Visual Arts

Sa Sa Art Projects - Phnom Penh

Sa Sa Art Projects is a Cambodian artist-run space dedicated to experimental and critical contemporary art practices. It was founded in 2010 by the Cambodian arts collective Stiev Selapak and operated from the historic and vibrant apartment complex known as the White Building until 2017, when the building was demolished for new development.

At its new location, Sa Sa Art Projects has shifted toward a stronger engagement with Cambodian young artists and art graduates while continuing to build a deeper dialogue with artists within Asia through its creative education programs, exhibitions, its signature Pisaot artist residency, and other special collaborative projects.

Sa Sa Art Projects is an experimental mechanism which addresses Cambodia's lack of infrastructure for contemporary art education and engagement by creating space for critical discussion. We believe that by not being bound to a rigid organisational structure, Sa Sa Art Projects is able to evolve organically to adapt to the changing context and needs of the communities with which we work.

Organhaus Art Space - Chongqing

Organhaus Art Space is an independent art organisation of artists and curators. Located within 501 Art Warehouse, Organhaus is a collaboration between the independent spaces ‘Organ’ and ‘M-Haus Commune.’ Working primarily with young and experimental multi-media artists, its focus is on the progress of urbanisation in China and artistic cooperatives within the global village. Organhaus is dedicated to the exploration of experimental and multi-media art, holding art exhibitions and providing and exchanging studio spaces with young artists. Within the ever-developing atmosphere of China, the organisation hopes to provide energy and practical experience in supporting contemporary Chinese art, cutting edge art and the development and exchange of international culture.

The Pottery Workshop - Jingdezhen

The Pottery Workshop was established in 1985 with the goals of promoting ceramic art and education. On May 1 2005, The Pottery Workshop, Jingdezhen was inaugurated in The Sculpture Factory. Today it is composed of the Residency Program, Mufei Gallery, Education Center and Creative Market. The organisation is surrounded by hundreds of small, independent craftsmen and studios with a wide spectrum of skills. Resident artists are encouraged to interact and integrate with this lively community. The Pottery Workshop is a place where Jingdezhen's ceramic traditions and contemporary ceramic concepts can intermingle and grow.

Videotage - Hong Kong

Videotape is a leading non-profit organisation in Hong Kong that focuses on the promotion of media and video art. They organise art events to cultivate a network of artists and art-related practitioners, and to promote international cultural exchange.  Key projects include FUSE Residency Programme, Dorkbot-HK, Wikitopia, and VMAC, one of the city's largest archives of video collection.

Hong Kong Arts Centre

Hong Kong Arts Centre - The relevant destination for arts and creative inspirations in Hong Kong.

HKAC is a multi-arts centre that fosters artistic exchanges locally and internationally, bringing the most forward creations to Hong Kong and showcasing homegrown talents abroad.

HKAC stimulates innovation and promotes creativity. Being Hong Kong's only independent non-profit multi-arts institution, HKAC offers exhibitions, screenings and performances, connecting the arts of Hong Kong to the rest of the world through programmes and collaborations.

Come to HKAC to experience, appreciate, learn and be inspired by the arts.

Kriti Gallery & Residency - Varanasi  

Kriti Gallery & Artist Residency welcomes artists, scholars, writers, creative individuals and social activists from all fields to interact with one of the oldest living cities and the Indian arts and culture. The vision is to cultivate a platform for an ongoing cultural exchange across all media. Traditional or contemporary, arts of crafts, heritage and history, social or spiritual projects find their support and home at Kriti.

1. Shanthiroad - Bangalore

1. Shanthiroad is an artist led initiative that nurtures creativity and cutting edge arts practice, and brings together local, national and international artists. It is an incubator for contemporary art experimentation and conceptualisation, with a focus on visual and new media art forms. Lectures and presentations are regularly hosted at 1. Shanthiroad, which serves as a social space for fostering dialogue within the local thriving art scene. Artists are asked to produce outcomes based on their proposals, resulting in an Open Studio at the end of their residency period. Candidates who are interested in working with a botanical archive and/or the history of Australia and India would be particularly welcome.

