akanksha Raja (800 words, 8-minute read) The second edition of Objectifs’ annual Women in Photography 2016 programme, co-presented with the Magnum Foundation, is a group exhibition featuring photographic works from 18 contemporary female artists associated with Magnum. While Magnum has a storied history in photojournalism and documentation of socio-political and human rights issues,

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You Must Like Chocolate: An Essay on Taste

Do you like chocolate? I like chocolate. Who doesn’t like chocolate? Although, come to think of it, I do know of some people who don’t like chocolate — at least, I remember somebody once telling me he or she didn’t like chocolate. But that’s a vague memory. It’s like, as far as I know, everyone

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14 – 20 Nov 2016: Indonesia

Meta Setiawan’s Top Picks in Jakarta, Yogjakarta and Bandung from 14-20 November 2016 Meta is a freelance arts administrator and a traveling yogi. She spent 16 years of her life as an art practitioner and the last few years as an arts administrator. Her first love in the arts is dance. She left her heart

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Voices From The Floor: World Summit on Arts and Culture

By Kathy Rowland (1600 words, 18-minute read) Moments of disruption during the 7th World Summit on Arts and Culture 2016 revealed the contentious nature of Cultural Leadership in the 21st Century. More than 300 delegates from around the world gathered at the 7th World Summit on Arts and Culture in Valetta, Malta, from 18 –

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