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News
| MAY/JUN 2017 | ISSUE 103Controversy: Without Notice
On February 25, IaoHin Gallery in Macau canceled
a live painting performance by Tibetan artist
Tashi Norbu following warnings from Beijing
authorities that they would arrest and deport the
artist if he entered Macau. Norbu had planned
to present a painting of a fire rooster but was
advised not to proceed as the shape of the
rooster could be seen to resemble that of China.
In other censorship news, a large-scale, two-
part woodcut print by Sabah collective Pangrok
Sulap was removed from the exhibition “Escape
from the Sea,” on February 26, just two days after
the opening. The show, organized by the Japan
Foundation Asia Center, was set between two
Kuala Lumpur venues, the National Visual Arts
Gallery and Art Printing Works (APW). The
work was removed following complaints from
an unidentified person, as it pointed to pressing
issues in the Sabah region of Malaysia, including
corruption, poverty, illegal logging and flooding.
In early March, journalist and painter Zehra
Doğan was sentenced to nearly three years in
prison for circulating images of her own painting
depicting the destruction caused by Turkish
forces in Nusaybin, a city in the Kurdish region
of southeastern Turkey. Prosecutors used the
image—based on a widely circulated state news
photograph—to allege her connection to the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which the government
considers a terrorist organization.
On March 29, authorities demolished the
residence and studio of artists Shen Jingdong
and Cao Zhiwen located in the Songzhuang
area of outer Beijing. Around 100 local artists
attempted to halt the destruction, clashing with
public security personnel, leading to multiple
injuries and the arrest of two protesters. The
artists had legally bought the land in 2009. It
was the latest case of demolitions and evictions
in the area, home to a well-known artist colony,
as developers colluding with government officials
seize land from local residents.
Career Moves: Clean Slate
On March 29, Anita Dube was named curator of
the fourth Kochi-Muziris Biennale, scheduled for
- Her appointment, succeeding Sudarshan
Shetty, continues the tradition of artists helming
India’s primary international biennial. Trained as a
critic and art historian, Dube explores mythology,
history and contemporary politics in her artworks.
She is also the co-founder and a board member
of the international artist association, Khoj.
Hong Ra-hee, one of Korea’s most powerful
art figures, stepped down from her position as
director of the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art,
Seoul, on March 6, which she held from 2004–08
and 2011–17. She also resigned from her directorial
post at the private Ho-am Art Museum in Yongin,
which she assumed in 1995. These moves came
after her son Lee Jae-yong, the acting head
of Samsung Group, was indicted on bribery
charges related to the recently impeached and
incarcerated president Park Geun-hye.
Eran Neuman has resigned from his post as
director of Jerusalem’s Israel Museum, only weeks
after he assumed the role on February 19. An
official statement from the museum cites
“differences of perception in his role and working
conditions,” as the reason for his departure.
Neuman has returned to his previous role as head
of the David Azrieli School of Architecture at Tel
Aviv University.Public Domain: Laying Foundations
Following the removal of South Korea’s President
Park, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
has promised to call for new legislation to
protect artists from discrimination and political
oppression. The ministry, at the request of
Park’s staff, had previously blacklisted more
than 9,000 members of the country’s artistic
community. The government is also planning
to grant autonomy to Arts Council Korea and
the Korean Film Festival, which are responsible
for subsidizing artists, and the new regulations
will likely include an independent committee to
advocate for artists’ rights.
In India, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB)
will receive a permanent home following a
long-standing request to the state of Kerala by
the Kochi Biennale Foundation. On March 3,
the state government announced that it would
acquire five acres of land in Fort Kochi for the
KMB’s new space, which will also include CabralYard and Aspinwall House, two of the Biennale’s
current locations. The KMB will receive an
additional INR 20 million (USD 300,000) as a
working fund for the 2017–18 financial year.
Against the backdrop of US president Donald
J. Trump’s travel ban of those from seven Muslim-
majority countries, the New York-based Sheikh
Mohammed Rashid al-Thani, a member of the
Qatari royal family, will mount the inaugural
exhibition of the Institute of Arab and Islamic
Art (IAIA), in May. The show will be hosted
in a 2,500-square-meter space in downtown
Manhattan, although a permanent home for IAIA
has yet to be found. The institute will present
exhibitions from the Arab and Islamic worlds as
well as conduct artist residencies.
On March 15, the nonprofit organization Art
Jameel announced the 2018 opening of its new
arts center in Dubai. Jameel Arts Centre Dubai
will be one of the emirate’s first nonprofit
contemporary arts institutions. It plans to present
a program of curated exhibitons, drawn from
the Jameel Art Collection as well as regional and
international group and solo exhibitions, and is in
the process of assembling a curatorial council.
The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) will
undergo a SGD 90 million (USD 64 million)
revamp beginning later this year with funds from
both government and private sources. Slated for
completion in 2021, the renovations will include
expanded exhibition spaces and a bridge that will
connect SAM and its sister site SAM at 8Q, which
is located down the street. This will be the largest
refurbishment since the museum opened in 1996.
In Auckland, Michael Parekowhai debuted
a monumental permanent sculpture at Queens
Wharf on February 9. The Lighthouse is a two-
story house built in a popular 1950s style, inside
of which is a stainless-steel sculpture depicting
Captain James Cook and astral constellations
created in neon. Donated by real-estate company
Barfoot & Thompson, it is the largest piece of
public art gifted to the city.
*For more news, see our website: artasiapacific.com/news.Rendering of Jameel Arts Centre Dubai, set to open in 2018. Courtesy Serie.Artist Anita Dube was announced curator of Kochi-Muziris
Biennale 2018. Courtesy Kochi-Muziris Biennale.