Sanskriti Foundation - New Delhi

The purpose of Sanskriti Foundation is to cultivate an environment for the preservation and development of the artistic and cultural expressions of India and of the world as a whole. Established in 1978, Sanskriti Foundation is a registered Public Charitable Trust based in New Delhi, India. Sanskriti perceives its role as that of a catalyst, in revitalizing cultural sensitivity in contemporary times. The Foundation aims to create an understanding and appreciation of Indian traditional arts and culture, and support artists, writers, scholars and creative individuals to strengthen their practice.

Komunitas Salihara - Jakarta

Komunitas Salihara is the first privately-owned multidisciplinary arts and cultural center in Indonesia. Their vision is to maintain freedom of thought and expression, respect differences and diversity, and to foster artistic and intellectual resources. Komunitas Salihara gives priority to new arts and invites audiences to support this innovation. The organisation hosts 'Festival Salihara', a biannual arts event showcasing dance, theatre, music and visual arts by Indonesian and international artists. The complex features a black box theatre, art gallery, lounge, open-air theatre, dance and music studios, art store and café.

Common Room Networks Foundation - Bandung

Common Room Networks Foundation (Common Room) is an open platform for art, culture and media. Initially established as a project led by Bandung Centre for New Media Arts in 2001, Common Room has evolved into a not-for-profit organisation which promotes creativity, facilitating multidisciplinary dialogue and collaboration. Activities include exhibitions, workshops, discussions, screenings, festivals, as well as public participatory projects and activities.

Pasang Air

Cemeti Art House

For its Pasang Air residency program in 2017, Cemeti Art House invites three artists from three different countries to spend a period of three months in Yogyakarta. Within the program, artists are given the opportunity to concentrate on artistic research, developing work and experimentation, as well as to interact with other artists, local art workers and Cemeti’s extensive community. The program entails several public moments, amongst others a conversation with local constituencies, as well as a final presentation, which often takes the form of an exhibition in Cemeti’s gallery space, but can be expanded to include other forms of publicness. 

Cemeti Art House welcomes diverse visual art practices, and particularly those that are research based, social and experimental or that engage in critical discourse. Cemeti Art House also facilitates projects that connect artists with other professionals or that engage with specific communities (in Yogyakarta and its surroundings). Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta.

BankART1929 - Yokohama

BankART1929 was established in 2004 as a non-profit organization designed to utilize refurbished historical buildings for the development of contemporary culture and arts in Yokohama City. The organisation currently runs BankART Studio NYK, a renovated former warehouse which coverers approx. 3,000 square metres.

BankART1929 actively pursues hundreds of programs per year, operating studio spaces, planning and organizing art courses, running the bookshop and producing its contents, as well as organizing exhibitions and providing coordinator services. The art forms presented range from fine arts, architecture, theatre and dance to music and more. These activities are not only conducted within the BankART building but also in its surrounding neighbourhood.

Youkobo Art Space – Tokyo

Based in Tokyo with over 28 years of experience of hosting international artists, Youkobo has developed a unique residence program focused on supporting the creative activities of its participants.

While providing an environment conducive to work in the studio, Youkobo has become a vital platform for exchange between artists of different backgrounds and genres through its residency and gallery program. At the same time, it provides opportunities for engagement with the local community and wider art scene through an extensive domestic and international network.

The Youkobo Artist Residency Program aims to give participating artists, curators, and researchers an enriching experience in the realization of their projects/research in Japan. In recent years, Youkobo is also working to develop exchange schemes with art universities in support of recent graduates.

Participants are selected based on the strength of their proposals and its suitability to the Youkobo facilities, as well as the quality of previous work.

Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio

Set atop the park in southern Sapporo, Tenjinyama Art Studio offers panoramic views of the city and its surrounding mountains. Tenjinyama Art Studio houses 13 studio apartments, versatile larger spaces, as well as a gallery space on the ground floor. Local residents as well as international artists and residents from a wide range of creative backgrounds use this unique public space, providing a great forum for local engagement as well as an open dialogue between the artists and the community. Tenjinyama Art Studio offers self-funded residencies of up to 3 months, and provide a studio apartment, use of all public facilities and a wealth of local knowledge from the staff.

Incheon Art Platform (IAP)

Incheon Art Platform (IAP) is a multicultural art forum that supports the creative work of artists and researchers through its residency program. Since opening in September 2009, Incheon Art Platform has diversified and developed its programs, supporting artists, hosting exhibitions and performances, and offering educational programs. Each year around nine global artists become residents, creating and transforming Incheon Art Platform into a place for international exchange and communication. Incheon Art Platform inherited the openness of Incheon’s open port and its traits and will continue to carry this forward.

