October 20th – 29th, 2022
The theme for the 2022 Meeting Point was “From Connection to Collaboration”. Through a series of online and in-person programs taking place over ten days, 85+ art and culture practitioners and 29 organisations and collectives from 15 countries came together and discussed the following questions: As the community of socially-engaged arts practitioners around Asia is growing, why does it matter that we connect? Are we equipped to connect and to collaborate effectively? If we want to work collaboratively, what are the foundations that need to be put in place and what kinds of attitudes do we need to nurture, what kind of structures do we need to unlearn? What are the forces driving us to collaborate?
Please scroll down this page to learn more about the program.
Programs
LOST IN TRANSLATION
Co-hosted by MCH and TAEF (Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation)
TIMELINE (UTC +7)
13:00: Welcome remarks (30 mins)
13:30: Echoes from the Stars (45 mins)
14:30: Lost in Translation: Part 1, Roundtable (90 mins)
16:10: Lost in Translation: Part 2, Open discussion (50 mins)
17:00: Close
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
We are all familiar with the challenges of language in cross-cultural cooperation and collaboration. But is language the only obstacle getting in our way of understanding each other? As we start to reconnect with people after the constraints of the COVID pandemic, is there a chance to re-construct ways of collaborating? How might communication transform spaces for collaboration to be more inclusive, dynamic and mutually beneficial?
We kick off the 2022 Meeting Point program with a screening of My Mother’s Tongue, a film by Jean-Baptiste Phou (JB), which tells the story of a mother and son who don’t speak the same language, until something unlocks when she suddenly falls very ill. After the screening, Jean-Baptiste will introduce us to his new participatory installation, Echoes from the Stars, which has been created in response to audience reactions to his film. Echoes from the Stars will be open for Meeting Point audiences to take part in throughout the rest of the program, with a special event on 28th October where audiences can join the creators of the artwork Jean-Baptiste (JB) and Theerawat (Meng) to explore the installation.
Following a short break, we return for lively panel discussion on the topic on “Lost in Translation? Intercultural Communication in Asia”. Our conversation will be inspired by four panellists sharing experiences and critical reflections on collaboration from their perspectives as researchers, film makers, producers and artists from Indonesia, Laos and Taiwan respectively. The discussion will tackle the complexity of translation, interpretation and understanding in different facets of connecting and collaborating at the intersection of arts and society
In part two, the floor will open to encourage questions, insights and critique from the audience, in conversation with each other and with the panellists.
This event is co-hosted by Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation (TAEF) in collaboration with MCH. While working in different ways and with different focuses on Southeast Asia, both MCH and TAEF share an aim to explore and expand the diversifying relationships and cultural exchange between Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
NOTE
The welcome remarks, panel and Q&A will be mainly in English, with simultaneous interpretation available in Mandarin and English.
My Mother’s Tongue is in French with Khmer and English subtitles. Transcripts will also be available in Burmese, Laos, Thai, Vietnamese and Mandarin. The film will be available for Meeting Point audiences to view on demand from October 20th-29th.
Thank you to the MCH Fellows and team members who worked on the translation: Nwet Kaykhine (Burmese), Chanmaly Panyaphone (Laos), Narumol Thammapruksa (Thai), Pham Ut Quyen (Vietnamese), Jennifer Lee (Mandarin).
Meeting Point 2022 開幕活動 現場參與
Meeting Point 2022之開幕活動，由臺灣亞洲交流基金會與湄公河文化中心共同主辦；開幕活動採取「現場參與」和「線上參與」兩種方式，同步進行。
＊若您想以蒞臨現場的方式參與開幕活動，請點選此連結報名；因現場參與名額有限，主辦單位將以電子郵件的方式通知您是否報名成功。
＊若是您想以線上(ZOOM)的方式參與開幕活動，請在此活動網頁點選「SIGN UP」完成報名。
日期/時間：2022年10月20日(四)，台灣時間14:00pm-18:00pm
現場參與之活動地點：台灣當代文化實驗場 共享吧（地址：台北市建國南路一段177號）
語言：活動進行以英文、中文為主（提供中文、英文的同步口譯服務
報名：請點選此連結
現場參與之相關洽詢，請聯絡：jennifer@mekongculturalhub.org
CONTRIBUTORS
Echoes from the Stars
Echoes from the Stars
Moderator:
CREATE & SHARE
Echoes from the Stars
Echoes from the Stars is a participatory digital installation. It is inspired by audience responses to Jean-Baptiste Phou’s art-film My Mother’s Tongue, about communication issues between a mother and a son. You can take part in the digital installation by contributing voice messages, expressing unspoken words or something you regret not telling someone earlier . Your message will be turned into a star and displayed in an interactive star map. All the contributions form constellations and can be listened to, the messages resonating like echoes from the stars.
