PROGRAMS

CULTIVATE

CULTIVATE is a professional development program (composed of 5 modules) organized for curators/arts managers, targeting current staff of art entities and freelance operators in Southeast Asia. CULTIVATE is a not-for-profit initiative of in-tangible institute.

OVERVIEW 

CULTIVATE invites acclaimed experts as faculty to Bangkok to develop 18 select arts professionals with skills and networks to distinguish themselves and their affiliates as leading facilitators of contemporary art in the region. For each module, different faculty members add topically-relevant experience as educators and facilitators of contemporary culture, with particular insight from their work across the Global South. Each of the 5 modules includes a 1-week face-to-face intensive, followed by a practicum of periodic group and individual online meetings with nominated faculty throughout the following 3 months. Participants will use their current projects as case studies for faculty consultation and problem-solving. To conclude each module, participants submit materials for assessment to guest faculty. Modules focus on Programming in the Arts, Patronage, Leadership, Professional Development, and Mentorship. 

*Please note: different faculty are invited each time to address the nature of each module. A dedicated open call for applications is sought for each module. 

With thanks to CULTIVATE co-initiators (now advisors) Kate Fowle (Director, Arts Program, Hearthland Foundation, USA) and Luckana Kunavichayanont (Board Member, Secretary and previous director of BACC) for their continued support in the gearing of this program.

Learn more here about Module 1: ‘Programming in the Arts’ and its participants.

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MODULE 2 takes place between 18 – 24 February, 2025 with onsite seminars; 25 February – 25 May, 2025 with online mentoring. Module 2 is initiated by in-tangible institute, and co-hosted by Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. 

Module 2 focuses on ‘Patronage’, examining the current structures of support in the Arts, with particular reflection on the financial, intellectual and ethical impact of its assumptions on the growth of the arts ecology in Southeast Asia. What does it mean to encourage collectors as patrons? What role do curators and arts managers have in educating our supporters? How do we (curators, arts managers, gallerists, collectors) support the ethical growth of our artists and the (human and non-human) contexts of their artistic production? Such investigation will be studied via first-hand experiences from faculty, in addition to exploring the mechanics of: curator/artist/patron relations; how to nurture philanthropic ethos; outlining strategic methods of collection-based research; basic assessments of authenticity and appraisal; encouraging ‘pro-active’ collecting; and building patrons as community builders. 

*For Module 2, CULTIVATE offers two Thai scholarships (tuition fee only). If interested, please see ‘Application Guidelines’ below.

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

CULTIVATE develops leadership and practical skills to raise the professional standards of facilitating contemporary art—both institutional display of art and curatorial development of private and public collections. Participants learn from experts in an intimate 3:1 faculty ratio. CULTIVATE is conducted in English only.

  • Participants will learn how to expand audiences, build community, and facilitate transformative experiences between diverse publics and contemporary culture.
  • Participants will gain the skills to improve local and foreign audience engagement and curate innovative programs that can compete on an international stage.
  • Participants will learn to negotiate and collaborate with industry stakeholders, navigate cross-border programming, and elevate local community voices. 
  • Participants will expand their institutional and personal networks to leading talents in the region and beyond, opening the door to future global collaborations.

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ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

  • Proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in English.
  • Critical approach to demonstrated curatorial / arts management practice (minimum 3 years experience).
  • Desire to be mentored.
  • Living and working in Southeast Asia.
  • Citizen or permanent resident of one of the following: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Mainland China, East Timor, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.

*The above criteria will be prioritized, though any citizen of the aforementioned countries, living in these aforementioned countries,  with a proven track record of engaging Southeast Asian art and its ecology, will be considered.

Got more questions? See our FAQ here!

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APPLICATION GUIDELINES

Art entities (public, private, or commercial) in the region are invited to sponsor individuals who will most benefit from this program. Freelance individuals in the field can also apply at their own cost. Two scholarships are offered for Thai curators/arts workers (tuition fee only). 

Prospective participants are required to submit the following application materials in English:

  1. Statement of Intent (≤ 500 words): how would the program benefit your career and impact the audiences and teams you work with? *Please note, two scholarships are offered for Thai curators/arts workers (tuition fee only). If interested, please state so in your ‘Statement of Intent’
  2. Case Study (≤ 500 words): a project in progress to further develop during the program.
  3. Resume/CV (≤ 2 pages).
  4. Portfolio (≤ 10 pages): written descriptions and image documentation of no more than 4 previous projects.
  5. Affiliation: sponsor name, contact details, and associated institution (if relevant).
  6. Submit applications via email [[email protected]], subject line “CULTIVATE Module 2 Application – [NAME]” with all application materials combined and attached as a single PDF (file size ≤ 15 MB).

