Talk by emerging curators Sudjud Dartanto(Indonesia) and Che Kyongfa(Japan)
Date and Time: Sunday March 25, 14:00-16:00 *Booking required Venue: Hillside Annex B (30-2 Sarugaku-cho, Shibuya-ku)

　
左：「Immemorial, Reaching Back Beyond Memory」（2009/2011）
右：「U(dys)topia」（2010）

AIT is pleased to host a talk by two promising curators from Indonesia and Japan. Sudjud Dartanto from Indonesia is currently in Tokyo via AIT`s residence program. The first half of the talk will be led by Sudjud addressing the relevance of the theme "Relational Aesthetics" today, in connection with the contemporary art scene in Indonesia. Kyongfa will join the talk from the second half for further discussion and analysis on the topic. A casual bar will open afterwards serving Indonesian snacks.

Sudjud Dartanto

Che Kyongfa

"Untitled", 2011, Analogue colour photo

AIT is happy to host a talk and workshop by Ksenia Galiaeva on Monday, March 12th. Ksenia Galiaeva is a Russian/Dutch artist working mainly with photography, currently artist in residence with AIT through the support of FONDS BKVB (the Netherlands Arts Foundation). She lives and works in Amsterdam. Following a short introductory talk about her works, a fun and experimental workshop on photography will follow, using cameras and various objects.

For fourteen years she has been making photos of her parents in the paradisiacal surroundings of their Russian summerhouse ? often humorous photos of them busy in the their garden or snapshots of foods in vivid colours on the kitchen table. What fascinates her is the way memories change through repetition and grow to mythical proportions, and our abilities to steer memory in different directions. The flow of time, continuity and memory are main themes in her work.

The challenge in photography is to get past the restrictions of the medium ? a 'decisive moment' seen in 'monocular' perspective. Ksenia is interested in connections photography has with other art disciplines ? literature, painting and sculpture.
For the workshop, participants will be asked to bring a digital camera (or simply use camera function on mobile phones) and any objects they`d like to use at the workshop (pictures from magazines? coloured paper? candy? vegetables or fruit?)
The aim is to explore between the 2-dimensional and the 3-dimensional. In a photo we can suggest volume and space ? other volume and space than that we see with our eyes. Sculptures can be flat and photos can have form and volume: a face from a magazine cover folded in half instantly becomes 3D, objects once in a photo becomes 2D.
Examples of ways to experiment will be shown during the introduction through works by Ksenia and other artists, such as Gabriel Orozco, Erwin Wurm, Wolfgang Tillmans, John Stezaker, and more! In the end, all participants will be asked to briefly share their work.

The talk and workshop will be in English with consecutive Japanese translation by AIT staff.

[ CONTACT ]
Send an email with its subject as "AIT ARTIST TALK #59" to otoiawase@a-i-t.net, including your name, and contact.

[BIOGRAPHY]

"Untitled", 2011, Analogue colour photo

"Untitled", 2011, Analogue colour photo

"Stubborn", 2007

AIT will host a talk by the current artist in resident, Jyri Kaasinen on Monday, Jan 16th.

Jyri Kaasinen is a Finnish media artist working mainly with photography, currently artist in resident with AIT through the support of FRAME and the Finnish Institute in Japan.

Over nearly ten years one of Jyri's projects has been capturing portraits of people who operate in the field of creative professions: artists, musicians, graphic designers and such. In his photos these individuals are often shown outside of their working identities or artist trademarks.
Never really leaving the house without a camera he's also able to capture "treasures of everyday life": details or views he finds in public spaces. He looks for a subjects of poetic quality that are able to evoke a story in the viewer's imagination within one frame.
His work is related to documentary and photojournalism, but he approaches the subject with artistic freedom to use any available photographic tool or post processing technique. In his talk he will also show some of his more experimental output.

The talk will be in English with consecutive Japanese translation by AIT staff.

