Our body electric

Over the course of many years, artist-run organizations  have made significant impact in society. On one hand, there are the alternative spaces, non-profit and independent galleries run by and for artists. Storefronts were converted, apartments refurbished, empty buildings occupied — unconventional places transformed in order to produce and showcase art that was fresh, anti-commercial and challenging. In Manila during the ’90s, such spaces as a Surrounded by Water, Third Space and Big Sky Mind served as hotbed for experimental artistic activity, paving the way for the vibrant Filipino contemporary art scene of today.

On the other hand, some artist-run organizations are modeled from associations, guilds or collectives, while others have been molded into small-scale enterprises and philanthropic  foundations. A few still have grown into full-blown art establishments themselves, complete with staff and major funding.

In any case, most are formed in order to support the work of emerging and exciting artists in various disciplines such as painting, sculpture, performance, film and multimedia. While the cultural industry (and much of consumerist society) is oftentimes made out as being driven by capital interests and empty spectacle, others brave attempts to counterbalance such totalizing trends by focusing on humanitarian and social issues as well as creative organization, developmental communication and cultural collaboration.

One such entity is ANA, or Arts Network Asia. It is a group of independent artists, cultural workers and arts activists primarily from Southeast Asia that encourages and supports regional artistic collaboration as well as develops managerial and administrative skills within Asia. Arts Network Asia is motivated by the philosophy of meaningful collaboration, distinguished by mutual respect, initiated in Asia and carried out together with Asian artists.

It is a network where individuals from around the world, through  residencies, researches and projects, develop local communities  in Asia. It pays attention  to the diverse perspectives  of a global Asian urban metropolis, the continuities  and disruptions with  Asian tradition, the multiple contexts of everyday life.

For ANA, art can be an instrument for meaningful collaboration, dialogue and exchange among diverse communities co-existing in Asia. Art as a social tool creates positive impact on communities, such as in the case of the Wedikã Group of Artists’ “art-as-social-process project” in 2007. Using multimedia and theatre to bring different perceptions of war and life onto the stage in Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka, the production was developed and performed by youths from the community where the first major fighting broke out between the Liberation Tigers and the government forces.

ANA supports wide-ranging projects with contents that vary. However, they all have a shared philosophy with the mission of ANA, so each project is itself important and noteworthy. But like any artists’ organization, the reality is that funds are limited and selection is competitive. ANA Director Tay Tong adds, “I appreciate all these projects and their intentions and achieved objectives, (so) it is really difficult when we can only support only 16 projects out 223 applications. This was in 2007. And in 2008, we received a total of 430 applications and we are only able to provide support to about 20 projects.”

Last year (2007) ANA has offered a total of US$78,000 to 16 arts organizations and individuals to support a diverse range of interdisciplinary projects with a strong focus on sustainability and capacity building.

This included a performance festival of young visual artists in Vietnam called Sneaky Week; sustaining the OK Video Festival, organized by a Jakarta-based artists collective; and ruangrupa, a documentary project with villagers and Asian young film makers in Beijing at Caochangdi Workstation.

Art universities were not forgotten through the training exchange between the Cambodia and Vietnam schools of circus arts and the more experimental school of art and life in The Land Foundation, Chiang Mai, Thailand planned by artist Rirkrit Tiravanija and others.

For the first time, ANA has also initiated support for the development of infrastructure in arts and cultural organizations: a group of Thai independent film artists called Thaiindie, as well as Cambodian artist Linda Saphan who proposed encounters between female artists locally and regionally in Selapak Neari  Art Exchange. Finally, ANA also offers a Travel Grant programme that is aimed to support Asian artists traveling within Asia for their work.

Entities like ANA do help significantly in getting Southeast Asian art around. More importantly, they support the here and now in our own backyard: one that is bristling with energy, ideas and talent, setting the scene for a new cultural renaissance.

ANA director Tay Tong is as exhilarated and hopeful. “The Southeast Asian art scene is extremely diverse and constantly evolving and developing. It is exciting.  There is such a hunger for knowledge-sharing and the want to exchange and dialogue. ANA received 430 applications this year. The highest ever, demonstrating a need for such a body like ANA to support such interests.”