Qiuzhuang Project– a dispersed museum project / Publication: The Making of Meeting / Charles Esche appointed Director
www.arthubasia.org
Arthub Asia announces Qiuzhuang Project– a dispersed museum project by Li Mu; The Making of Meeting, a publication disclosing the aftermath of a four-day symposium held in Bangkok in 2009 and addressing the first seven years of Arthub Asia’s programs, and the appointment of Charles Esche as the fourth Director of the organisation.
Qiuzhuang project – a dispersed museum project
Project by artist Li Mu, the Van Abbemuseum and Arthub Asia
Ongoing since February 2013
Over the last months, Chinese artist Li Mu (b. 1974, Qiuzhuang) has been developing an art project in his home village, Qiuzhuang, with the collection of the Van Abbemuseum. Qiuzhuang is a small village of about 1,000 people, approximately 800 kilometers south of Beijing. Li Mu and the Van Abbemuseum first came into contact during the Shanghai World Expo when Li Mu was part of Double Infinity, organized with Arthub Asia, a curatorial platform that facilitates and produces challenging projects in Asia and around the world. Since then, the artist has been involved with the museum. He visited Eindhoven in 2011, after which he proposed bringing works from the museum’s collection to the people of Qiuzhuang. The idea gradually developed, and when difficulties regarding transport and insurance became evident, both museum and artist agreed to investigate making copies of certain collection works and displaying the copies around the village. The first concrete steps were taken with the opening of a library in February 2013. Soon afterwards, copies of Sol LeWitt’s Untitled (Wall Structure) (1972) were hung up in the village. Mu is also currently creating copies of works by Dan Flavin, Richard Long, Andy Warhol, Daniel Buren, Carl Andre and John Körmeling, and videos by Ulay and Marina Abramovic will be displayed over the coming months.
The Making of Meeting
In August 2009, cultural practitioners from around Asia and their Arthub Asia-instigated, match-made peers from the rest of the world came together to discuss and reflect on the dynamic, ongoing echoes of the now-defunct Silk Road trading route and its multiple dimensions. As a four-day symposium, “The Making of the New Silk Roads” aimed to reassess the complex interconnections within Asia’s cultural and artistic spectrum at the beginning of the 21st century. This book summarizes the concerns and thoughts the participants shared, while reflecting on the performative format of Meeting the symposium aimed to take. The book’s four chapters look into the personalities, scenography, performance and documentation behind the alternative scheme of meeting that was put to the test in Bangkok and that lies at the core of Arthub Asia’s activities in Asia and worldwide.
With texts by Arahmaiani, Defne Ayas, Zoe Butt, David Cotterrell, Onno Dirker, Samah Hijawi, Jiang Jun, Davide Quadrio, Seph Rodney, Lina Saneh, Veronica Sekules, Els Silvrants-Barclay & Hakan Topal
Edited & conceptualized by Els Silvrants-Barclay
Design by Indianen
Published by MER. Paper Kunsthalle
Charles Esche as new Director of Arthub Asia
Directors Davide Quadrio, Defne Ayas and Qiu Zhijie are happy to announce the appointment of Charles Esche as the fourth Director of Arthub Asia.
A curator and writer, Esche is the Director of the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, Netherlands and Editorial Director of Afterall Journal and Books in London. He has recently been appointed Curator of the upcoming Sao Paulo Biennial.
Charles Esche has already carried out successful collaborations with Arthub Asia, including Double Infinity, a collaborative encounter in May 2010 in Shanghai between Van Abbemuseum and Arthub Asia. Comprised of an exhibition, a performance series, a lecture programme and a publication, Double Infinity initiated an active lending policy and use of the permanent collection as the basis for new artistic productions. The platform is now developing further with Qiuzhuang Project – a dispersed museum project by Suzhou-based artist Li Mu.
In 2012, together with Davide Quadrio, Defne Ayas and Agung Hujatnikajennong, Esche also curated the Bandung Pavilion for the 9th Shanghai Biennale, an integral part of the City Pavilions Project.
