INDEPENDENT, nonprofit organization Asia Art Archive (AAA) mounted recently an online discussion over Zoom about art residences situated away from the glitz and bustle of urban centers and in the stillness of the what is considered as remote and far-flung.
Titled “Faraway So Close: Artist Residencies Outside the Circuit,” the talk was moderated by AAA Head of Research John Tain, who said that while artist-in-residence programs may not be as public-facing as exhibitions or other manifestations of the contemporary, residencies “have nevertheless played a defining role in the history and development of Contemporary Art across Asia.”
“[Our focus in this discussion is on] residency programs that are not situated in city centers, but, rather, remove themselves from it,” he said. “When the residency is located outside usual circuits of art and in settings normally thought of as remote or isolated, what happens? What possibilities emerge?”
Tasked to shed light on the issue by sharing their own experiences was a panel of three speakers who are all organizers of art residency programs situated in natural settings.
One was Shweta Bhattad, an artist and performer from Nagpur, India, whose work often deals with women’s education and the female body. Bhattad is a founding member of the Gram Collective, which is part of the Gram Art Project that is based in Paradsinga, a small village of about four thousand in Madhya Pradesh in central India.
Gram brings together artists, critics, architects, social workers, and farmers to collaborate and work with the rural community on several social issues related to the environment, women’s education, and rural India. Since introducing its residence program in 2013, Gram has welcomed several artists from the US, Nepal, Pakistan and other countries, encouraging them to “connect and express” with the community and learn about local crafts and practices.
Meanwhile, Cheng-Tao Chen first visited the villages of the Truku tribe in eastern Taiwan in 2011. The mountain setting and the culture of the community inspired him to establish Tree Tree Tree Person—Taroko Arts Residency Project, which encourages the revisiting and re-imagining of the relationship between human beings and nature.
Since 2015, the program has invited some 20 artists to the national park in eastern Taiwan to live with members of the Truku tribe, on whose land the park is located.
The third speaker was Nitaya Ueareeworakul, one of the founding members of Womanifesto, a biennial initiative founded by women artists active in Thailand from 1997 to 2008. Also a co-organizer of the Womanifesto Workshop and Residency Programs, she lives in Kantharalak in northeast Thailand, where she is part of the Border Art Group as well, which conducts community art workshops.
All three speakers established that rural art residency programs almost always have artists growing close and working in harmony with their host communities. In the case of Gram, Bhattad shared how part of the artists’ works was geared toward social awareness, such as the promotion of toilet seat usage for a community that was foreign to the idea.
Bhattad also cited the same example in addressing the issue of how organizers ensure that the rural artist residency setup doesn’t become intrusive—extractive, even—of a village-immersive experience. She said members of these small communities learn as much from the artist as they do from them.
Gram also have a reciprocal exchange of sorts, where the locals then become the artists in some ways as they are invited to go abroad. In the case of Tree Tree Person, Cheng-Tao invites active artistic participation from the local community in allowing the indigenous members become the curators of the project.
“What’s special about our program is we focus on not to be viewed as outsiders,” Cheng-Tao said. “Our approach is, ‘We are here to build trust, to learn, to share life,’ which is why we’re always looking for community-building or social-intervention projects.”
With regard to funding, the organizers said their finances come from an assortment. For Gram, Bhattad said most of the invited artists are funded by alternative art spaces. Then, they gradually learn some level of self-sustainability, including organic farming. Meanwhile, Cheng-Tao said he works a day job to support the artists with his own money, as government grant simply isn’t enough.
Womanifesto’s Ueareeworakul shares the same plight. Despite securing government funding, the amount they receive either takes a long time to be processed or what the finally get is too little. Thus, they also rely on community-based relationships.
“I want a permanent house for the artist residencies,” she said. “If we have a place, artists and communities can benefit in a sustainable way. That way, we won’t require a big budget.”
The talk coincides with the launch of the Womanifesto Archive on AAA’s web site, which will be made available in the next few weeks. AAA is celebrating its 2oth anniversary this year.
Image credits: Womanifesto