Rimbun Dahan – Kuang

Rimbun Dahan is a privately-run centre for architecture, creative arts and nature conservation, within a 14-acre indigenous Southeast Asian garden setting outside Kuala Lumpur. Since 1994, the resident artist program has hosted more than 100 individuals who have benefited from the unique atmosphere of Rimbun Dahan to build their own artistic practice. This residency encourages links between artistic communities in Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia, and Australia, and provides artists with a calm environment for creative work. Rimbun Dahan supports both traditional and contemporary art forms from both performing and visual artists.

George Town Festival - George Town

With an event management range that is both explorative and expressive, Joe Sidek Productions explores avenues of creativity through the usage of space, arts, and culture. The organisation’s three major projects have been organising and implementing George Town Festival (2010 - present), Butterworth Fringe Festival (2015 - present), Rainforest Fringe Festival (2017 - present), and other projects with government and non-government bodies.

The Festival event management and production range includes festival planning and management, artist liaison, event programming and logistics, site management /general production, stage management, VIP management, hospitality, backstage management, and volunteer management. Giving back to the community through the enhancement of the arts is a core motto of the proudly Penang-based company. The organisation has a reputation for bringing artistry back to life in the city, and they wish to continue to play this pivotal role in the years ahead. Joe Sidek Productions have in the last 7 years collaborated with several institutions and organisations in internship and residency programmes with participants from New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Australia.

Green Papaya Art Projects – Manila

Green Papaya Art Projects is an independent initiative that supports and organises actions and proposition that explore tactical approaches to the production, dissemination, research and presentation of contemporary practices in varied artistic and scholarly fields. It endeavours to provide a platform for intellectual exchange, sharing of information, critical dialogue and creative/practical collaboration among the artistic community. Founded in 2000, it is the longest running independently run multidisciplinary platform in the Philippines.

Objectifs: Centre for Photography and Film - Singapore

Established in 2003, Objectifs is an independent non-profit gallery and educational space that is committed to advancing the practice and appreciation of film and photography. Through year-round educational programmes, exhibitions, screenings, residencies and mentorships, our mission is to build a community of image-makers and visual storytellers, creating and sharing artistic works that foster dialogue around local and international issues. The goal of our residency programme is to provide photographers, filmmakers and artists who work in photography and film with a supportive platform, conducive for the creation and development of new personal work, as well as to facilitate exchanges with local artists and build networks.

Grey Projects - Singapore

Grey Projects is an artist-run space for publication, curatorial and exchange activities, supporting artists and art practices with exhibitions, writings and residencies. Grey Projects looks for the urgent, the necessary, the experiments, the propositional, as well as new writing and curatorial practices. As a venue, Grey Projects is a workspace, library, gallery, studio and residency space. They are located in Tiong Bahru, one of Singapore's oldest public housing estates, and they celebrate their 10th year in 2018.

Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts, Taipei

Overlooking the Kuandu Plain and constructed alongside the mountain slope, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts is the first fine arts museum located within a university campus in Taiwan.  The Kuandu Residency Program aims to enhance the exchange experience between international artists/curators, university students/tutors, and museum/audiences. The program provides a great opportunity for artists/curators and audiences to create conversations at the university and to share learning resources and practices through artist talks, open studios and workshops.

ComPeung - Chiang Mai Province

Operating since early 2007, ComPeung is the first non-government artist-in-residence space in Thailand. Situated in Doi Saket, about 25 km away from the city of Chiang Mai, it offers the best of both worlds, a semi-rural environment in close vicinity to the modern urban lifestyle of Chiang Mai. ComPeung is open to artists from all media to work on current projects in a peaceful atmosphere or to explore new possibilities through engagement with the local community and environment. The size of the land and its location make ComPeung an ideal place for outdoor installation projects, interacting with the natural environment and the community.

Ne'-Na Contemporary Art Space, Chiang Mai

Ne'-Na Contemporary Art Space is an artist-run residency program in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. The program gives artists the opportunity to develop and expand their work and engage in intercultural exchange amidst a supportive network of local and international artists. Ne'-Na invites and welcomes artists to learn about the traditional northern Thai (Lanna) culture, and to explore possibilities in sustainable, self-sufficient living. The residency program is a platform for international artists to negotiate the traditional and popular art and culture of Thailand through their works. 

