Para Site, Fogo Island Arts, and Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Partner to Launch Residency for Hong Kong-Based Artists
Hong Kong / Fogo Island / Toronto – WEBWIRE – Thursday, March 28, 2024
In a landmark collaboration, Para Site, Fogo Island Arts (FIA), and the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto (MOCA) are proud to announce the inception of the Fog & Mist Residency. This pilot project aims to foster cross-cultural exchange, provide a platform for emerging artists from Hong Kong, and cultivate connections between Asia and North America. The Fog & Mist Residency presents a unique opportunity for a Hong Kong-based artist to immerse themselves in a three-month residency on Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada, during the summer of 2024. The new program seeks to engage artists whose work reflects the dynamic discourses and practices relevant to Hong Kong as a place and concept, thereby bridging diverse cultural perspectives and fostering collaboration across borders. We are very excited to work with Para Site and MOCA Toronto in joining artists, island places, and institutions together and charting new dialogues, said Kitty Scott, renowned curator, and Strategic Advisor to FIA. The residency is envisioned as a means to strengthen the connections between Hong Kong, Fogo Island, and Canada, added Billy Tang, Executive Director and Curator at Para Site. It is conceptualized as a migratory project with the goal of fostering artist mobility by cultivating a supportive diasporic network.
The first selected artist for the inaugural Fog & Mist Residency is Wong Winsome Dumalagan. Beyond offering Wong time and space to develop her ideas on Fogo Island, she will work with colleagues at Para Site, FIA, and MOCA Toronto to forge new connections and we hope shef orms long-lasting ones, said Claire Shea, Director of Fogo Island Arts. Supported by the generous contribution of Eleanor & Francis Shen, the Fog & Mist Residency will provide Wong with support and resources to work on her project, conduct research, and engage with local communities. Collaborative efforts with MOCA Toronto will further facilitate the realization of Wongs project, culminating in a live or public programme in 2024.
This pilot project exemplifies our commitment to fostering creativity, diversity, and dialogue within contemporary art, said Kathleen Bartels, Executive Director at MOCA Toronto. We look forward to bringing compelling narratives and experiences to the forefront, alongside artists and organizations from across the globe.
About Wong Winsome Dumalagan
Wong Winsome Dumalagan mainly works on videography and the sculpting of images. Through moving along with the camera, composing, and sculpting the texture and rhythm of images, she steps into and comprehends the essence of the mundane life. Thus, most of her work is about the everyday, created in the different cultural contexts she inhabits along her mobility. Shes currently exploring the ways of understanding different places, people, and relations discovered through planned or unplanned encounters and travels, especially around Southeast Asia, as well as the dynamics and different dimensions of knowledge of places and people constructed by narratives of different people, landscapes, and cityscapes. Delving into the dynamics of authority in images and art, sometimes she acts as an agent or co-creator of the works, and people she encounters are the provider of the raw materials of images, sounds, and journeys. Shes a member of Floating Projects Collective.
About Para Site
Founded in early 1996 as an artist run space, Para Site is Hong Kongs leading contemporary art centre and one of the oldest and most active independent art institutions in Asia. It produces exhibitions, publications, discursive, and educational projects aimed at forging a critical understanding of local and international phenomena in art and society. Throughout its history, Para Sites activities have included a range of different formats, among which P/S magazine (19972006), a bilingual publication, which was Hong Kongs first visual arts magazine and a central platform for the development of art writing and of a discursive scene in the city and the Curatorial Training Programme (20072010). Since 2012, Para Site has been running an International Art Residency Program and has been organizing an annual international conference.This is accompanied, starting from 2015, by a new educational format aimed at training young curators and other art professionals.
About Fogo Island Arts
Fogo Island Arts is the founding program of Shorefast, a registered Canadian charity dedicated to unleashing the power of place so local communities can thrive in the global economy. Fogo Island Arts was founded in 2008 as an international artist residency program with the belief that artists are visionaries with a unique capacity to reveal and respond to the complexities of our time. The residencies enable artists, curators, and writers to think, create, and connect on Fogo Island, promoting discovery across perspectives and disciplines. The geographic specificity as an island off an island in the North Atlantic is a foundational platform for engagement around issues of
sustainability, ecology, economy, and belonging. Over the last 15 years, Fogo Island Arts has grown into a program of exhibitions, public programs, publications, and research projects that aim to explore art and ideas and bridge connections between the local and the global.
