Arts and Cultural Leaders Gather in Hong Kong for Second Asia Society Arts & Museum Summit
Recognizing Threats to Cultural Heritage in Asian Arts, Summit Focuses on Paths to Assure Asia’s Cultural Legacy
HONG KONG, November 20, 2015 — Over 100 arts and cultural leaders from across Asia, Europe, and North America gathered over the past two days at the second Asia Society Arts & Museum Summit to explore current challenges and practices in the preservation of Asian arts.
The Summit recognized the growing interest in Asian arts internationally and the current threats presented by regional conflicts, natural disasters, and changing populations. Issues addressed at the Summit included the challenges to the work of cultural heritage preservation, the responsibilities of institutions and individuals as stewards of culture, and the technologies and methods used to keep traditions intact and relevant into and beyond the twenty-first century.
"Arts are a language that reach across borders and connect humanity in powerful ways. Held every two years, the Summit builds on Asia Society’s sixty-year history of fostering positive transformation in relations through arts and culture,” says Peggy Loar, Interim Vice President, Global Arts and Culture, Asia Society, New York. "This Summit explored our shared heritage and the vital importance of protecting and celebrating our collective memory in a time marked with great divisiveness.”
In the last decade, Asia has seen dramatic economic and demographic transformation. The Arts & Museum Summit brings together museum and arts and cultural leaders from across Asia, the United States, and Europe to explore challenges, share new models, and develop deeper connections across the field. The Arts & Museum Summit expands the work that began with a Forum that included Chinese and American museum directors in Beijing in 2012 and extends it throughout the Asia Pacific Region with the launch of Transfuze: The Asia Arts & Museum Network.
The summit featured a video keynote address by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO and remarks by:
- Arahmaiani, Artist, Yogyakarta
- Dina Bangdel, Director, Art History Program, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Doha
- Bonnie Burnham, President Emerita, World Monuments Fund, New York
- Nicholas Chambers, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary International Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Chang Lin-Sheng (Leslie Chang), Director, Aurora Museum, Shanghai
- Chen Kelun, Curator and former Deputy Director, Shanghai Museum
- Cosmin Costinas, Executive Director / Curator, Para Site, Hong Kong
- Vishakha N. Desai, President Emerita, Asia Society; Special Advisor for Global Affairs to the President and Professor of Professional Practice, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York
- Sarah Kenderdine, Professor and Director, Laboratory for Innovation in Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums and Director of Visualisation, the Expanded Perception and Interaction Center, University of New South Wales, Sydney
- Hongnam Kim, Former Director General, National Museums of Korea, Seoul
- Vasif Kortun, Director of Research and Programs, SALT, Istanbul and Ankara
- Restu Imansari Kusumaningrum, Artistic Director, Bumi Purnati Indonesia, Jakarta
- Wai Kit Lee, Founder, Western China Cultural Ecology Research Workshop, Hong Kong
- Hammad Nasar, Head of Research and Programmes, Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong
- Bárbara Navarro, Director, Public Policy, Strategy and Operations for Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Russia, Google, Hong Kong
- Fairouz Nishanova, Director, Aga Khan Music Initiative, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Geneva
- Ong Keng Sen, Festival Director, Singapore International Festival of Arts
- Helen Philon, Cofounder, Deccan Heritage Foundation, London and Mumbai; Cofounder, U.S. Friends of the Deccan Heritage Foundation, New York
- Phloeun Prim, Executive Director, Cambodian Living Arts, Phnom Penh
- Zeyba Rahman, Senior Program Officer for the Building Bridges Program, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, New York
- Ahmad Naser Sarmast, Founder and Director, Afghanistan National Institute of Music, Kabul
- Rajeev Sethi, Founder, The Asian Heritage Foundation, New Delhi
- Timothy P. Whalen, Director, The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles
- Winnie Yeung, Head of Heritage, The Jockey Club Central Police Station Limited, Hong Kong
- Louis Yu (Yu Kwok-lit), Executive Director, Performing Arts, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Hong Kong
The Summit also featured demonstrations from the Dimen Dong Folk Chorus from Guizhou province, China.
The discussion may be followed on Twitter using the hashtag #ArtsSummitHK. Video from the Summit will be made available on AsiaSociety.org/video where highlights from the 2013 Summit—including videos of keynote addresses from The Museum of Modern Art, New York Director Glenn Lowry, and renowned Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto among others—may also be found.
The 2015 Arts & Museum Summit is made possible by The Getty Foundation. Google is an Official Summit Partner. Additional support is provided by the Julis-Rabinowitz Family Art Initiative; the H2 Foundation for Arts and Education Limited, Hallam Chow; and Fanzhi Foundation for Arts and Education Limited. artnet News is the 2015 Arts & Museum Summit Media Partner, with Media Support Provided by SCREEN.
About the Arts & Museum Summit
The Arts & Museum Summit brings together museum and arts and cultural leaders from Asia, the United States, and Europe, to explore challenges, share new models, and develop deeper connections across the field. The Summit provides a forum to exchange ideas, strategies, and cultural issues relating to the arts of Asia. It presents the opportunity for the arts community to take part in important discourse on the most pressing topics with luminaries in the field of Asian arts and culture.
About Transfuze: The Asia Arts and Museum Network
Transfuze: The Asia Arts and Museum Network is Asia Society’s initiative to foster collaboration among arts institutions and professionals. Through bilateral and multilateral conversations, capacity-building projects, and empowering resources, Transfuze seeks to strengthen the cultural sector and advance global appreciation of the arts of Asia.
About Asia Society Museum and Arts and Cultural Programs at Asia Society
Asia Society Museum has earned international acclaim for groundbreaking exhibitions that showcase new discoveries in traditional art and introduce exciting new work on the cutting edge of Asian and Asian American contemporary arts. The Asia Society Museum Collection includes the masterpiece-quality Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, bequeathed to Asia Society in 1979, and a growing contemporary collection of significant works in video and photography. Through exhibitions and related talks, performances, symposia, and film, Asia Society provides a forum for unique issues and viewpoints reflected in Asian arts and culture.
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Contact: Elaine Merguerian (+1.212.327.9313; [email protected]) and Christy Ko (+852 2103 9513; [email protected])