Panel Discussion
Artist duo C&G (Clara Cheung and Gum Cheng) has held an artist-run space in Hong Kong for many years, with their practice committed to social engagement. Clara Cheung ran for the Hong Kong District Council election last November. With support from local pro-democrats, she was elected as a councilor for Wan Chai District, a central area of the city.
For this two-part program, C&G will first present their lecture-performance Am I a Ghost? What does it mean to respect disparate others who may be threats to oneself? Through their unique style, the artists share with the audience their perspectives on trust and discord within a community. In the second half, we invite artists and journalists doing creative work or research in Hong Kong for a discussion on the correlation between direct action and artistic practice, and its effects and limits within an increasingly divided society.
Panelists｜
Clara Cheung (Artist, Art Director of C&G Artpartment, District Councilor in Wan Chai, Hong Kong)
Gum Cheng (Artist, Curator of C&G Artpartment)
Kyun-Chome (Artist)
Daisuke Tsuda (Journalist, media activist, artistic director for Aichi Triennale 2019)
Moderator｜Chiaki Soma (Director of Theater Commons Tokyo)
Commons Forum
Since Aichi Triennale 2019, discussions around freedom of expression and the public role of the arts have erupted. What are the next steps for this society exposed to its divisions and discords? As a response to this urgency, TCT’20 hosts a four-session Commons Forum intensive. Under the themes of “Arts and Society,” “Arts and Public,” “Arts and Virtuality,” and “Arts and Politics,” we welcome over 20 panelists from home and abroad for discussions totaling more than 10 hours. Weaving together history and future as well as theory and practice, we hope to emerge with some common ground where we can stop and consider the potential of the arts in overcoming social divisions.
Profile
C&G
C&G (Clara & Gum) are two Hong Kong artists who have founded the art space: C&G Artpartment in Hong Kong, China, in 2007. With a strong concern over the local art ecology, C&G use their art to respond to social and cultural issues. Recently they have participated in Singapore Biennale 2019 with a piece Am I a Ghost? to critically reflect upon mistrust amongst members in a community.
In response to the recent political situation in Hong Kong, Clara Cheung ran for District Council Election, and has won a seat as a District Councilor in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. They believe that artistic perspectives can be applied to political activities and are important to keeping Hong Kong’s democratic movement sustainable.
Kyun-Chome
Formed in 2011, Kyun-Chome is an artist unit comprised of the female-male duo Eri Homma and Nabuchi. They have created work, mainly in the form of video installation, in socially divided areas such as Fukushima Prefecture, Ishinomaki City, and Okinawa Prefecture, as well as in Hong Kong and Berlin. In 2016 they held solo exhibition Hi in the darkness in Komagome Soko, Tokyo. Participated in Reborn-Art Festival 2017, Gangwon International Biennale 2018, and recently designed an installation Until my voice dies for Aichi Triennale 2019.
Daisuke Tsuda
Born in 1973, Tokyo. Graduated from the Social Sciences Department of Waseda University. Tsuda specializes in writing about media, journalism, copyrights, contents business and freedom of expression. In recent years he has also focused on regional problems, social business and the change brought by the technology. His publications include Live Through Information War (Asahi Shinsho), Influence Politics through Web! (Asahi Shinsho), Mobilization Revolution (Chuko Shinsho Laclef), and Breathing Information (Asahi Publications).
Chiaki Soma
Representative Director of NPO Arts Commons Tokyo, Art producer. Chiaki was the first Program Director of Festival/Tokyo, Japan’s leading performing arts festival, from 2009-2013, as well as the first Director of Steep Slope Studio in Yokohama from 2006-2010. She served on the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Culture Council Cultural Policy Subcommittee from 2012-2015. In 2015, she received the Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Since 2016, she has been a Specially Appointed Associate Professor, College of Contemporary Psychology, Body Expression and Cinematic Arts, Graduate School of Contemporary Psychology of Rikkyo University, Tokyo; since 2017, she has served as the chairperson of the Theater Commons Tokyo Executive Committee, as well as its director. She is also involved in theatrical curation for the 2019 edition of the Aichi Triennale.
Date
March 8th [Sun] / 17:00-19:30
Venue
SHIBAURA HOUSE
3-15-4 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0023
Tel｜03-5419-6446
How to Participate
Booking essential. Show general admission pass on entry.
Buy Pass
Language
Japanese