About MOCA Toronto
The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto (MOCA) presents rotating exhibitions that prioritize twenty-first-century artistic production, primarily through commissioning of new work. Artists, partnerships, experimentation, and reciprocal initiatives are at the centre of MOCAs mission as a locally rooted and internationally connected organization. Focused on core values promoting equity, inclusion, access, courage, and responsibility, MOCA fosters active participation and engagement to serve as a welcoming cultural hub in the hyper-diverse city of Toronto.
About Shorefast
Shorefast is a registered charity that is forging new paths at the intersection of community economic development, business, and philanthropy. Our community businesses, including Fogo Island Inn, Fogo Island Workshops, and Fogo Island Fish, are designed to beeconomic engines driving toward our mission: To unleash the power of place for local communities to thrive in the global economy. Among Shorefasts holistic set of initiatives are Fogo Island Arts and Community Economies initiatives aimed at distilling learnings across other enterprising communities.
For more details and to experience Para Site, Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto, Fogo Island Arts, and Shorefast online, please visit:
Websites: para-site.com, moca.ca, fogoislandarts.ca, shorefast.org
Social Media: @parasite.hk, @mocatoronto, @fogoislandarts, @shorefastfogoislands
NEW YORK, NY – WEBWIRE – Tuesday, February 27, 2024
In 2023, the Guggenheim acquired 102 works by more than 60 artists, over half of whom are new to the collection. The works, spanning from 1928 to the present day, further the Guggenheims commitment to expanding the purview of its interpretation and presentation of modern and contemporary art by focusing on acquiring works that embody diversity and innovation. The acquisitions comprise a diverse group of modern and contemporary works across various mediums, including Andr Massons painting Le Dormeur (1942); Barbara Chase-Ribouds sculpture Pushkin (198485); and Sanford Biggerss wall-based textile sculpture Poly (2023). Highlights also include works by artists who have recently exhibited at the Guggenheim: Nick Caves Gestalt (2012) and Arm Peace (2019); Alex Katzs Muna (1990) and Sunrise (2019); Sung Neung Kyungs Here (1975), Mirror (1975), and Measure (1975); and Lee Kun-Yongs Snails Gallop (1975/2023), a commission presented during the Guggenheims Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s1970s performance series. Naomi Beckwith, Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, states: This group of extraordinary works not only represents the Guggenheims commitment to collecting and preserving modern and contemporary art, it also celebrates the broadening scope of artists, leaders, and visionaries that continue to shape the museums legacy. New works by artists such as Sol Calero, Sheroanaw Hakihiiw, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, and Moshekwa Langa enrich the museums deep holdings of international artists. Renowned artists such as Terry Adkins, Martha Diamond, Tracey Emin, and Thaddeus Mosley enter the collection for the first time. A gift of thirty-fiveartworks from the Elizabeth R. and Michael M. Rea Collection includes significant canvases by Ad Reinhardt and Anne Truitt and also enhances the museums holdings of works on paper, including drawings by Alberto Giacometti, Roy Lichtenstein, and Yves Tanguy. Notably, Jacob Lawrences Tragedy and Comedy Theater, Series No. 2, a tempera and gesso painting on panel from 1952, is now the Guggenheims earliest work by a Black artist. Seven video works by the late Dennis Oppenheim enter the museums robust collection of time-based media. Furthermore, twelve artworks were acquired in honor of Richard Armstrong, former director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. These acquisitions were funded in large part by the museums acquisition committees, including the Collections Council, International Directors Council, Asian Art Circle, Latin American Circle, Middle Eastern Circle, Photography Council, and Young Collectors Council, to ensure selections embrace a range of geographies, disciplines, timelines, and cultures. About the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation was established in 1937 and is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of modern and contemporary art through exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. The international constellation of museums includes the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice; the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; and the future Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. An architectural icon and temple of spirit where radical art and architecture meet, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is now among a group of eight Frank Lloyd Wright structures in the United States recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. To learn more about the museum and the Guggenheims activities around the world, visit guggenheim.org.
New York – WEBWIRE – Wednesday, February 14, 2024
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced the acquisition of two rare and acclaimed wooden sculptures from medieval Japan:an image of the compassionate Buddhist deity Jizo, among only three extant works by the thirteenth-century sculptor Intan, anda representation of a female deityassociated with the Shintofaith. Intans sculpture of Jizō, a widely worshipped guide of suffering souls imagined as an itinerant monk, is currently on view in the exhibitionAnxiety and Hope in Japanese Art. The female Shintō deity, orkami, will go on view in Fall 2024.
Max Hollein, The Mets Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer, said: These extraordinary examples of Japanese religious sculptures are both powerfully beautiful and technically remarkable. Accompanied by richly documented histories, the works will further strengthen and develop The Mets collection of Japanese art, as well as our knowledge of the profound artistic and cultural traditions they represent.
