Art Schools of Asia - online seminar and conference series

Asia Art Archive invites applications for participation in Art Schools of Asia, an online seminar and conference series that examines the history of institutions of higher learning from the perspective of the region.

Building on AAA’s long-term interest in pedagogy, the project will develop greater awareness of art schools as a site where modern and contemporary art histories of the region have been written, frequently as part of broader projects of infrastructure and institution‐building in colonial and postcolonial contexts. It will review historical examples, such as Kala Bhavana in Santiniketan or the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, as well as more recent institutions, such as the Akademi Seni Rupa Indonesia Bandung and the Basic Design Education Division at the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts, that have served as important conduits for modernism and contemporary art. By analysing the case studies together, the project will develop a comparative basis for thinking about art pedagogy, moving beyond frequently anecdotal or empirical treatments, to develop a methodological framework for thinking about these histories from the perspective of the complex artistic, social, and political histories across Asia.

With the generous support of the Getty Foundation’s Connecting Art Histories initiative, Asia Art Archive will assemble a transnational community of programme participants, notable scholars, and guest faculty to investigate these questions. Programme participants will receive funding to participate in a monthly online seminar held during the 2021–22 academic year, in which they will discuss relevant texts and share scholarship, participate in workshops with archival sources, and engage with invited speakers and lecturers. Invited speakers include Lily Chumley, Iftikhar Dadi, R. Siva Kumar, Amanda Rath, and Zheng Shengtian; guest faculty include Shukla Sawant, Eileen Legaspi-Ramirez, and Yeewan Koon. Participants will also have the opportunity to co-organise a culminating symposium. Through the collective experience, the programme aims to build a multidisciplinary network of researchers of different generations who can support each other and sustain further scholarly conversations on pedagogy.

Eligibility

MA or PhD candidates
Junior Scholars (2015 PhD or later)
Mid-Career Scholars

Researchers based in, and/or with substantial connections to, Asia, currently enrolled in a graduate programme in Art History, Architectural History, or Visual/Cultural Studies, and those who have finished their graduate training in these fields during the last few years, are especially encouraged to apply, as are participants from previous Connecting Art Histories programs.

To apply, please submit:

A completed application form (please click here to fill in the form)
A statement (500–750 words) outlining the nature of your current research, its involvement with the history of art schools and art pedagogy, and what you believe you could gain through your participation in this programme
A two-page CV, including a selection of your most relevant publications or research projects
Two letters of recommendation

Please send the documents specified above in PDF format to research@aaa.org.hk by Friday, 30 July 2021. Please list your name (last name, first name) in the subject line of the email. File names of the attachments should include LASTNAME-FIRSTNAME (your last name and first name respectively).

Two information sessions for interested researchers will be held on Zoom:

Monday, 14 June at 9pm HKT, 9am EDT (please click here to register)
Tuesday, 15 June at 12:30pm HKT, 10am IST (please click here to register)

Selected Applicants

Selected applicants will be contacted by mid-August. They will commit to the programme from October 2021, when the first seminar will be convened, to June 2022, when the concluding symposium will take place. Selected applicants will receive an honorarium for their participation.