29 Apr –
30 Apr 2021
Launch: Now water can flow or it can crash, my friend
The program ‘Now water can flow or it can crash, my friend: Fluid archives of active discontents from East Asia and beyond’ consists of a series of online/offline roundtable discussions, interactive workshops, screenings and lectures to explore notions of art, archive, and activism in the context of East Asia and beyond – kicking off with a digital launch. The series are realized in collaboration with ASCA/University of Amsterdam.
Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water.
Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup;
You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle;
You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot.
Now water can flow or it can crash.
Be water, my friend.
— Bruce Lee.
Launch
Date: April 29 (Thu) 13.00 – 14.00 CET
On 29th April, the launch event of the series will take place online. In this event, the audience will be introduced to the project by immersive mediums such as visual teaser by artist Simo Tse, interactive quizzes and a musical performance by Hong Kong-based artist Sophy Wong.
Tune in via YouTube.
Online Roundtable
Date: April 30 (Fri) 13.00 – 15.00 CET
Moderator: Lok Yee Wong
Panel: Lin Kok Cheung Dalu, Objournalist, Michael Leung, Susi Law
In today’s Hong Kong, with the reverberations of the ongoing protests, practicing art is increasingly becoming more complicated. Nevertheless, the imagination of Hong Kong artists has not been halted by the politicisation of the city, but flowing into communities in different forms. In the roundtable From stories to communities, from arts to Hong Kong, we gather artists who are contributing their works to the city among all the upheavals for dialogue and experience sharing.
Register
The event is FREE and has limited spots. Please register to join the workshops by sending an email to reserveren@framerframed.nl. You will receive an invitation by email. The language is English.
Background
How to live life in a time of intense insecurity? A pandemic time, with a climate crisis looming and with populism, systematic racism worldwide on the rise? What can we learn from art practices and recent social movements hailing from East Asia to imagine a more sustainable future from our own situated context? The title of this program, taken from Hong Kong American martial artist Bruce Lee’s philosophy, reminds us that resilience and care come from fluidity, flexibility, and tenacity. In a turbulent time, we need even more so friends close and afar to make alliances for a journey in building a better world.
Together with artists, collectives, activists, and scholars, this new series digs into the question: what role do cultural practitioners play in social movements in East Asia? How do they transgress nation-based boundaries and join the flows with others? How can we archive actions that are always in flux, and so often, on the verge of destruction, disappearance, and alteration by the ruling powers? What symbolic and material techniques do artists mobilise to address ethics of resilience? And how can such artistic practices be restored so that we can learn from them?
In the coming months, we invite you to explore the various forms and creative potentials of resistance, remembrance; of fluidity, porosity, non-oppositionality, and care. Through this program, we advocate for a better world where we attend to our interconnectedness, where we float freely yet at the same time hold each other firmly, like water—formless and shapeless, maybe, but also more resilient.
Contributors
Yvette Lok Yee Wong is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam after having graduated from the Department of Humanities and Creative Writing at Hong Kong Baptist University where she received her MPhil.
Lin Kok Cheung Dalu is a designer as well as a district counselor, intervening district affairs with his art perspectives.
Objournalist is an art team which records local histories by doing research and curating objects collected from on-site visits and second-hand sources.
Michael Leung is an artist/designer, researcher and visiting lecturer in Hong Kong, who engages in developing commons with writing fiction and zine-publishing.
Susi Law is an artist, a curator and a district counselor, who aims to empower the community with her curations.
Now water can flow or it can crash, my friend series is a collaboration of Framer Framed and ASCA/University of Amsterdam.
Research Team: Emily Shin-Jie Lee, Jiyoung Kim, Yvette Lok Yee Wong, Zoénie Liwen Deng
Visual identity & Graphic Design: Simo Tse
Facilitator: Jeroen de Kloet
Art and Activism / Action Research / The living archive / East Asia /
Agenda
Creative workshop: When in doubt, take a walk
An online exercise connecting the urban experiences of Hong Kong to Amsterdam by walking
Online Discussion: "Ultra" Kinship
A video essay screening and discussion on polymaternalism and alternative kinship
Online Roundtable: Live Together Otherwise
On mutual help and collegiality in times of crisis
Online Film Screenings: Now water can flow or it can crash, my friend
Selected films from Mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong
Online Roundtable: Resistant Bodies
A public program shedding light on women’s stories in the sites of resistance
Online Roundtable: Curating Against Oblivion
A public program exploring curating as a form of resistance and remembrance
Network
Michael Leung
Artist
Susi Law
Curator and artist
Lin Kok Cheung Dalu
Designer and district councilor
Simo Tse
Designer
Sophy Wong
Singer-songwriter and producer
