With the support from Ministry of Culture, the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles, partnering with the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, launches "After Hope: Future Forms and Alternative Methods" from Nov. 5 to 6.
This international interdisciplinary symposium will invite artists, scholars, and art professionals to participate both physically and online, using the work of artists from across Asia and its diaspora as catalysts for inquiry to explore diverse expressions and legacies of "hope" in contemporary art.
Due to the pandemic, Taiwanese artists are unable to participate in the physical symposium. Three artworks, including Isa Ho (何孟娟)'s “Peony (牡丹),” Yuan Guang-ming (袁廣鳴)'s "Occupation of the 561st Hour (佔領第561小時)" and Tsui Kuang-Yu (崔廣宇)'s "Stay Calm (沉著)," have been exhibited in the "After Hope: Videos of Resistance" from March 4, 2021 to May 2, 2022.
Isa Ho's "Peony" juxtaposes two different images of Asian women. One is a Kunqu actress in traditional Chinese costume and the other a Korean K-pop singer. She uses her work to rethink the role and position of women in contemporary society, in relation to the unique development of popular culture. Yuan Guang-Ming "The 561st Hour of Occupation" films a moment from the 2014 Sunflower Student Movement in Taiwan, during which students occupied Taiwan's parliament for 585 hours. In Tsui Guang-Yu's "Stay Calm," he lights a long fuse attached to his body in Chinatown, San Francisco.
In addition to the video exhibition, the museum has organized a symposium and set up the "After Hope" online platform to present highlights of the works on display, as well as audio and video recordings of the symposium and events.