國際藝壇
動向

Turner Prize 2009

Won this year by Mark Leckey - video artist. See announcement of prize by musician Nick Cave and read a recent article about Leckey's work in 'The Guardian' newspaper.

Announcement can be seen at (cut & paste this URL): http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=lEw4fbyh_to

Bangkok Art & Culture Centre - newly opened

The new Centre has only been open for four months. Its inaugural exhibition is 'Traces of Siamese Smile: Art + Faith + Politics + Love' featuring 300 works by over 100 Thai and international artists. The museum is open daily except for Mondays.

New Edition of the 'The Travels of Marco Polo'

Not exactly an art event - but this book, so influential in forming Western notions about China, should be acknowledged somewhere! The new edition, with an introduction by travel writer Colin Thubron, will be published in late October 2008.

Taipei Biennial until 4 January 2009

Taipei is always a pleasure to visit - great museums, street food, tea-shops and a friendly relaxed atmosphere. The Taipei Biennial is another reason to visit.

'Dictionary of War' International Forum in Taipei (and website)

The Taipei Biennial is hosting (on 24 & 25 October 2008) an International Forum to discuss "concepts of war (that) are invented, arranged and presented by scientists, artists, theorists and activists....the aim is to create key notions of thought, that have so far been neglected, or have yet to be created, that can play a significant role in current discussions on the topic of war."

The Forum is presented in association with the Dictionary of War project. See Taipei Biennial and Dictionary of War websites.

'Service’ by the photographer Platon

Revealing online photo-essay on the 'The New Yorker' website of USA military personnel returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Santiago Calatrava's Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin, USA

Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando and I.M. Pei are well-known in Hong Kong as architects who have worked on museum projects - less known is Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava whose Milwaukee Art Museum design is outstanding.

Damien Hirst: 'Beautiful Inside My Head Forever' auction on 15 September 2008

There has been considerable debate about Damien Hirst's 'Beautiful Inside My Head' exhibition of his new and previously unseen work; and its sale, not through a dealer gallery, but through auction house Sotheby's in London. To see the sales catalogue see (cut and paste): http://browse.sothebys.com/?&cat=1&event_id=28883&g=1&i=1&sale_id=L08027&nb=1&dp=Contemporary+Art

For an intelligent review of the art itself, click below to read The Guardian's Peter Simpson's review.

Q8: SAM's Contemporary Art Space - newly opened

The Singapore Art Museum has just opened a new and separate space for contemporary art. Named Q8 (after its location at 8 Queen's Street) - the new space is housed in a former Catholic primary school and church and its inaugural exhibition teams ten curators with ten Singaporean artists to explore the heritage of the site as a school.

'Dark Continents': Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami until 8 November 2008

'Dark Continents' revisits the modernist fascination with tropical locales and indigenous people prevalent during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Artists in the exhibition examine ideas and aesthetics that were popular during this time period and relate them to current views by challenging stereotypes.