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About a decade ago, a documentary entitled Life After People caught people’s attention. It opens with a question, “What will happen to the civilization if humanity disappears altogether?” Then, based on scientific predictions, the film shows how the environment and life will change in the posthuman age. Unlike our expectations, the remnants of human civilization were quickly destroyed by fire and flood and were replaced by new ecosystems. The documentary reminds the viewers of how feeble and fleeting human civilizations are before the force of nature. Likewise, the current COVID-19 situation is a good reminder of how nature can affect all of us. This pandemic is unprecedented as it is probably the first nonpolitical cause restricting personal, physical, and cultural exchanges among countries since the beginning of the Cold War.
In such a time, it is good to hear about a project that allows people to connect with various cities and arts spaces across the world with a single click. As an online collaborative project for the Asia Culture Center (ACC) Arts Space Network launched by the ACC and the Asia Culture Institute (ACI), C_link: click our studio shows various scenes from five cities across five Asian and Middle East countries from the perspective of art professionals. Five videos were updated one by one at the ACC’s YouTube channel over five weeks every Wednesday from November 24 to December 22, 2021.

The first destination is Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Huang Wan Ling is an artist who lives and works in Taipei. He takes us to Yangming Mountain, where his studio is located, to show us how he approaches his projects, where he works, and what people he usually meets. (Photograph 1) The artist invites viewers to his daily life, going out to the street to meet people and enjoy local food. He also introduces the Winsing Art Place, a cultural complex consisting of a bookstore, an atelier, a coffeehouse, and two international residency programs at two locations: Taipei Artist Village, Taiwan’s first public art village; and Bao Chang-Yen, an artist village developed by remodeling an old one. The two places welcome experiments on the new possibilities of art. (Photograph 2) After guiding viewers through a series of other culture and art spaces, Huang recounts his experience at various residency programs in Northeast Asia and his identity and inspirations coming from Taiwan’s culture, history, customs, and foods. He concludes the video with a farewell and an invitation.

(Photographs 1 and 2) Taipei, Taiwan

The second video takes viewers to Jakarta, Indonesia while quoting Goethe’s remark that the purpose of traveling is to connect with various others and realize one’s true self. Jakarta is a unique kaleidoscope of dynamic cultures, arts, and creations of various people coming from disparate islands. The video speeds through numerous content and facilities offered by this cultural “melting pot.” Indonesia’s economic growth came with the development of arts spaces for artists and curators in different regions. Now, art is a new industry that leads the country’s economic and cultural growth. Key examples include Tromarama, an artist group dedicated to explore the relationship between humans and technologies, and dia.lo.gue, an alternative arts space created by art and design experts in the southern region of Kemang, which has become one of the centers of creative lifestyles in the country. (Photography 3) The Good School is another example, which develops various alternative education programs and multipurpose studio complexes to bring arts into people’s lives. These spaces have made noteworthy efforts to promote people’s perception of art.
The ARTOTEL attracts both tourists and art lovers with its rooms and facilities featuring artistic designs and represents a good combination between art and tourism beyond temporary hotel art fairs. M Bloc Space provides a good example of an urban regeneration project based on culture and art. It involves preserving old buildings in underdeveloped areas by repurposing them into creative hubs. (Photograph 4) Evelyn Huang, a curator at ARCOLABS, describes Jakarta in three words: multiculturalism, hustle, and opportunities. Curator Nindy describes Jakarta as a city of unlimited opportunities, inviting us to a journey across a creative industry based on art.

(Photographs 3 and 4) Jakarta, Indonesia

The video of Amman, Jordan begins with a narration, “Jordan as a nature is one of the most influential things on the artist” and a sweeping view of the exotic landscape of its deserts. (Photograph 5) Suha Lallas, the Director of Wadi Finan Art Gallery, talks about her pride in Jordan’s natural environment and history, elaborating how the long history of civilization inspires artists to create works that excel in creativity. Sawsan Al Khalidi, the Director of Table for Ten Studio, directs the viewers’ attention to the infinite materials offered by Amman’s nature and how artworks imbued with the values of time and labor can compete on the global stage. Dina Dabbas Rifai, the founder of The Artinerary and cofounder of DAR Art Fair, talks about efforts to overcome stereotypes against Arab arts (e.g., calligraphy, orientalism, desert, paintings with camels). (Photograph 6) Jordan is a country with one of the most powerful and ancient civilizations in the world, and its history and culture encompass different times and generations. Amman, as a city with cultural diversity and fascinating nature, is not confined by specific styles or formats. As such, it serves as an exhaustible source of new inspirations for artists. The video was a potent invitation for artists to start their next projects in Amman.

