We hereby present the temporary artist-run space Sanatorium. “Curating is curing,” writes Boris Groys in his book Art Power. “It is not a coincidence that the word ‘curator’ is etymologically related to ‘cure.’” While there is no curator here, in the spirit of the root meaning of curation, we are operating Sanatorium as a “prescription” for the situation we currently find ourselves in.
Censorship is illegal. Despite of this fact, “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” was unjustly removed from the Aichi Triennale. In protest of this decision, I voluntarily forgo the opportunity to exhibit my work.
As a participating artist of Aichi Triennale 2019, I’m very saddened for not being able to show Child Soldier to the Japanese and international audiences in Aichi. I have insisted on withdrawing my work Child Soldier from the exhibition. My withdrawal is in protest against the censorship of the exhibition “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’”
We, the undersigned artists participating in the Aichi Triennale (2019), condemn the decision to close a full section of the exhibition as an unacceptable act of censorship. The section titled “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’”, a special project of the Aichi Triennale, was closed indefinitely to the public on August 3rd due to political pressure from the State as well as pressure from anonymous sources threatening to take violent and terrorist actions unless the works in question were removed from the exhibition.
The Japan branch of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) has released a statement on the closure of “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” at Aichi Triennale 2019. Dated August 7 and signed by AICA Japan president Fumio Nanjo, the AICA statement expresses grave concern about the situation, firmly stating that “the suppression of expressive activities by violence and threats is unacceptable.”
We the undersigned are participating artists in Aichi Triennale 2019. We here express our thoughts on the closure of the exhibit “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’”, a section of the Triennale featuring artworks that have experienced various forms of censorship at public art institutions across Japan.
Bulareyaung Dance and Cultural Foundation – LUNA (2018). All images: Courtesy Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture, Taipei. The Bulareyaung Dance and Cultural Foundation is the Annual Grand Prize winner of this year’s 17th Taishin Arts Awards, itView More >
One of Taiwan’s most prestigious honors in the fields of art and culture, the 16th annual Taishin Arts Awards were announced at a ceremony held in Taipei on Jun 2. Established by the Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture, the Taishin Arts Awards honor outstanding works presented in Taiwan over the preceding year in the visual and performing arts.
Thank you for your continued patronage of our service. Although ART iT has long maintained a social networking service and online shop as complementary features to our online publication, we have decided to terminate these features as part of ourView More >
The winners of the 15th Taishin Arts Awards, including Ghost Mountain Ghost Shovel Art Collective, Huang Ya-li, Xie Zhongqi, LipingLiping, Liu Fang-yi and Lee Shih-yang in the Visual Arts category; Annual Grand Prize Winner Chia-wei Hsu; and Liu Kuan Hsiang inView More >
“Theater of the Road” Transforms the Path of Refugees into a Place of Learning: A Report on European Thinkbelt/McDonald’s Radio University By Chiaki Soma Above: Entrance of the Künstlerhaus Mousonturm. Below: The theater café. All images: Unless otherwise noted,View More >
Hsu Che-Yu – Microphone Test (2015), installation view in the 14th Taishin Arts Award Exhibition at the Museum of National Taipei University of Education (MoNTUE), 2016. Courtesy Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture, Taipei. The prize winners ofView More >