OPEN ACADEMY

The Open Academy programme was conceived by Jay Koh and Chu Chu Yuan as a learning programme that is responsive to context and cultural specific learners’ needs. OA is organised especially to supplement under-developed areas of education, due to lack of resources, inflexible infrastructures or inaccessibility of knowledge.

OA corresponds to Koh and Chu’s philosophy of creating projects that are responsive to different cultural and contextual needs and conditions, and mobilising resources to improve cultural connectivity. (Visit IFIMA for more details)

Myanmar / Burma: Yangon / Rangoon

The OA programme has been in operation in Myanmar since 2003, run by NICA in Yangon. Open Academy Myanmar was conceived as a response to the Burmese situation of isolation, poor education, and inaccessibility of outside information, knowledge and opportunities. It was an open platform to encourage and organize for foreign artists, art educators, curators, theatre practitioners, researchers etc. to go into Myanmar to share their knowledge, resources and to develop collaborations with local counterparts. Subjects responded to Burmese participants’ interest in being updated with current contemporary arts practices and arts management.

Vietnam: Hanoi & Hue

Artists with Ryllega Gallery and the Dongson Today Foundation in Vietnam showed enthusiastic support for OA and worked together with Jay Koh to develop the proposal. After securing the support of Ford Foundation, Asia, OA Vietnam began the first semester in July 2008.

The programme was run in 2 cities, Hanoi and Hue. The contents of the first sessions focused on contemporary art theory, arts management skills, development of concepts in writing and critical and analytical thinking, as subjects chosen by arts practitioners of Vietnam.

Duc’s stilt House, Hanoi

Open Academy in Hanoi.

Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar

In Mongolia, OA also managed to garner the interest of local artists and organisations in Ulaanbaatar and the programme was launched in Sept 2008, with support from the Prince Claus Fund of The Netherlands.

September-October 2008, Jay Koh and Chu Yuan, Fine Art Institute.

Jay Koh and Chu Yuan were in Ulaanbaatar from 28 Sept to 13th Oct 2008 to kick start the programme. They taught and conducted workshops on Introduction to Contemporary Art Practices, Professional Art Practice and Arts Management, with students and teachers of the Fine Art Institute of the Mongolian University of Arts and Culture as well as with local artists and cultural workers at the Blue Sun art centre.

Students workshop at the Fine Art Institute.

Performance workshop with students around monument.

At the Blue Sun Art Centre (photos above and below).

Presentation from Enkelbold

The programme with artists covered Introduction to Contemporary Art Practices (2 lectures) and workshops on writing artist’s profile and statements about art practice; making presentations about art practice; developing proposals for projects; applying for project funding and managing projects. The programme with art students covered Introduction to Contemporary Art Practices (2 lectures) and workshops on developing and working with concepts; playing with different ideas; working with meanings and memories of a site and selecting the most effective media and way of presenting their artworks.

December 2008 with Deng Da Fei and Liu Qi Xiang (Photos above and below)