Both sculptures were on long-term loan to the Museum from 2012 to 2022, and regularly on view in the Arts of Japan Galleries during that time. The acquisition of the Jizō sculpture is made possible by Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions Fund for Asian Art, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions Fund, by exchange, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation Fund, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, and Fletcher Fund. The acquisition of the Shintō sculpture is made possible by The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2023.
Mike Hearn, Douglas Dillon Chairman of The Mets Department of Asian Art, said: Thanks both to major donations and curatorial acquisitions, over the years The Met has built a distinguished concentration of Japanese religious sculpture and painting. But these two works offer a unique opportunity to demonstrate the extraordinary expressive range possible in early Japanese sculpture. The Jizō is beautifully naturalistic and intricately detailed; the Shintō deity is a study in abstract minimalism. Shown together, they underscore how ideology can have an immense impact on aesthetic choices.
John T. Carpenter, Mary Griggs Burke Curator of Japanese Art, said: After having opportunities with The Mets own conservators and scientists as well as other specialists in Buddhist and Shintō artto research and date these statues, and after a decade of sharing these works of serene beauty with visitors to the Arts of Japan Galleries, it is gratifying that we can give these important works a permanent home where they can be enjoyed and preserved for posterity. About the Sculptures The second sculpture depicts a twelfth century female Shintō deity (kami) in standing form, a contrast to most Shintō sculptures, which depict figures as seated. The figure appears as an aristocratic lady dressed in a Chinese-style long-sleeved formal garment, which recalls robes worn by female Buddhist deities in images of the heavenly realm. The figure belongs to a set of over 20 surviving sculptures, five of which remain in Japan and thirteen of which, including this piece, entered Western collections in the mid-twentieth century. While on loan at The Met, curators and conservators partnered with specialists in Japan and Europe to determine that most of these works were carved from magnolia wood, not cypress as was usually the case. Further dendrochronological examination, or studies of the growth rings evident in the wood, suggest that the tree from which most of the sculptures were made was impressively large and over 180 years old when it died, and came to be revered as a kami while it was alive. The sculpture of a female Shintō deity will go on view in Fall 2024. ### IMAGE CAPTION: Left: Intan (Japanese, active 13th century). The Bodhisattva Jizō (Kshitigarbha). Kamakura period (11851333), dated 1291. Japanese cypress wood (hinoki) with polychrome pigments, gold paint (kindei), cutgold leaf (kirikane), and rock crystal eyes. Height (with pedestal): 53 1/2 in. (135.9 cm); Width: 11 in. (27.9 cm). Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions Fund for Asian Art, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions Fund, by exchange, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation Fund, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, and Fletcher Fund, 2023 (2023.640ac) Right: Female Shintō Deity. Japanese bigleaf magnolia with traces of color. Japan, Heian (7941185), 12th century. H. 38 1/2 in. (97.8 cm); W. 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm); D. 5 in. (12.7 cm). Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2023 (2023.641)
WEBWIRE – Wednesday, September 27, 2023
The Smithsonians Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden will present Simone Leigh, bringing the first museum survey of the acclaimed artists artworks before a national audience in Washington, D.C. Leigh represented the United States at the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia through a commission by the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA). Curated in tandem to that landmark presentation, the exhibition Simone Leigh will showcase works from Leighs Venice exhibition alongsidethree new bronze sculptures, which will be shown for the first time at the Hirshhorn Nov. 3March 3, 2024. Leighs full-floor installation will also feature key early works and video to demonstrate her consistent and careful attention to the creative and critical labor of Black women across almost 20 years of highly disciplined practice. We are honored to have collaborated with Simone Leigh on this exhibition, which offers a point-of-view that expands beyond our founding traditionwith modernist sculpture central to Joseph Hirshhorns collection and the basis for this museumwith her singular and necessary contemporary perspective, said Melissa Chiu, Hirshhorn director. We thank the artist and ICA for their partnership. Over the past two decades, Leigh has created works of art that situate questions of Black femme, or female-identified, subjectivity at the center of contemporary art discourse. Her sculpture, video, installation and social practice explore ideas of race, beauty and community in visual and material culture. Leighs art addresses a wide swath of historical periods, geographies and traditions, with specific references to vernacular and handmade processes from across the African diaspora, as well as forms traditionally associated with African art and ritual, all while mining historical gaps, inaccuracies and fallacies. Simone Leigh will feature sculpture in an array of Leighs material vocabulary, including ceramic, bronze and raffia. A selection of her table-top ceramics will accentuate her fluency in the medium of ceramics, including references to the Black American folk and self-taught art traditions of stoneware face vesselscitations that are present in her large ceramic works, which draw on the vernacular traditions of the American South, Caribbean and African continent, and challenge traditional hierarchies