On October 28th, the creators of the artwork Jean-Baptiste (JB) and Theerawat (Meng) will host a virtual event to explore the digital artwork in the form of a star map made from participants’ contributions. Participants from at least six Asian countries will share how the same experience has been processed in different contexts. Hopefully, having contributed and interacted with the same artwork, we would have shared a strong human connection, and hopefully for some of us, gone through a healing creative process.
NOTE: My Mother’s Tongue will be screened on October 20th as part of the opening program of Meeting Point, when Echoes from the Stars will be launched. It will be available for on-demand viewing for Meeting Point audiences until October 28th. The film is in French with subtitles in English and Khmer, and transcripts available in Burmese, Laos, Thai, Vietnamese and Mandarin.
COVID TIME CAPSULE
Is there something about COVID that you don’t want to forget? Is there a particular memory associated with an object, image, video, song, film, exhibition? Would you like to share this with future generations, and tell us the story of why it holds great personal or professional significance for you?
COVID Time Capsule invites Meeting Point participants to capture your experiences of the personal and public impact of COVID-19 by sharing objects that you would like to contribute to a virtual Time Capsule for viewing by future generations.
The COVID Time Capsule Gallery will be open for submissions from September 20th until November 15th. You can also view contributions from other participants, as well as the Creative Team behind the project, and artists and others from their networks within and outside Asia who have shared objects and recorded the special memories and stories they associated with the objects.
This project is a continuing collaboration among four artists, and mentor Anmol Vellani (India). They have been meeting since December 2020 for conversations on the impact of COVID-19 on the arts and lives in the arts. Join one of their Meeting Point sessions to hear more.
VIRTUAL MEETING POINT
The virtual program is a diverse mix of sharing, training and discussion sessions; some prepared by artists and practitioners in MCH’s network, and others presented by organisations connected to art and social action in Asia. Please check out the events below!
Please note: Registration is required for each event.
Creative Approaches to Engage Community
Three Fellows from Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia have been experimenting with creative approaches in engaging local communities. They talk about impact, challenges and how this learning journey, guided by Curator Janet Pillai, has transformed their understanding of Socially-Engaged Arts.
Evaluating Socially Engaged Art Practice in South Asia
[PARTNER PROGRAM] Let’s build a case for impact evaluation through an artistic lens! Khoj, a leading arts NGO from India, has been developing alternative frameworks for evaluation, based on a theory of engagement rather than a theory of change.
Immersive Nongkrong x Dapur Communion/Reunion
In July 2022, four Fellows went on a radically transformative journey to three cities of Indonesia. Join this session to engage with their experiences cultural bearers; encountering bold insights and renewing courage.
COVID Time Capsule
Discover unforgettable memories of Covid through objects that have been placed in the Covid Time Capsule. The project team will reflect on their experience of gathering the objects and related stories from their respective communities. Become familiar with words, pictures and videos that emerged in the time of Covid.
In Art We Trust! Art intervention in the community
[PARTNER PROGRAM] Calling All Art lovers! In this talk, we will discover art interventions in Taiwan, and hear from artists, art spaces and residencies about how have been intervening with the community. Are artists using the content and symbols of various cultures correctly?
GEDUP!
Five fellows have been Gathering & Growing through Exercises & Experiments to Disrupt Usual Patterns and Develop Untapped Potentials. Join them as they share experiences of self-reflection, reading, writing, dialogue and travel over the past six months. Plus a book launch! #PotentiallyAwkward #HopefullyInspiring
The ti(d)e of alluvium/ Kết dòng phù sa
[LOCAL GATHERING]
Opportunity for artists, specialists and communities to have dialogues and meaningful interactions around the impacts of climate change on the Mekong delta in Vietnam.
Various, Vietnam
The Pluralism Toolbox
[PARTNER PROGRAM] Swiss development organisation, Helvetas, has put together a ‘pluralism toolbox’. Hear from local artists and civil society organisations in Myanmar who have used the tools in their work to promote social cohesion, and explore how it could work in your context.
You Are Not Alone
[PARTNER PROGRAM] This General Safety Training from Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) will provide an overview of the threats artists face in Asia, sharing real cases and practical advice on how to prepare for, and deal with such threats.
Setting the scene: Contextualising Southeast Asian art community
[LOCAL GATHERING]
Sharing perspectives from Southeast Asian artists and researchers to advance knowledge and develop responses to regional social and community sustainability issues.
London, UK
Now What?
[LOCAL GATHERING]
Inviting experts from various domains – artists, school leaders, homeschoolers, teachers, parents to share their experiences and thoughts on how “connection” and collaboration” between artistic partners and schools can create enhanced joy of learning amongst students.
Mumbai, India
Explore Echoes from the Stars
Join Echoes from the Stars creator Jean-Baptiste (JB) and Theerawat (Meng) to explore constellations of places, relationships and themes that have been transformed into a starmap in a digital installation commissioned for Meeting Point. Hear from contributors and share your own experiences.
Oh, When Did I Take This Photo?