Jyri Kaasinen, born 1979 in Nurmijärvi, Finland. Lives and works in Helsinki, Finland.
Studied Media Art in Tampere University of Applied Sciences: School of Art and Media, Tampere, Finland, graduated in 2004. Studied Visual Journalism at the same university in 2008-2009.His early artworks are paintings, drawings, animations and media art pieces with programmed content. After picking up photography in 2000 it becomes the base for his working. He has spent working periods abroad in St.Petersburg and various other locations in Russia in 2002-2003 and as Artist-in-Residence in Düsseldorf, Germany in 2009. www.luonnoskirja.net (The name of the website, "luonnoskirja" means sketchbook in Finnish)

social media:
- Twitter - Youtube - Tumblr - Flickr

Stay: November 25, 2011 - January 27, 2012
Founders: FRAME／Finnish Institute in Japan
Event: AIT ARTIST TALK #57 "Artists, film, pixels and chemicals"

From left: Strolls through time and space, 2009 / Monochrome Anachron, 2008 / Self Contained, 2010 / Ghost II, 2009

AIT is happy to host a talk by the current artist in resident, Michael Johansson on Monday, Dec 5th.

Michael Johansson is the 2011 IASPIS artist in resident with AIT, staying in Tokyo for three months. Johansson's works are sculptural installations using everyday objects stacked in highly complex formations so that they become almost solid geometric forms, reminiscent of Minimalist sculpture. An avid collector of 'things', Johansson's art practice is intimately connected to his interest in place as a point of departure and research. Johansson has said that his dense sculptures and the city of Tokyo share a certain parallel in terms of being 'packed'. In this talk the artist will speak about his works using images. The title of the talk evokes a contrasting emotion to his interest in density.

The talk will be in English with consecutive Japanese translation by AIT staff.

Ken Lum "Cheeseburger" 2011

AIT will hold an artist talk by Ken Lum on 28th November.
He will mainly talk about his art making and works, which will be shown in Tokyo this winter.

Ken Lum is a Canadian artist of Chinese origin whose works in photography and installation have been exhibited across the world in many exhibitions, including Documenta XI (2002), Istanbul Biennale 2007 and Gwangju Biennale 2008. His approach may be considered conceptual and concerned with issues of portraiture and language. He has made large scale public art commissions in Canada and Europe and has also been involved in several curatorial projects including 'The Short Century', a 2001 exhibition curated by Okwui Enwezor. Lum co-founded the English language 'Yishu Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art' in 2000. Lum's diverse works share a questioning attitude to the systems and structures which shape our everyday world, manipulating advertising, business, consumer or traditional signs and visual forms. Lum served as advisor for AIT from 2001-2008.

Ken Lum's visual grammar to represent the constitution of identity in the face of the relentless forces of acculturation as played out in everyday lived experience will provide an opportunity to hear fresh insights and thoughts.
Please feel free to join us!

[ CONTACT ]
Send an email with its subject as "AIT ARTIST TALK #54" to otoiawase＠a-i-t.net, including your name, and contact.

[Ken Lum BIOGRAPHY]

Ken Lum Solo Exhibition:
Date: Thurthday December 15th, 2011 - Saturday March 3rd, 2012
Venue： MISA SHIN GALLERY

From left: Wojciech Gilewicz（Poland）／Wai Keung Hui（Hong Kong）／Fazal Rizvi（Pakistan）

We welcome the 2011 artists in residence of ARCUS to make short presentations about their works and also hear from ARCUS Director, Mami Odai. The presentations will be translated consecutively into Japanese from English.

ARCUS Project was launched in 1995 by Ibaraki Prefectural Government as its main organizer. It mainly offers an artist-in-residence program as well as other programs such as exhibitions, workshops, lecture series, concerts and film screenings.
For its artist-in-residence program, ARCUS Project invites artists from all over the world through a public selection. ARCUS promotes each artist's activities by providing studio space, financial support, and opportunities to interact with the local community.

This year's artists in residence are:
・Wojciech Gilewicz (Born in 1974/Lives and works in: Poland）
・Wai Keung Hui ( Born in 1973/Lives and works in: Hong Kong）
・Fazal Rizvi ( Born in 1987/Lives and works in: Pakistan）

To know more about them, visit the ARCUS website!

At the event, there will be a bar, snacks, a relaxed sitting on the floor environment and music as usual.
We look forward to seeing you!

[OUTLINE]
Date: Monday November 21st, 2011
Time: 19:00-22:00, Mini Talks begin at 20:00
Venue: AIT room Daikanyama
Twin Bldg Daikanyama B403, 30-8 Sarugaku-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0033 [ MAP ]
Admission: Free *No booking required

[CONTACT]
Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT]
T03-5489-7277 / F03-3780-0266
otoiawase@a-i-t.net