of art and labor. These works, at both intimate and large scale, reference domestic vessels such as bowls and jugs merged with explorations of the body. For the Hirshhorns presentation, the artist will introduce three recent sculptures: Bisi (2023), Herm (2023) and Vessel (2023). Leighs attention to the Black female form over time and in various materials underlines her consistent vision. Prior to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, a version of this traveling exhibition was presented at the ICA/Boston. The tour will conclude in a joint presentation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and California African American Museum from June 2024 through January 2025.The first comprehensive scholarly monograph on Leighs work, co-published by the ICA/Boston and DelMonico Booksincluding images of works on view and installation views from Leighs Venice presentation as well as images of work from throughout her careeraccompanies the exhibition. Simone Leighwas organized by Eva Respini, deputy director and director of curatorial programs, Vancouver Art Gallery (former Barbara Lee Chief Curator, ICA/Boston), with Anni Pullagura, assistant curator, ICA/Boston. The Hirshhorns presentation has been coordinated by Curator Anne Reeve with support from CJ Greenhill Caldera, curatorial assistant. Leighs (b. 1967; Chicago) works in sculpture, video and installationall are informed by her ongoing exploration of the experiences of Black femmes. Her work traverses across time, geography and cultures, and her objects often employ materials and forms traditionally associated with African art and vernacular traditions across the African diaspora. Leighs monumental sculptureBrick Housewas installed on the High Line Plinth, New York, from 2019 to 2021. She received the prestigious Hugo Boss Prize in 2018 and has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2019), the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles (2016), the Studio Museum in Harlem in Marcus Garvey Park in New York (2016), Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas (with Chitra Ganesh, 2016), the New Museum, New York (2016), Creative Time and Weeksville Heritage Center, Brooklyn, New York (2014) and The Kitchen, New York (2014). She has been included in group exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York (2019); 10th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2018); the New Museum in New York (2017); MoMA PS1 (2015); and DakArt 11th Biennale of Contemporary African Art in Dakar, Senegal (2014). Her work is in the collections of The Whitney Museum of American Art and The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago and the ICA/Boston, among others. About the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is the national museum of modern and contemporary art and a leading voice for 21st-century art and culture. Part of the Smithsonian, the Hirshhorn is located prominently on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Its holdings encompass one of the most important collections of postwar American and European art in the world.The Hirshhorn presents diverse exhibitions and offers an array of public programs on the art of our timefree to all. The Hirshhorn Museum is open daily, 10 a.m.5:30 p.m. (except Dec. 25). For more information, visithirshhorn.si.edu.Follow the museum on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Heritage Museum stages new pop-up display “Bruce Lee: a Timeless Classic” and special programmes (with photos)
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The Guggenheim Museum Announces 2023 Acquisitions
International Artists, a Significant Gift from the Elizabeth R. and Michael M. Rea Collection, a Major Modernist Work by a Black Artist, and More Strengthen the Museums Holdings in 2023
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Acquires Two Important Medieval Japanese Religious Sculptures
The sublime wooden image of Jizō Bosatsu (Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha), a Buddhist deity charged with delivering believers from suffering and often associated with salvation of children, is one of only three surviving works on which the name of the sculptor Intanwho was active in the thirteenth century at monasteries in the ancient capital of Narais recorded, along with the date of completion for the work, 1291. It was originally commissioned by a monk from Kōfukuji, a vaunted temple established in Nara in the seventh century and which still exists today as a repository of many celebrated treasures of Japanese Buddhist sculpture. It remained in Kofukuji until 1906, when the temple sold it to pay for renovations. A technical tour-de-force, the sculpture was delicately carved from multiple blocks of Japanese cypress wood (hinoki), and describes Jizō as a youthful monk, carrying a walking staff and wish-fulfilling jewel, and wearing vestments meticulously decorated with gold paint and cut gold leaf (kirikane), a painstaking technique that is one of the hallmarks of medieval Japanese Buddhist sculpture and painting. The work is now on view at The Met, as part of the current display rotation of the exhibitionAnxiety and Hope in Japanese Artcurated by Aaron Rio.Hirshhorn Museum Presents “Simone Leigh,” First Museum Survey Exhibition Dedicated to the Artist on Its National Tour
Installation Will Debut Three New Sculpture Alongside Artworks From Leighs U.S. Representation at 2022 Venice Biennale; On View Nov. 3March 3, 2024
About Simone LeighHong Kong – Heritage Museum stages new pop-up display “Bruce Lee: a Timeless Classic” and special programmes (with photos)
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of the legend martial arts superstar Bruce Lee. The Hong Kong Heritage Museum (HKHM) will launch a series of programmes in July to pay tribute to Bruce Lee including a pop-up display “Bruce Lee: a Timeless Classic”, screenings of movies “The Kid”, “The Way of the Dragon”, “The Big Boss” and “Fist of Fury” starring him, and the launch of Asia’s first Camp Bruce Lee Hong Kong 2023 in collaboration with Bruce Lee Foundation.
