A Fly Enters. Immense Breath of the SEA is a virtual residency project on sound and music. In 2020, this project had invited six curators and 18 artists to collect sound and experiment on music in their respective cities in Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Following the initial ideas in sound and music, the project in 2021 suggested arranging a virtual space for audiovisual artists to exchange, share, and distribute their research and experiment.
The virtual residency project spanned for three months from October to November 2021 with the participation of artists from Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Myanmar. They were paired in the following order to stimulate cross-boundary conversations.
Rani Jambak(Indonesia) X Hsu Yenting(Taiwan)
Ramaputratantra(Indonesia) X LICA (Taiwan)
Anis Nagasevi (Thailand)X Sheng Sum Sum(Taiwan)
Mahasarakham Mid-field Artspace(Thailand) X Tseng Po Hao(Taiwan)
Mark Omega(Philippines) X Ding Chi-You(Taiwan)
Merv Espina(Philippines)X Angely Chi( Philippines)
Noise in Yangon(Myanmar) X Ting Shuo Studio(Taiwan)
When it comes to the structure and management, this project introduced some new ideas and technologies from other professions. In addition to intensive online catch-ups, reflections and dialogues were used to inspire thinking and help to figure out developmental directions. Also, shared resources were created to allow individual artists to further the collaborations with their fellow colleagues. Moreover, the interactive technologies were included not only for the purpose of the project but also the interest of the group members. The FLY Project Cloud, for example, allows participants to share their work progress with other members, and social media, on the other hand, contains the latest news of individual artists’ home countries while helping to advertise their own events and performances. Amidst the engulfing pandemic that has caused travel restrictions and made international residency impossible, this project supports artists to find alternative ways of communicating, understanding, and working with each other.
Since its foundation in 2001, the Open Contemporary Art Center (OCAC) has been offering curatorial opportunities while facilitating interdisciplinary exchanges, research, and publication. With the resources it continues to provide, OCAC seeks to dissolve the barrier between art and the general public, between lowbrow and highbrow, as it hopes that art will be more inclusive, democratic, and diverse when engaging in the public sphere.
While pursuing his own creativity as an independent artist, Lo Shih Tung’s group projects demonstrate his great passion for collective practices in arts. He is now the director of the Open Contemporary Art Center.
Once a journalist at Pots Weekly specializing in music and theater, Chen Wei Lun now works for the Cooloud Collective as a column editor. His interest is not limited to political, economic, and social issues of the Global South, as he is also a long-term advocate for the idea of Do It Together and an enthusiastic speaker for underground music. As an active member of many self-governed organizations, he strives for the realization of equal collaboration, radical politics, and democratic principles in art productions.