(Photographs 5 and 6) Amman, Jordan

The next video takes us back from the western end of Asia all the way to the opposite side: Naoshima, Japan. The island’s fame as an “art island” somewhat took away the excitement of visiting a new place. However, the feeling came back as I took a virtual tour around the island with the photographer and artist Shitamichi Motoyuki, as the island features various arts spaces. The Art House Project consists of abandoned houses rebuilt into arts spaces. Each house is occupied by an artist creating artworks for the space’s permanent exhibitions. The island is also home to public art pieces created by James Turrell, Sugimoto Hiroshi, and Kusama Yayoi. Other examples include the Chichu Art Museum designed by Ando Tadao and the recently launched Lee Ufan Musem. However, none of them had the level of freshness of Shitamichi’s ongoing project. (Photograph 7) The artist, after moving with his family to Naoshima, has been working on Setouchi “ “ Archive project with the residents. Sponsored by the Fukutake Foundation, an art organization in Naoshima, the project aims to build a space that serves as a library and a community center for locals as well as a museum dedicated to the history of Naoshima for tourists. Shitamichi invites viewers to come to see his project, saying that it will be an endeavor for tourists as well as all who call Naoshima their home. I felt glad to hear his invitation because it reminded me how the Art Island continues to go forward without clinging to the past. (Photograph 8)

(Photographs 7 and 8) Naoshima, Japan

Our guide for cultural spaces in Gwangju, Korea is Seo Young-ki, an artist based in a studio in Daein Market. Seo captures images that grab his attention on his walks and puts them on the screen. Following his footsteps, viewers are treated to new visual experiences and a journey across the history of alternative arts spaces in Gwangju. The history encompasses Daein Market, the birthplace of local arts spaces, the numerous cultural spaces that came and entered the market, and those currently operating today such as Barim, D.A.Aura, Spaceppong, OverLab, and Horanggasy Creative Studio. He also explains how these spaces help young artists. (Photograph 9) In addition, the video introduces the residency program for local artists offered by Gwangju Museum of Art. Seo himself says that his experience as a resident artist at Yangsan-dong Art Studio was a significant boon to his life as an artist. The artist then takes us to Gwangju Biennale, ACC, and Balsan Village. Balsan Village was formed by people who came to Gwangju to work at the local textile factory in the 1970s and the 1980s. The village had waned along with the industry until an artist-led urban regeneration project turned the village into a place where youths can release (“balsan” in Korean) their energy. (Photograph 10) Silent, yet slowly moving. We all know that the sky is the darkest before morning comes. Praying for more artistic opportunities after COVID-19, Seo returned to his studio.

(Photographs 9 and 10) Gwangju, Korea

The five videos allowed me to experience various projects and visit arts spaces across the five cities with a single click. Traveling is about sharing people’s daily lives. Cultural exchanges through travel change people’s daily lives. Someone wrote, “the destination of a travel is not a place, but a new perspective to see things.” A new perspective enables new thoughts. Goethe once wrote, “New stars continue to emerge in the sky of art.” New stars are found through cultural sharing, and we need those stars to navigate our ways. I hope that C_link: click our studio, as part of the ACC Arts Space Network Project, will lead to dynamic exchanges among arts spaces, cultural spaces, and cultural projects across different countries and regions after the pandemic.

Q1. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, countries are closing down borders and channels for personal and cultural exchanges. Given the current situation, it was fascinating to see an attempt to cover artistic, creative, and communication environments across different cities in Asia. You chose Taipei, Jakarta, Amman, Naoshima, and Gwangju for the project. Could you take us through why you chose those specific areas?

Kim: One of the fundamental goals of the Asian Arts Space Network (AASN) online content development in 2021 is to create videos that expand on networks previously created by individuals. COVID-19 has created somewhat consolidated exchanges through existing networks. We wanted to help people without networks access those exchanges as part of their research. Naturally, we began with regions representing each country. Naoshima was selected to show the current state of various arts spaces in Asia. We were also inspired by the fact that there is only a single artist on the island and how he continues his creative efforts.

Q2. One thing that is also interesting was your decision to include Amman in the list. While Jordan is technically a part of Asia, as far as I understand, it is a country with both early Christian and Islamic cultures. I understood the choice as an effort to expand the boundary of Asia. Could you share your take on the issue?

Kim: You understand correctly. We were also interested in including new areas that the ACI had not been actively engaged.

Q3. Each video features artists from the city introducing its culture, arts spaces, and spaces of communication. How did you find the artists willing to participate, and how specific were your guidelines for them?

Kim: We worked with Lim Jong-eun, the head organizer, to select lead facilitators for each region who will expand our scope to include various spaces and scenes. We worked with artists and organizers to create a scenario reflecting the characteristics of each city and varied the scope and depth depending on how well-known the city is to the viewers. The featured spaces, artists, and synopsis were created by the participating artists. As the final products are videos, we held numerous video conferences throughout the process to share opinions and improve the results.

Q4. You mentioned that the project is a part of the ACC Arts Space Network development project. I am curious to know how you plan to promote exchanges among artists through creative residency programs in different cities once the COVID-19 pandemic ends and countries begin to interact more.

Kim: I am an external organizer, so I may not be in the best position to talk to you about the ACC’s plans… but I believe that the ACC will take more active steps to introduce changes to their projects once things go back to pre-COVID-19.

• Written by: No Sun-seok noriso@naver.com
  Photography courtesy of ACC
  
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