The internationally renowned megastar Bruce Lee (1940-1973) introduced Chinese kung fu to the American public through television and film. In 1971, he returned to Hong Kong and made five films, which became classics. Over the years, Bruce Lee had touched the lives of many across time, space and social backgrounds with his signature moves and styles. He had charmed the world with his fists as well as his wits and remained a constant source of inspiration to popular culture ranging from movies, comics, animations to action figures in various manifestations.
The HKHM will showcase some of the finest of Bruce Lee in popular culture, including publications, commemorative stamps and figures in the pop-up display “Bruce Lee: a Timeless Classic” to be held from July 12 to January 1 next year, at 1/F Function Place. Highlight exhibits include a commemorative calendar card for the premiere of the film “The Way of the Dragon” in 1973, publications about Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do and his films, Bruce Lee’s memorial photo album, Bruce Lee life-size bust and “Bruce Lee’s Legacy in the World of Martial Arts” presentation pack.
Moreover, the HKHM and Bruce Lee Foundation also join hands to present the five-day Camp Bruce Lee Hong Kong 2023 from July 18 to 22, which enables 30 students of Primary 4 to 6 to discover Bruce Lee’s legacy and philosophy and practise his messages on confidence and unlimited potential through various fun activities, such as introduction to Jeet Kune Do, a guided gallery tour, workshops on storytelling and drama, mindfulness in Chinese tea ceremony and sand art. Participants will also meet Bruce Lee’s daughter and President of Bruce Lee Foundation, Ms Shannon Lee, online to share what they have learnt and achieved. The day camp was opened for applications in early June and the museum has contacted each successful applicant.
The HKHM also features movies “The Way of the Dragon”, “The Big Boss” and “Fist of Fury” on July 20 at 1/F Theatre of the museum and collaborates with the Hong Kong Film Archive to present at 2pm on July 22 free screening of the movie “The Kid” (1950) in which Bruce Lee took a leading role for the first time when he was 10 years old, which carries very special meaning. A talk will be held after the screening. Actress Alice Fung, who played the role of Bruce Lee’s sister in the film, will join in person and discuss with veteran film researcher Mr Sam Ho the plot and historical background of the movie to let the audience know more about the development of the film industry of the 1950s, Bruce Lee’s career as an actor, as well as the social and cultural context of postwar Hong Kong. Admission is free with limited quota on a first-come, first-served basis. Audience will be admitted to the theatre 15 minutes before the programme commences. The HKHM will also broadcast the talk live on its YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGlUxolkfsW4K4IQ-nE9ZQ).
Apart from the new pop-up display at the museum’s 1/F Function Place, the day camp and film screenings, visitors are also welcome to visit the “A Man Beyond the Ordinary: Bruce Lee” exhibition at 2/F Thematic Gallery 6 of the museum. Collaborated with Bruce Lee Foundation, this exhibition, launched in 2021, features around 400 exhibits including Bruce Lee memorabilia and photos, a large-scale immersive light and sensory installation “Self．Martial Arts．Emptiness” and other interactive programmes. Through his films, martial arts and life philosophy, visitors will be able to revisit the legend of Bruce Lee. Visitors are also welcome to visit the “Miss you Much Leslie” and “Out of Thin Air: Hong Kong Film Arts and Costumes” thematic exhibitions and “Hong Kong Pop 60+” exhibition which offer free admission.
The HKHM is located at 1 Man Lam Road, Sha Tin. For details of the exhibitions and other programmes, please visit hk.heritage.museum/en/web/hm/highlights.html, or call 2180 8188 for enquiries.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department launched the first Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival in April 2023 aiming to showcase Hong Kong’s unique cultural creativity and vibrancy through exhibitions, film screenings and pop concerts. For more information on other fascinating programmes of the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival, please visit www.pcf.gov.hk/en.Ads