The program is divided between two sites: Monfai Cultural Centre in Chiang Mai city, and the annex site, just outside the city in Mae Rim.

Visual Arts Department, School of Fine & Applied Arts, Bangkok University - Bangkok

Visual Arts Department, Bangkok University, was established in 1989 with a mission to provide courses on contemporary art in an effort to produce artists, creators, and individuals of other professions who contribute to the art society at local, regional, and international level. The department recognises the significance of socio-cultural diversity, of the transfer and exchange of knowledge and insight between artists, people and communities in various dimensions, and of the interplay between local and global. Bangkok Artist in Residence (BAIR) Program offers opportunities to artists from different parts of the world to create and exhibit their work, and engage with students and the local community.

Muong Studio - Hoa Binh

Muong Studio is an art centre of the Muong's Cultural Museum, located in North West of Vietnam. It aims to preserve and develop a local culture based on the connection between the ancient culture and contemporary arts, to connect other art centres in Vietnam and internationally, and to support artists and contemporary art development in Vietnam. Muong Studio's activities program includes art exhibition, projects, workshops and artist-in-residency program (Muong AIR) for both local and international artists. Muong AIR provides facilities and opportunities for the professional development of artists from the fields of Visual Arts, Performance Arts, and Literature etc. As a part of Muong's Cultural Museum, Muong Studio also encourages curators and researchers from related fields including arts and cultural studies (especially those conducting research relating to the Muong ethnic culture) to apply to our residency programs, as it is part of our mission to promote the local culture and foster regional and international exchange programs.

Live.Make.Share

live.make.share is an artist-in-resident and exchange program developed from Hanoi, Vietnam under the umbrella of Undecided Productions. We focus on the development of international and inter-regional relations by facilitating mobility opportunities for local practitioners as well as welcoming foreign artists and art managers to our living and working spaces. We aim to create an environment for professional, personal, and community development. Assist the production of artistic projects and encourage knowledge sharing. Our vision is to facilitate the dissemination of Vietnamese culture whilst nourishing the creative ecology with exterior knowledge, allowing for new perspectives globally.

Studio Kura - Fukuoka

Studio Kura opened in 2008 as an art institution running two different programs: artist in residence as well as art teaching for children and adults. Located in the beautiful rural environment of Itoshima peninsula in Fukuoka on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan, there are full of rich nature surrounded by sea, mountains and rice fields within walkable distance. 

Studio Kura’s Artist in Residence Program is an opportunity for domestic and international artists to experience and draw inspiration from Japan’s rural environment, as well as for Studio Kura’s thriving local community to meet different artists and their works. We also organize art events such as the Itoshima Arts Farm: Itoshima International Art Festival (every two years) and participate the regional and seasonal events introducing the participating artists' works in the various locations.

sonicbridge - Australia and China contemporary music connections

The Merindas, filmed during the writing process.

Through a series of virtual conversations and a process of short iterative film making, deeper understanding was fostered, lasting relationships were forged and a legacy for the whole music industry created, modelling new possibilities for creative exchanges and real life engagements in the sector.

Over 6 months, Melbourne based musical duo, The Merindas, and, Shii, an emerging electronic music artist based in Wuhan, generously and candidly shared experiences and stories, developing a dialogue around their creative lives. The artists explored and defined the key themes important to them, such as their mutual interest in collaborating with other creative women, and the challenges and opportunities of relocating to other cities in their home countries as well as travelling domestically and internationally for work. In their candid and globally resonant, locally idiosyncratic, conversations they discussed the tactics they use to promote their work, their studio craft, their networks and the pragmatics of performing. Through their encounters and filmic recordings the artists have sketched a professional blueprint for other emerging artists both in their home country and abroad.

View the films here at sonicbridge.net

知音 sonicbridge was led by industry experts Fred Leone (Melbourne and Brisbane) and Nevin Domer (Shanghai and Beijing), who collaborated with industry peers to select artists from both Australia and China for a unique opportunity to build peer to peer relationships. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 on international mobility the artists undertook a digital exchange with a series of real time meetings and film projects over a period of 6 months. The exchange and lasting films created insights, built new connections and developed capability for the artists and the broader sector through the sharing of personal narrative, inspirations, and challenges they face and overcome in their sector.

