10 Countries, 50 Participants Came Together for SEAARM 2018— 01.14.2021

The Southeast Asian Art Residencies Meeting (SEAARM) 2018 was a three-day regional conference that gathered over 50 participants from 36 art organizations and seven institutions from ten countries across Asia. Held from April 20-22 at the Gerry Roxas Training and Convention Center in Roxas City, the panel sessions and group discussions were divided into four main agendas: State of Affairs: surveying the landscape and contexts of participating spaces and organizations; Building Structures: examining conceptual and operational formats and frameworks; Action and Opportunities: partnering and collaborating with international institutions within specific contexts; Liquid Infrastructures: inquiries on the potentials for community engagement and participation; and Sustainability and Resilience: inspecting the different junctures in creating and maintaining residency programs.

An offshoot of the 2016 meeting at Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia, the impetus of this iteration was centered on facilitating introductions, enabling collaborations, and providing a platform for sharing problems and strategies among its delegates. As most of the participating initiatives were borne out of the desire to impart various practices and distinct cultures in their locales and communities, the meeting identified the continuous need to fortify these established links and create new ones in the hopes of building concrete efforts in the future.

With VIVA ExCon Capiz 2018 as its backdrop, it intended to create a wider network to enable more possibilities of cooperation. More importantly, it looked to empower and motivate new residency programs in the country and within Asia to continue despite all odds and challenges.

The meeting was convened by Green Papaya Art Projects with the help of 98B COLLABoratory.

The SEAARM 2019 was held in Taitung, Taiwan, as part of the Taiwan East Coast Land Arts Festival. There was no SEAARM in 2020, and most likely none this year too.

https://cargocollective.com/vxcapiz2018/Southeast-Asian-Art-Residencies-Meeting-2018

Manny Montelibano of Institute of Moving Image (Bacolod, PH) and Brian Curtin of San Art (Saigon, VN). Photo by Norberto Roldan.

Themba Liprot of Space One (Seoul, KR), Yukie Hirokawa of Art Center Ongoing (Kichijoji, JP) and Saeko Oyama of art space tetra (Fukuoka, JP). Photo by Norberto Roldan.

Elise Luong of Undecided Productions (Hanoi, VN). Photo by Norberto Roldan.

Tomoyo Mizuya of Koganecho Area Management Center (Yokohama, JP) and Marika Constantino of 98B COLLABoratory (Manila, PH). Photo by Norberto Roldan.

Delegates at the favorite hang-out, the Wayfarer Bar at Baybay beach, Roxas City. Photo by Norberto Roldan.

Peewee Roldan sandwiched between two Ladies of Fatima: Fatima Avila of Asia-Europe Foundation (SG) and Fatima Manalili of Bellas Artes Projects (Bataan/ Manila, PH). Photo courtesy of Norberto Roldan.

Delegates dining out at Cafe Terraza (overlooking Roxas City). Photo by Norberto Roldan.

Martha Atienza of DAKOgamay (Bantayan Island, PH) and Iris Ferrer of Green Papaya Art Projects (Quezon City, PH). Photo by Norberto Roldan.

Mizutama Araki of FIGYA (Osaka, JP), Cheng-Ta Yu of Taipei Contemporary Art Center (Taipei, TW) and Roselle Pineda of Aurora Artist Residency Program and Space (Aurora, PH) at Espacio Verde bar. Photo by Norberto Roldan.