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 9 November, 2024

Shortlisted applicants will be assessed by in-tangible institute. Successful applicants will be notified by 30 November, 2024. 

Each Module of CULTIVATE is a competitive Open Call. Application procedures above apply for all modules. Dates for future modules to be announced in due course. If you are interested in becoming a CULTIVATE Program Partner (which would secure your participation in all future modules), please contact: [email protected]

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WHY CULTIVATE?

The first of its caliber in Southeast Asia, CULTIVATE offers professional development aimed at equipping a new generation of locally rooted and internationally-informed leaders to elevate the standards of arts in the region. This is needed to strengthen the capacity of cultural institutions in Southeast Asia to establish mutually generative international collaborations. The sector increasingly demands internationally competent expertise to realize programs that are resonant and relevant to both local and global contexts.

Supporting Southeast Asian cultural histories, heritage, and methodologies is inseparable from our participation on the world stage. Many regional economies are reliant on cultural tourism, which requires developing our own local talents into innovative stars, equipped to elevate community-rooted stories for global audiences. Southeast Asia’s cultural industry requires infrastructural and talent development to captivate both local and international attention and investments toward re-writing the art histories of our region on our own terms. 

If Southeast Asian cultural initiatives are to innovate and participate globally, we must cultivate local talent and equip them with resources and experience. Rather than removing participants from the workforce, CULTIVATE leverages their ongoing careers as practical case studies and educational opportunities. Participants’ local institutions, programs, and audiences directly benefit from CULTIVATE top-tier faculty consultation on these live case studies. By convening local and international talents to address on-the-ground issues in Southeast Asia, CULTIVATE aims to nurture more diversified ‘centers’ of the global art world.

Learn more here about Module 1: ‘Programming in the Arts’ and its participants here.

OPEN CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR MODULE 2: ‘PATRONAGE’

Application Period:

Application period ended on 9 November, 2024. Thank you so much to all who applied!

Module 2 Program Dates:

18 – 24 February, 2025 onsite seminars, 25 February – 25 May online mentoring

Location:

Bangkok Art and Culture Centre and Online

Program Fee:

37,000 THB (1,000 USD) per participant per module (exclusive of necessary travel and accommodation costs)

Are you Thai and interested in applying? We offer 2 scholarships (tuition fee only).

*Please note ‘CULTIVATE’ is a not-for-profit venture – all fees go directly to the running costs of the overall program

MEET THE FACULTY OF MODULE 2

Alessio Antoniolli is the director of ‘Triangle Network’, where he develops a programme of artists and curator’s residencies, as well as knowledge-sharing activities, across a world-wide network of non-profit visual art organizations. He is also the curator at ‘Fondazione Memmo’, Rome, where he commissions a yearly exhibition by international artists, including Sin Wai Kin, Wynnie Mynerva and Anthea Hamilton. Alessio is the former director of ‘Gasworks’, a non-profit visual art gallery and studios space in London, where he led a programme of residencies for over 500 artists from 80 countries around the world. At Gasworks he provided the first UK institutional exhibitions for artists including Song Dong, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Violet Kudzanai Hwami, Trevor Yeung and Anna Perach. He lectures widely on curating and artists professional development, and has been part of many international juries including the UK’s Turner Prize in 2019.

 

Adeline Ooi is a curator and art advisor with in-depth knowledge and experience in the visual arts, built over two decades of leading research, exhibition-making, strategy and management at a local, regional and international level. She was Art Basel Director Asia (2015-2023), leading the development of Art Basel in Hong Kong and the organization’s strategic initiatives across Asia, playing an instrumental role in bringing fair representation and equal recognition of Asian art in the global art scene. A graduate from Central St Martin’s School of Art & Design, she began her career as curator and programme director at Valentine Willie Fine Art Kuala Lumpur (2000-2002, 2006-2008). As a Nippon Foundation Asian Public Intellectual Junior Fellow (2002-2005), she undertook key research-based projects on independent artists’ initiatives in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Manila-based artists. She co-founded and directed RogueArt (2008-2014), a partnership specializing in contemporary Southeast Asian art working with diverse artists, galleries, institutions, corporations and private collectors on projects across the region; while also independently working on curatorial projects in collaboration with leading cultural organisations such as Japan Foundation and Cemeti Art House. She currently serves as a board member of the Asia Art Archive and Para Site, Hong Kong.

