2024 Meeting Point

The 2024 Meeting Point on Art & Social Action aims to capture a snapshot of the issues that grassroots practitioners are grappling with today, and to make spaces for dialogues with policymakers and researchers. We want to give a platform to the short-term and long-term perspectives that practitioners see for themselves and for the arts in Asia, and discuss how more space can be created for not just thinking ahead, but making progress to get there. Most importantly, the Meeting Point is a precious space for practitioners to reflect, connect and make friendships.

The full duration of the in-person 2024 Meeting Point on Art & Social Action in Asia will be 2.5 days, from March 21st – 23rd, 2024. The Grand Opening on March 21st will include an introduction to the arts and culture ecosystem in Vietnam from co-organizer, VICAS (National Vietnam Institute of Culture & Art Studies), followed by a roundtable discussion ‘Caught in the Middle’ between three Southeast Asian organizations initiated from the ground up to work on gaps in funding and policy in their local arts ecosystems. This will be followed by a reception and a live performance.

Days two and three will take place at the Temple of Literature campus, providing a unique cultural and historical context in which to have our exchanges. The program will be a mix of plenary and parallel sessions including:

• Curated Conference group sharing

• • Lifecycles of Grassroots Org: Action research findings on managing small arts organizations.
  • Hitting Pause: Insights from artists exploring career evolution.
• Local Gatherings – reports from the field
  • 9 artists present highlights of workshops and conferences they organized in different countries, moderated by Jeffrey Tan.
• Participatory creative action
  • Get out of your head and into your senses as you surrender to a safe space that will be created by 7 artists working together in residency before the Meeting Point to create ways for us to engage with each other and with the Meeting Point themes through sensing, feeling and connecting using creativity
• Asia-Asia Connections
  • Informational and dialogue sessions hosted by regional organizations, including UNESCO’s Regional Office in Bangkok, On the Move, and Asia-Europe Foundation.
• Interactive Sessions
  • 8 hosts (4 from Vietnam and 4 from Asia countries) selected by open call to facilitate diverse and interactive sessions on grassroots perspectives during Meeting Point

Registration to attend the in-person Meeting Point is open: https://app.swapcard.com/event/perspectives-from-the-grassroots-meeting-point-on-art-and-social-action-in-asia-2024

Please use the link to register, and please note the following:

• The registration fee for International attendees is $100 USD, and for Vietnam citizens is $30 USD
• This fee will entitle you to join any or all of the events at Meeting Point, including the opening reception and closing party (note that some sessions will have limited spaces and require you to pre-register in advance)
• This fee also includes refreshments and lunch during the program
• Attendees are responsible for arranging their own travel and accommodation to take part in the Meeting Point

Event info: https://www.mekongculturalhub.org/meeting-points/