The program launched with an interview with Leone and Domer and then shortly after an introduction was made to the participating artists. In the curated interview with Leone and Domer, their process of selecting the musicians, their hopes for the program and their own experience of working as artists and creative facilitators in cross-cultural contexts was be explored.

Previous event information

Myf Warhurst is a TV presenter, broadcaster, journalist, and writer. She is currently hosting weekday lunch nationwide on ABC radio’s Double J, and is also a weekly columnist for The Guardian.

Myf is best known for her role as Team Captain on one of Australia’s most-loved television shows, Spicks & Specks which ran for seven seasons, as well as DJ and broadcaster for ABC radio’s triplej.

In her spare time Myf is also an Ambassador for Melbourne animal shelter Animal Aid and Wildlife Victoria. Myf regularly participates in industry talks, conferences and events. She is also an experienced MC for all types of organisations and a spokesperson for different initiatives.

Fred Leone is one of the three Butchulla Song men; the Butchulla tribe through his grandmother's line covers Kgari (Fraser Island), Hervey Bay, Maryborough and the surrounding areas of the Fraser Coast. He is also Garawa on his grandfather’s line, Garawa country running across the Queensland /Northern Territory border. He also has Tongan and South Sea Islander heritage.

Fred is committed to social change and social justice, particularly applying his skills and knowledge to support the strength, status and development of Indigenous culture. Through his music, language and dance, Fred is also focused on enriching the lives of young people in the areas of positive leadership, self-expression, self-confidence, self-pride and pride in communities and culture.

“To be able to give indigenous artists, grassroots artists but also emerging artists the skills and the industry contacts to navigate their path and their niche is really important so they won’t have to reinvent the wheel. The importance of this exchange goes far beyond one-off sort of workshop, it is creating international links by helping build the skills of the artists.”
— Fred Leone

Nevin Domer has been working in the Chinese music industry since 2005. He managed the bookings at legendary rock venue D-22 and helped found two of China's top indie labels, Maybe Mars and Genjing Records, where he oversaw promotion, production, and distribution. Through these two labels, he has worked as an executive producer on recordings with Wharton Tiers, Andy Gill, Martin Atkins, and Brian Hardgroove. Nevin has also tour managed several international bands in China, including Die! Die! Die! (NZ), Primitive Calculators (AUS), and Psychic Ills (US).

While organizing tours for Chinese acts in the US, Australia, and Europe. Nevin currently researches the history and development of Chinese punk while still managing to record and tour with his band, actively participating in a scene he loves.

“Building those cultural bridges and allowing artists from each country to interact with each other and connect with audiences in each country is important. This sort of exchange, allowing them to move not just vertically up in their own market but horizontally into other markets is important. Both will allow them to gain skills for their own music but also for inspirations in what’s happening in other communities.” — Nevin Domer

The Merindas are the collective force of Nyoongar Ballardong Whadjuk woman Kristel Kickett (from Tammin, WA) and Candice Lorrae of Jawoyn and Thursday Island heritage (born in Darwin, NT). Based in Melbourne, these soul sisters are set to trail-blaze their innovative style of Indigenous music. They describe their unique sound as “electronic pop with a dance-hall feel, alongside hip hop and R&B influences.”

With two singles under their belt (We Sing Until Sunrise and Before Daylight), their hotly anticipated debut album ‘We Sing Until Sunrise (“Ngangk Ngoorndiny Ngala Warangka – strongly reflects that we are forever singing, forever dancing and forever celebrating our culture”)’ and their new self-produced single ‘Déjà vu’ were released in 2020. This is the essence of who The Merindas are and the ethos they bring to each of their performances.

Shii is an electronic music project started in 2014 by Shiyi Xiang. Performing livesets with a combination of synthesizer, voice, and video projections her music is based on simple melodies and synthesized sound. With leaping drums and alluring voicals, she constructs a dreamy atmosphere integrating the genres of IDM, glitch, Dream Pop and Dark Wave. Her fantastical imagination, unique thoughts and sound lines will lead you into a new auditory domain.

Shii has recently released her first official album, Floating Signifiers on Merrie Records and completed a 10 stop tour of China, as well as a collaborative music and performance show with Chinese dancer Nee.