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  • Jan 24, 2025

Weekly News Roundup: January 24, 2025

NIHON UNIVERSITY FILM STUDY CLUB, Record N, 1959, film still: 20 min. Collection of the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (TOP). Courtesy TOP.

30th Anniversary of Japanese Art Festival to Focus on Documentary Practices

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the 2025 edition of the Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions will be held at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (TOP) from January 31 to February 16. This year’s theme, “Docs: Images and Records,” highlights the significant transformations in media and documentary practices from the 19th century to today, prompting the reappraisal of documents and moving images. The annual festival will present works by Japanese and international artists—from the TOP collection and beyond—through exhibitions, screenings, live performances, events, and talks.

Portrait of ONG KENG SEN, the artistic director of T:>Works, Singapore. Photo by Jeannie Ho. Courtesy T:>Works.

Singapore’s T:>Works to Present Third Installment of Cultural Arts Program

The third iteration of Per°Form Open Academy of Arts + Activations is set to run from February 7–28. Presented by Singapore-based transdisciplinary arts company T:>Works, the three-week program on thought leadership in the art world will feature a roster of cultural leaders addressing the intersections of art and social responsibility. Headlining the Mentor Series talks are Anselm Franke, former curator of Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt, and Gridthiya Gaweewong, curator and artistic director at the Jim Thompson Art Centre in Bangkok; Franke and Gaweewong will explore contemporary art’s future trajectories through their extensive curatorial experiences. The program will also feature an Opening Studio session with artists from Nepal’s indigenous communities, as well as a Closing Studio session led by acclaimed French choreographer Xavier Le Roy. 

Portraits of (left to right) MIZUKA SEYA, CINDY LIM, REBECCA HU, and RAINIE XIAOYU MA. Courtesy Phillips Hong Kong.

Phillips Continues Asian Expansion with Key Appointments 

On January 22, international auction house Phillips announced a series of new appointments for its Modern & Contemporary Art and Business Development teams in Asia. These include: Mizuka Seya as the regional director and senior specialist in the company’s Tokyo office; Cindy Lim as the senior specialist for Modern & Contemporary Art in Hong Kong; Rebecca Hu as the specialist and head of sales for Modern & Contemporary Art in Hong Kong; and Rainie Xiaoyu Ma as the associate specialist for Modern & Contemporary Art in Shanghai. In a press release, Meiling Lee, head of Modern & Contemporary Art in Asia, said: “These appointments come at a crucial and exciting time for our business in Asia, as [Phillips] celebrates its 10th anniversary in the region this year. The Asian auction market evolves rapidly, and Phillips continues to adapt its structure and activities to meet the growing demands. These experienced specialists will help us to achieve our ambitious goals for the region.”

View of the Photography Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA). Courtesy SeMA, Seoul.

Seoul Museum of Art to Launch New Institutions

On January 20, the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) announced plans to expand in scope and scale by opening two new institutions. Marking South Korea’s first public art museum specializing in photography, the Photography Seoul Museum of Art will open its doors to the public on May 29 in Dobong district, southern Seoul. In the second half of this year, the Seo-Seoul Museum of Art, dedicated to media art, will debut in northern Seoul’s Geumcheon district. With these two new ventures, SeMa’s “network art museum system” will encompass a total of eight institutions, underscoring SeMa’s mission to cultivate and strengthen international ties, especially with the Middle East, eastern and northern Europe, and the broader Asia Pacific region.

Portrait of SUTIMA SUCHARITAKUL standing in front of PRAE PUPITYASTAPORN’s The rocks that I collect, 2022. Courtesy Nova Contemporary, Bangkok.

Nova Contemporary to Open New Gallery Space in Bangkok

The Bangkok-based Nova Contemporary art gallery has announced its relocation to a new flagship space on March 29, after eight years of residing in the Thai capital’s Pathum Wan district. The gallery, which was founded by Sutima Sucharitakul, spotlights both emerging and established talents in the region. After closing its current venue earlier this month, it will reopen on Si Phraya Road in the city’s historical Bang Rak neighborhood. Boasting five floors, the new space will launch with an inaugural exhibition celebrating over three decades of Thai contemporary art. The show will bring together around 30 artists, including those represented by Nova Contemporary, as well as prominent figures in the Southeast Asian art scene and several collaborators from Bangkok CityCity Gallery.

Portrait of NICI CUMPSTON at "Tarnanthi 2020: Open Hands," at the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), Adelaide, 2020. Photo by Saul Steed. Courtesy Maningrida Arts & Culture and AGSA.

Nici Cumpston to Helm Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection

After a 17-year tenure at Adelaide’s Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) as curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, Nici Cumpston is set to become the director of the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the only museum in the US dedicated to Indigenous Australian art. An award-winning Barkandji artist, curator, writer, and educator with Afghan, Irish, and English roots, Cumpston brings with her a wealth of experience to the role. At AGSA, she curated 16 major exhibitions and significantly grew the institution’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art collection. In 2014, she was appointed as the inaugural artistic director of Tarnanthi, AGSA’s platform for contemporary First Nations art. Cumpston will assume her new role in May, overseeing the Kluge-Ruhe collection of 3,600 artworks while continuing as Tarnanthi’s artistic director. In a press release, she expressed her gratitude, describing the appointment as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to spotlight Indigenous Australian art on a global scale. 

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