Welcome to China Service Mall!

The public forum of the Asia Cultural Cooperation Forum 2006 started on Thursday with speakers from different countries and regions sharing their views on the engagement and institutional diversity of contemporary art.

Speaking at the forum, Caroline Turner, Deputy Director of the Humanities Research Center of Australia National University, said that the Asia-Pacific region has a long and rich history of art creation and that many regional opportunities for debate and dialogue exist, giving rise to exciting possibilities for the creation and promotion contemporary art.

When talking about promotion, Turner pointed out that museums and cultural spaces are critical platforms for cross-cultural interaction. They play a vital part in interpreting culture and also in meeting the social and cultural needs of communities.

Art and cultural practice are crucial to communities. Since the power of art is to mirror humanity's inspirations and values, Turner said that contemporary art can assist communities in negotiate the shoals global and local societal changes whilst defining their futures.

"A key role for cultural workers is to articulate to audiences the relationship of art to contemporary society and to local communities," Turner said, adding a challenge for cultural workers is to sensitively negotiate the complex links between traditional and contemporary art.

Director of Hong Kong Hanart T. Z. Gallery Johnson Chang explained the Hong Kong situation and stressed that simply providing a venue for presentation hardly suffices for cultural mediation. "The crucial thing is interpretation," he said, adding that interpretation is needed for an international audience without falling short of addressing Asia's aspirations on its own terms.

As suggested by Chang, the finest art-world example of how Hong Kong is working as a cultural meeting place can be seen in a non-profit making foundation -- the Asia Art Archive. Serving as a professional need, it provides up-to-date information on Asian contemporary art.

Chang said the greatest service an organization such as the Asia Art Archive provides is as an independent endorsement platform It can become an arbiter of taste through the combined and concerted efforts of international experts; also, it can buttress creativity and provide an intellectual vision beyond national boundaries and immediate commercial interest, he added.

A multifaceted art project in the Chinese mainland -- the Long March presents contemporary art in a different form. It acts as a connection between the artistic community and public venues as well as that between the local and the international; its programming includes exhibitions, lectures, publishing, international artist residencies, art consulting services among other activities.

Founder and Director of Long March Project Lu Jie said that art education forms a substantial branch of the Long March programming in terms of involving the public. This includes communicating with community groups regarding contemporary art, as well as bringing art outside the safe boundaries of normal galleries, like converting a passenger train into a moving "art car" exhibition.

Lu said that such activities seek to reevaluate traditional aesthetic symbols found throughout people's daily lives, and explore the types of highlights these can provide for contemporary art.

The Asia Cultural Cooperation Forum 2006 with the theme of "Asian Arts, Culture and Modernity" was organized by the Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong government and kicked off on November 8.