Asian Culture Information Agency / ACIA launches an Open Call for the 2014 ARTIST AND CURATOR STUDY PROGRAM in Gwangju, South Korea, from November 12-28, 2014.The Study program welcomes applications from individuals, with either curatorial or art practices relevant to the issues the program proposes to explore this year.

The program is designed for 10 participants who will ideally have an artistic, curatorial or academic practice. Participants will additionally have a demonstrable interest in the themes proposed for this Study Program and be able and willing to contribute to discussions, activities and presentations.

In anticipation of the Asian Culture Complex (ACC) opening in 2015, the ACIA has developed a pilot Artist and Curator Study Program for 2014 that will gather selected participants with invited artists, academics, curators and writers to ask: what are the realities and possibilities inherent to approaching not only Asia but also contemporary artistic and curatorial practice today?

A point of departure for the issues to be addressed and the guests invited is Under Construction: New Dimensions of Asian Art, a collaborative inter-regional research and exhibition project organized by the Japan Foundation from 2000 to 2003. This project was an early opportunity for many regional curators to work with one another and visit each other’s countries together. Through this collaboration insights and networks into foreign realities developed. What concerns were present then that still resonate today? What circumstances exist now that offer new challenges and opportunities? These questions will be approached from multiple perspectives to address what referring to ‘Asia’ today can imply; to reflect on how reconfigured identities and subjectivities are negotiated and the communicational practices influencing them; and investigate the roles that artists and curators perform in the different institutional frameworks they inhabit.

Offering opportunities to engage with invited contributors, fellow participants, and occasional guests, both formally and informally, the program will also be supplemented by visits to institutions, galleries, and alternative spaces in Gwangju and Seoul.

Participants based abroad will receive economy return airfare provided and arranged by ACIA (please note foreign participants are responsible for securing travel insurance for the duration of the program). Participants not residing in Gwangju will receive an economy return train ticket provided by ACIA.  All participants will be supported during their stay in Gwangju with accommodation to be arranged by ACIA. Field trips will also be arranged and supported by ACIA during the duration of the program.

Deadline: 17 October 2014