Date/Time: Saturday 1 June, 11.30am to 1pm
Venue: Gillman Barracks, 47 Malan Road #01-25, Singapore 109444
Join artist Ng Joon Kiat and Dr Cleo Roberts-Komireddi as they discuss how to create a sustainable practice, maximise potential opportunities, and, ultimately, develop a studio practice anywhere.
Though Ng currently maintains a studio and storage that he manages with meticulous logistical care, sustaining an artistic career is fraught with challenges. Rising studio costs, tight competition for attention in the art market and institutions, and at times a lack of support, community and infrastructure for artists. As the artist points out in the exhibition statement, “If defending [his] dignity as an artist feels as tiring as dragging a deadweight around”, what are some ways to navigate around these obstacles and conundrums? A solution to such confines, Ng suggests the portable studio as an alternative, which his exhibition title reveals: “Portable Identity: Migration to the internet country”. Discover how Ng explores new approaches to develop his practice anywhere, creating the works’ look for his solo exhibition as he shares insights in this conversation with Roberts-Komireddi. Roberts-Komireddi will talk about arts management, from writing and research to strategic and financial planning.
“During the Covid lockdowns, I began to discover the Internet country. Avenues for connection, exploration, and autonomy exist there. Through online platforms, I navigate new territories without being fixed down by the confines of geography and institutions. I prioritize personal purposes and autonomy; I want my art practice to be meaningful on my terms. “
“This exhibition has been quickly put together while the works took quite a few years to prepare. My paintings have become lightweight and portable. The world is dynamic and changeable; I want to shed my burdens and become porous to find new spaces for practice.”
About the Artist:
https://www.yeoworkshop.com/artists/67-ng-joon-kiat/biography/
About the speaker:
Dr Cleo Roberts-Komireddi is an art historian, broadcaster, and commentator who has worked closely with several leading contemporary artists. Beginning her career at Yinka Shonibare CBE studio where she helped launch the artist residency Guest Projects, she later led Oliver Beer studio and worked on the Metropolitan Museum’s inaugural commission for sound installation. She hosts the Art Worlds podcast and is currently writing a comprehensive history of Indian Art for Yale University Press. The project has been awarded an Association of Art Historians grant. She has been published in The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Spectator, and Frieze; and has contributed to the book ‘Great Women Artists’ (2019). An academic advisor for MAP Academy, Roberts-Komireddi has lectured at The Courtauld Institute of Art, Sotheby’s Institute, Princeton University, University of Cambridge, King’s College, London, and the Royal Asiatic Society. She holds a diploma in Art Law, and has reported for BBC World Service and serves as a consulting art editor for STIRworld.
