Open Academy in Ulaanbaatar
Report from Ellen Pearlman
Background
Through an invitation to research the conditions in UB, extended by the Arts Council Mongolia (a private organization originally initiated through SOROS fund) in 2005, a research and presentations trip was arranged in October 2006 with Davide Quadrio, Chu Yuan and Jay Koh as part of the Compass Project. Here they met organisations such as the National Art Gallery, Artist Union, Blue Sun (artist group), Ministry of Education and Fine Arts Institute.
As a result of this trip an application for a 3 year plan was made to the Prince Claus Fund in July 2007 and was accepted starting from autumn 2008. The Open Academy is a resource development program which connects contemporary art practices (mainly represented by Blue Sun) and the needs of the Fine Arts Institute. The program was originally conceived as a 2 sessions per year program at which 4 people would conduct workshops for each session.
This year Jay Koh became acquainted with Annu Wilenius, a Finnish artist who has been working closely with Blue Sun for the last few years and has brought a show to Finland. As her activities centred around Blue Sun and Jay Kos’s activities have to be considerate of the wider communities in UB, Jay Koh has requested that Arthub assist Blue Sun in their space rental.
Arthub is now co-operating with OA through the seminars conducted by Li Zhenhua and Jiang Jun (Urban China) in April/May, 2009 and supporting structural funding for Blue Sun art space.
While Jiang Jun will be working with the students and artists on new approaches to urbanism, Li Zhenhua will work on his multi-archeology project giving work-shops with the students of the Fine Arts Academy of UB. The students will have the opportunity to participating in his research and film project that will be carried on throughout their visit in UB. For this purpose, Li Zhenhua brought the filmmaker Zheng Yunhan to assist with this research project.
To read more about Li Zhenhua Mongolia’s visit please click here.
About Open Academy
The Open Academy offers focused practical training in the form of workshops targeted at facilitating the development of art practices. Artists, writers, curators and other cultural workers will be placed in learning situations where they themselves can identify and address their own learning needs. After a basic and broad-based exposure to various aspects of contemporary art practice and management in the first main sessions, participants will decide on the content, direction and approaches of the following sessions.
The program will also expand participants’ visual and creative thinking as research including the use of materials and identifying issues in contemporary art practices in Asia. Participants will begin to develop their self-led enquiry through (studio) practice, fieldwork and case studies, ultimately leading to project proposals and engagements, through presentation of these ideas, in critical debate with peers, facilitators and visiting specialists.
Special attention will be given to the workings of knowledge transfer and knowledge generation across cultural and belief systems due the internationalization of contemporary art. As information and different bodies of knowledge cross cultures it is also important to recognise the effects of these cross cultural influences on existing local memories and knowledge and the impact of applying this knowledge within local contexts.
These workshops offer a balance of theory and practice and will provide participants with basic skills and methods to enhance their professional practice. Skills in a range of critical and professional practices, such as accessing resources, critiquing and analysing material, writing and communication, curating, programming, documenting art history, fundraising and marketing will also be covered.
The Open Academy is open to all contemporary practitioners in the local cultural and art environment. There will be 2 main sessions (Winter + Summer) that will take place in May and September/October. In between these sessions, visiting specialists will conduct talks and discussions to expose participants to various perspectives of art making and art critique and make independent assessments of the participants of the Open Academy.
The list of specialists to be invited in the initial session in September 2008 will be Chu Chu Yuan (artist and project director of NICA in Yangon), Fatima Lasay (artist and educator, University of Philippines, Manila), Sharaad Kuttan (journalist, activist and educator from Malaysia) and Jay Koh.
Targeted Audience: Artists, curators, art writers, cultural practitioners and students of the Fine Art Institute. Sessions will be conducted in 2 separate groups: students and practitioners.
Timeframe: May and September/October is to coincide with the timing of the semester ending and beginning of the Fine Art Institute
