NEW YORK, October 20, 2017 — In conjunction with Asia Contemporary Art Week, Asia Society Museum in New York hosted a symposium on issues raised in the exhibition After Darkness: Southeast Asian Art in the Wake of History. The symposium included keynote addresses by John Clark and Boon Hui Tan, a performance by Moe Satt, and discussions with artists Apinan Poshyananda, Dinh Q. Lê, and Tintin Wulia. (3 hr., 7 min.)

Negotiating Change: Art from Societies in Transition
A symposium in conjunction with the exhibition "After Darkness: Southeast Asian Art in the Wake of History," on view at Asia Society Museum, New York, through January 21, 2018.

Organized by Boon Hui Tan, Vice President of Global Arts & Cultural Programs and Museum Director, Asia Society, and Michelle Yun, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Asia Society, in conjunction with Asia Contemporary Art Week.

This symposium considers the significant contributions made by contemporary Southeast Asian artists during periods of dramatic social transformation in the region. The symposium’s two keynote addresses and responses, and two panel discussions build on major themes explored in the exhibition “After Darkness: Southeast Asian Art in the Wake of History.” The symposium will focus on issues relating to the development of contemporary art practices in Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, and how art and artists from these countries have often presented an activist position in response to periods of violence and repression.

Agenda
2:00 PM Keynote: John Clark, Professor Emeritus of Asian Art History, University of Sydney
Keynote Respondent: Boon Hui Tan, Vice President of Global Arts & Cultural Programs and Museum Director, Asia Society
3:00 PM Video: Hands Around Yangon (2012) by Moe Satt
Performance: F n’ F (Face and Fingers) (2008–09) by Moe Satt
3:15 PM Keynote: Apinan Poshyananda, Former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Thailand. Keynote Respondent: Michelle Yun, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Asia Society
4:30 PM Panel: The Changing Role of Artists in Society: Dinh Q. Lê, artist and Co-Founder of Sàn Art, Moe Satt, artist, and Tintin Wulia, artist. Moderator: Michelle Yun, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Asia Society
5:30 PM Reception
6:30 PM Passport In/Passport Out: Stories of Dinh Q. Lê and Tintin Wulia
Staged reading of memoirs by Dinh Q. Lê and Tintin Wulia followed by panel discussion with the artists. Moderator: Rachel Cooper, Director, Global Performing Arts and Special Cultural Initiatives, Asia Society