ACAW San Francisco 2012
May 12, 2012–May 19, 2012
Various locations in San Francisco and the Bay Area, USA
Asian Contemporary Arts Consortium San Francisco
1111 Eighth Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
T: +1 415 551 9260
E: info [at] asiancontemporarysf.org
www.asiancontemporarysf.org/acaw
Sixteen cultural organizations will present 23 exciting exhibitions and programs across the Bay Area, featuring over 80 artists.
The Asian Contemporary Arts Consortium San Francisco (ACAC-SF) is pleased to present the inaugural Asian Contemporary Art Week San Francisco (ACAW-SF). An unprecedented event that connects cultural institutions across the Bay Area, ACAW-SF features a variety of programs to celebrate the dynamics of Asian contemporary art practice. 2012 marks the inception of this collaborative effort with 16 participating institutions to present a total of 23 exhibitions, tours, receptions, screenings, panel discussions, and more.
On Saturday, May 12th, ACAW-SF 2012 will open with Day of Dialogue, an event consisting of two panel discussions: Building and Breaking: Considering Tradition in Contemporary Art and On Location: Time and Place at the Asian Art Museum. Co-organized by ACAC-SF and the Museum, Day of Dialogue serves as a banner event of ACAW-SF, featuring artists Heman Chong, Jompet, Jagannath Panda, Adeela Suleman, Charwei Tsai, Adrian Wong, and Takayuki Yamamoto from the museum’s exhibition Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past as well as renowned curators and critics Glen Helfand and Hou Hanru. The panels will touch upon multiple issues such as how various Asian cultural traditions inform contemporary artists’ practice and how sensorial, cultural, historical, geopolitical, and other experiences of different locales in Asia serve as rich sources of ideas and inspiration.
Another anchor point of the week is the evening of May 15 at the Asian Art Museum with Holland Cotter, a 2009 Pulitzer Prize recipient and the chief art critic of The New York Times. Holland will speak with Vishakha Desai (President and CEO of Asia Society) and Jay Xu (Director of the Asian Art Museum) about his enthusiasm for and experience in developing critical writing about Asian contemporary art. The event will also acknowledge Ellen Tani as the recipient of the inaugural Asian Contemporary Arts Consortium (ACAC) Writing Fellowship. The fellowship, which aims to promote and encourage critical thinking and writing on contemporary Asian art practices, provides the fellow with a forum on the online arts journal Art Practical to produce research and writing while creating a unique opportunity for emerging writers.
An illustrated art map has been published to coincide with this event and will be distributed throughout the Bay Area.
ACAW-SF 2012 participating organizations include: artMRKT San Francisco, Art Practical, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Center for Asian American Media, Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco, Contemporary Dialogue Foundation, Frey Norris Contemporary and Modern, Haines Gallery, Kadist Art Foundation, San Jose Museum of Art, SOMArts Cultural Center, Southern Exposure, Walter and McBean Galleries at San Francisco Art Institute, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
ACAW-SF 2012 Media Sponsors include: 7×7, Art Practical, ArtSlant, Hyphen, Juxtapoz, and San Francisco Arts Quarterly; ACAW-SF 2012 art map production is sponsored by artMRKT San Francisco.
ACAW-SF was initiated by the Asian Contemporary Arts Consortium San Francisco (ACAC-SF) with the intention of generating diverse discourses, creating stimulating conversations, building a larger audience group, inviting broader interpretations, and promoting sustainable interests around Asian contemporary art and design in the Bay Area.
ACAC-SF is a not-for-profit coalition of artists, curators, museum directors, gallerists, collectors, educators, designers, scholars, and patrons. By joining efforts in resource sharing, ACAC-SF serves as a platform for creating collaborative opportunities between members of the Asian contemporary arts and design communities. Through various events and programs, ACAC-SF supports and contributes to artistic and design practices and strengthens the infrastructure for disseminating the works of both established and emerging artists and designers. ACAC-SF also facilitates the interactions and exchanges of contemporary Asian arts and design communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and Asia.
For a complete program agenda, locations, and the latest schedule changes and updates, please visit www.asiancontemporarysf.org/acaw.
*Image above:
Ho Tzu Nyen, The Cloud of Unknowing, 2011. Screen still from the video installation.
Copyright Ho Tzu Nyen. Courtesy the artist.
