INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON PUBLIC ENGAGED ART

Co-organised by IFIMA (International Forum Intermedia Art) & The

Substation, Singapore

March 1-5, 2002

The Guinness Theatre, The Substation

Admission is free, but please pre-register. And kindly circulate this

invitation to anyone who may be interested.

The "International Symposium on Public Engaged Art" brings together

artists and cultural activists from The Philippines, Malaysia,

Thailand, Japan, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Singapore, the US, and

the UK to share their experiences and knowledge gained in-the-field,

and to initiate engaged art activities within communities and

networks in Singapore and the region.

With the increasing emphasis on civil society in democratic and

pluralistic societies, there has been a corresponding shift in the

social function of art, whereby art plays a greater role in promoting

public action and facilitating social change. As art practices become

more socially and publicly oriented, there arises a need to theorise,

critique and advance forms of interdisciplinary engaged art

practices. While engaged art offers a constructive means for art to

be socially responsive, it also opens up many areas that need

critical examination.

The main focus of the symposium is on practice and practical issues,

while the supplementary focus is on the theoretical underpinnings of

practice. Various models and degrees of engagement will be examined,

as well as the structural problems and practical issues concerning

working with community, with different disciplines and with

institutions. The symposium aims to address such questions as: What

are the pressing issues of concern to art practitioners dealing with

active and direct engagement with the public or communities? What

positive action can be taken to address these issues? What can we

learn from each other's experiences?

PRE-REGISTRATION

Pre-registration is encouraged due to the limited seating capacity of

The Guinness Theatre and so that we can make an estimate for food to

be catered. Please RSVP to celine@substation.org or call Celine Yeo

at 337 7535 or fax at 337 2729. Please include your contact

particulars.

__ I would like to attend the symposium opening on the evening of 1st March

__ I would like to attend the 1st day of symposium on 2nd March

__ I would like to attend the 2nd day of symposium on 3rd March

__ I would like to attend all of the above

Name:

Organisation:

Contact Tel:

E-mail:

International Symposium on Public Engaged Art The Guinness Theatre,

The Substation

A) Friday, 1 March 2002

7.00pm

Opening of Symposium & welcoming speeches by Jay Koh, symposium

initiator, and Lee Weng Choy & Audrey Wong, Artistic Co-Directors,

The Substation.

7.30pm

Dinner and social gathering, informal tour of exhibits.

B) Saturday, 2 March 2002

10.30am

Registration

10.45am

Keynote Paper by Eileen C. Legaspi-Ramirez, President of Pananaw Ng

Sining Bayan, Inc., The Philippines. Topic: Critical Issues in Public

Engaged Art in The Philippines.

11.15am

Presentation by Jay Koh and Chu ChuYuan, Former Artists-in-Residence,

The Substation, Singapore. Topic: Encounters from Investigating

Public Engaged Art, Singapore.

11.40am

Open discussion moderated by Lee Weng Choy.

12.30 - 2.30pm

Lunch (not catered)

2.30 - 4.30pm

First panel discussion. Topic: Art as agency of social engagement and

change-Examining methodologies of public engagement.

Moderator:Nisar Keshvani, journalist and educator.

Presenters: Lea Kantonen, artist, Finland; Grant Kester, Asst. Prof.

University of California San Diego, USA; Lee Weng Choy, Artistic

Co-director, The Substation, Singapore.

Respondents: Eva Ursprung, Women Art Support, Graz, Austria; Arun

Mahizhnan, Institute of Policy Studies, Singapore; Tan Tarn How,

playwright and journalist, Singapore.

4.30pm

Tea (catered)

C) Sunday, 3 March 2002

10.00 - 11.30am

Brunch (catered) & registration

11.30 - 2.00pm

Second panel discussion. Topic: Empowerment through civil society,

media, and art activities-How to enlarge the spaces and processes for

empowerment.

Moderator:

Lucy Davis, artist, curator, writer

Presenters:

Janet Pillai, theatre activist, ARTS-ED, Penang, Malaysia; Tan Chong

Kee, civil society activist and chair of the board of The Necessary

Stage, Singapore.

Respondents: Barbara Steveni, Co-Director of Organisation +

Imagination, London, UK; Pekka Kantonen, artist, Finland;

Representative from the National Arts Council, Singapore (to be

confirmed).

2.00 - 2.45pm

Tea (catered)

2.45-4.30pm

Art in Society: Case Presentations 1

Presenters: Organisation + Imagination, London; Barbara Steveni will

present works by O+I, the pioneer of the art strategy "Art in Social

Context", and argues for "The Repositioning of Art in the

decision-making Processes of Society".

Woman Art Support (WAS), Eva & Co.,"Baodo", Graz Eva Ursprung will

present the work of WAS and Eva & Co., as well as a project titled

"Baodo" (with African and Afghanistan immigrants).

Respondents: Miho Shimizu, artist, Japan; Kirsten Dufour, artist, Denmark.

D) Tuesday, 5 March 2002 (Note change of venue to Classroom)

7.00 - 9.30pm

Art in Society: Case Presentations 2

Presenters: Y.N.B.Cultural Bureau, Copenhagen, Denmark. Kirsten

Dufour will present the work of Y.N.B.Cultural Bureau, Copenhagen,

which grew out of a project initiated in spring 2001 in which a new

group of artists living in Nørrebro, a local area in Copenhagen, made

daily observations in the neighbourhood for several years. The

project aimed to find and introduce cultural resources in the

neighbourhood, to create co-operation between artists and different

alternative invisible cultural groups (social, ethnic, religious,

gender etc.); to create/develop trust with the local communities; to

introduce new models of sociality/ communication and develop other

'meeting' spaces within public space.

Lea and Pekka Kantonen, artists, Finland. Lea and Pekka will discuss

their work which combines everyday life with art, as seen from the

Tent project, that is based on their experiences living as a family

among different indigenous communities, and a video diary that is

based on shots filmed every day since March 1990. They will also talk

about their role in facilitating young people in the process of

self-representation, which they felt has raised many questions that

are without definite answers.

Respondents: Jay Koh and Chu Chuyuan, artists, IFIMA

Exhibition and Video Screenings

There will be exhibits, video screenings and case presentations of

engaged art projects from various countries shown in The Substation.

Artists and arts groups whose works will be exhibited and presented

include:

Amanda Heng, Singapore

Barbara Steveni & John Latham, Co-Directors of Organisation +

Imagination (O+I), London, UK

Eva Ursprung and Veronika Dreier, Woman Art Support, Graz, Austria

Ho Soon Yeen, Singapore

Project Environment/ Littoral, UK

Kirsten Dufour, Copenhagen, Denmark

Lea & Pekka Kantonen, Helsinki, Finland

Miho Shimuzu, Japan

Pananaw Ng Sining Bayan, Inc., The Philippines

Video Screening 1 & 2 March, 7.00 - 10.00pm Classroom, The Substation

Exhibition 2 & 3 March, 10.00am to 6.00pm Foyer, The Substation

Main Sponsors:

National Arts Council, Singapore

LEE Foundation, Singapore