 

X Zhu-Nowell is a curator, writer, and institutional leader with a dynamic presence in both Shanghai and New York, currently the Artistic Director at the Rockbund Art Museum (RAM) in Shanghai. Zhu-Nowell is renowned for an innovative curatorial approach emphasizing deep, collaborative engagements with contemporary artists. This is exemplified in the RAM’s 2023 program, which centers around solo exhibitions and new commissions from six artists from Asia and its diaspora, including WangShui, Evelyn Taocheng Wang, Tosh Basco, Diane Severin Nguyen, Shubigi Rao, and Tan Jing. From 2014 to 2022, Zhu-Nowell was a curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, where they earned critical acclaim for the exhibition Wu Tsang: Anthem, celebrated as the best exhibition of 2021 by The New York Times. In 2022, Zhu-Nowell co-organized the 6th Asian Art Council meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, for the Guggenheim, collaborating with artist Kandis Williams to explore themes of Afro-Asian diasporic connections, dispossession, and hybridity within curatorial practices.

 

Erin Robideaux Gleeson is a curator, writer and educator. She is Lecturer, Critical Theory and Curatorial Studies, Department of Art, University of Minnesota on Dakota lands of Mní Sóta Makhóčhe; and Director, FD13, an itinerant residency program inviting artists to experiment with liveness towards new work. Living in Phnom Penh (2002-2018) Erin co-founded and directed SA SA BASSAC (2011-2018), a non-profit with multidisciplinary curated programs through contemporary art and its histories in Southeast Asia. Recent projects include Leap to the Place of Two Pools, as CIRCUIT curator-at-large, Aotearoa (2024-2025); and DEATHPOWER, Macalester College Law Warschaw Gallery, St. Paul, MN (2024). Collaborating widely on exhibitions, programs, and talks with partners such as Asia Art Archive, 8th Berlin BIennale, CCA Singapore, CAPC, documenta 14, Experimenta Curator’s Hub, ifa, Jeu de Paume, The New School, Myanm/art, Rockbund Art Museum, San Art, and 4th Singapore Biennale; her writing is published by SEA: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia, Art Asia Pacific, Mousse, Sternberg Press, Urban Research, among others. Her advisory and nomination work include with Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten,  George Morrison Catalogue Raisonné Project, Han Nefkens Foundation, among others. Erin holds an MA, Contemporary Art and Art Theory of Asia and Africa, SOAS, University of London.

 

Andreas Teoh is a medical doctor who has been involved in building technology companies. He has been collecting art for over 25 years. Andreas is the founder and Chairman of ‘The Institutum Limited’, a non-profit institution based in Singapore. The Institutum focuses on expanding the horizons of art, by developing relationships with the global contemporary art community, through international projects that respond to the Southeast Asian (SEA) context. The Institutum has supported SEA artists in residencies and projects internationally including publishing ‘SEA Contemporary Art’ in 2022. Andreas is a previous member of the Global Council, Asia Society New York and the Tate Modern Asia Pacific Art Council. He is a current member of The Tate Modern International Council, London and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (LAMoCA) Global Council. He is also an advisor to the ‘Triangle Art Network’ and ‘The Ink Institute’ New York.

 

Zoe Butt is a curator and writer, nurturing critically thinking and historically conscious artistic communities, fostering dialogue among cultures of the globalizing souths. Possessing an extensive exhibition, publishing and public-speaking history globally, in 2022, she founded ‘in-tangible institute’, seeking a robust ecology for locally-responsive curatorial talent in Southeast Asia. Zoe holds a PhD by Published Works, Center for Research and Education in Art and Media, University of Westminster, London and is currently Lead Advisor (Southeast Asia and Oceania), Kadist Art Foundation. Previously she was Artistic Director, Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, Ho Chi Minh City (2017-2021), Executive Director, Sàn Art, Ho Chi Minh City (2009–2016); Director, International Programs, Long March Project, Beijing (2007–2009); Assistant Curator, Contemporary Asian Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane (2001–2007). Notable endeavors include Pollination (2018-); Sharjah Biennial 14: Leaving the Echo Chamber – Journey Beyond the Arrow, (2019); Conscious Realities (2013-2016) and San Art Laboratory (2012-2015). She has been published by Hatje Cantz; JRP-Ringier; Routledge; Sternberg Press, among others. Zoe currently serves as a board member of the Foundation for the Arts Initiatives, New York and is in the midst of advising the establishment of several new arts initiatives in Southeast Asia.