[PARTNER PROGRAM] Female artists/artisans from Taiwan, Indonesia and Myanmar invite you to join their workshop to discover forgotten photos from your cellphone which could recall a whole bunch of memories that you lost.
Congyang Connex
[LOCAL GATHERING]
Art collective, Komunitas Hysteria, shares the knowledge from the conversation to the youth.
Semarang, Indonesia
A Perspective on Anti-Oppressive Practice (AOP)
[LOCAL GATHERING]
Focusing on opportunities for “children” to speak up and be heard; aiming to build a model through the practice of arts management in workshops by applying A Perspective on Anti-Oppressive Work (AOP).
Hamamatsu City, Japan
Lessons on community arts in Asia
Are there best practices when engaging communities in art projects in Asia? Participants from MCH’s Professional Exchange program discuss on the ground lessons learned about project design, workshop facilitation and ethics. Please join the conversation and share your own experiences!
From Connection to Collaboration: How fair can it be?
[PARTNER PROGRAM] Join this interactive session to discover Not a toolkit! Fair collaboration in cultural relations: a reflAction, which includes a glossary, games, checklists and other resources designed to support practitioners engaging in intercultural collaborations.
Siningsiyasat: A Solidarity Exercise
[LOCAL GATHERING]
Bringing together artists and communities, not as separate entities, but as citizens divided by political polarisation in contemporary Philippines.
Philippines
Collaboration: Fair-Unfair
[LOCAL GATHERING]
Exploring the shift from mere connections to collaborations and we believe art and social action can only overlap with collaborations and co-creation.
Bangalore, India
The Nomadic Collective – Meeting in a New Time and Space
[LOCAL GATHERING]
experimentally practising the art of social engagement to explore how to recreate the emotional connection between humans and their natural environment and between humans and society.
Melbourne, Australia and Huaniao Island, China
LOCAL GATHERINGS
Interpreting our theme of ‘From Connection to Collaboration’ in ways relevant to their local context, a network of MCH Fellows are curating and delivering live programs as part of this meeting point. From October 20th – 29th, 14 organising teams from 15+ cities, are gathering people to discuss topics as diverse as the environmental crisis in the Mekong Delta, solidarity for SEA diaspora artists, connecting generations through literature and drinking Ice Tea.
The event hosts were selected through an open call and each has received a small grant from MCH to enable their event coordination. The hosts have been connecting monthly online to connect their networks and exchange perspectives.
Several events are available to join online. Please use the dropdown boxes below to filter events by date, country or online access.
VIRTUAL PROGRAMS SCHEDULE
(UTC+7 Time Zone)
Please click to each date from October 20th to 29th on the calendar to check out the schedule of all online events, including local gatherings of the day. And don’t forget to register to join us!
| TIME | PROGRAMS |
| 13:30 | Echoes from the Stars 45 mins |
| 14:30 | Lost in Translation – Intercultural Communication in Asia: Part 1, Roundtable 90 mins |
| 16:00 | Break 10 mins |
| 16:10 | Lost in Translation – Intercultural Communication in Asia: Part 2, Open discussion 50 mins |
| 17:00 | Close |
| TIME | Room 1 | Room 2 |
| 14:00pm | Immersive Nongkrong x Dapur Communion/Reunion | Evaluating Socially Engaged Art Practice in South Asia Khoj International Artists’ Association |
| 16:00pm | Creative Approaches to Engage Community |
| TIME | Room 1 | Room 2 | Local Gatherings |
| 14.00pm | Immersive Nongkrong x Dapur Communion/Reunion | COVID Time Capsule | Literature Festival – connecting different generations |
| 16.00pm | GEDUP! | In Art We Trust! Art intervention in the community TASA(simultaneous interpretation) | The ti(d)e of alluvium/ Kết dòng phù sa |
| Local Gatherings |
| PURWARUPA: Navigate Your Art Collaboration |
| TIME | Room 1 | Room 2 | Local Gatherings |
| TIME | ROOM 1 |
| 12:00 | The Pluralism Toolbox Helvetas |
| TIME | ROOM 1 | Local Gatherings |
| 14:00 | You Are Not Alone – General Safety Training for Artists in Asia PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection Program (ARC) |
Now What?
PURWARUPA: Navigate Your Art Collaboration Setting the scene: Contextualising Southeast Asian art community |
MEETING POINT NEWS
Collaboration in Action – Artist Networks in Asia by Deborah Augustin
November 3, 2022
Local Host Networking Sessions – the Gatherings of beautiful people in the Art and Culture across Asia
October 15, 2022
A group of strangers on an even stranger land – a photo story by Delta X group GEDUP
October 14, 2022
Creative connections & collaborations via the Meeting Point program: Echoes from the Stars
October 14, 2022
The 2nd Local Host Networking Session: Thinking about audiences/participants to your event
August 1, 2022
Professional Exchange Program 2022: Open Call for Participation
July 19, 2022
THANK YOU
