ACC HK Announces 2015 Fellowship Recipients
2015-06-15
Asian Cultural Council Announces
2015 Hong Kong and China Grantees
Hong Kong, China – Amongst a total of 89 fellowship grants awarded in Asia and the United States, 14 stellar individuals in the visual and performing arts of Hong Kong and China have been announced this year’s Asian Cultural Council (ACC) fellowship recipients. For 2015, ACC’s grant award amount worldwide exceeds HKD 10 million.
Headquartered in New York with offices in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Taipei and Manila, ACC is a non-profit organization that awards fellowships and provides program services for cultural exchange in the arts. ACC believes that the arts are central to the lives of people and offer unique opportunities for the growth of communication, respect, and mutual understanding between those of different cultures. The ACC is funded by the generosity of its private donors from Asia and the U.S.
“As the arts of Hong Kong and China gains international prominence, ACC believes that the support of individuals working in art and culture in the region will allow for this rapid growth to develop sustainably, going from strength to strength,” says Josephine Wai, Director of ACC Hong Kong. “This critical time in the region’s cultural development is echoed in the lives of our fellowship recipients, who themselves are dealing with new challenges emerging in the arts, as well as in the personal development of their careers. The ACC believes that dialogue and exchange with gifted people of different backgrounds and expertise fosters new ideas that can produce a profound impact upon the wider community. We are confident that our fellows will return from their ACC trips abroad with fresh findings and will contribute greatly towards the cultural futures of Hong Kong and China.”
The 14 individuals in this year’s fellowship cohort represent a selection of young creative forces in the region as well as professionals currently positioned in pivotal roles within the cultural landscape of Hong Kong and China. For 2015, the Hong Kong and China fellowship recipients in the visual arts include Cheung Wai Ting, Stephanie (張慧婷), Lead Curator of Make a Difference Institute, who works on projects dedicated to creative innovation and social change. Li Shurui (李姝睿) is a visual artist based in Beijing and Chongqing who is known for her work in Op Art. Based in Guangzhou, Song Ta (宋拓) is a conceptual artist who often explores issues of hierarchy and power structures within society in his work. Wang Sishun (王思順) creates conceptual installations and sculpture that often feature a laborious transformation and recontextualisation of physical elements.
In film and media art, this year’s recipients include Mok Chung Ling, Jolene (莫頌靈) who is an filmmaker and video artist that explores the intersection of space, time, and socio-cultural phenomena in her film and video work. Kwan Tsz Wai, Alan (關子維) is a filmmaker and new media artist who is receiving ACC support for his second year of post-graduate study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s renowned ‘Art, Culture and Technology’ program.
Four of this year’s fellowships have been awarded to individuals in the performing arts. Currently an undergraduate student of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Ho Shun Yin, Kitty (何舜然) has received support to participate in the renowned Aspen Music School and Festival this summer via the Lady Fung Music Fellowship. Huang Rujing (黃儒菁) is a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology at Harvard University, and will be travelling to Taiwan to research the revival of Chinese imperial court music (yayue 雅樂). The Chinese theatre playwright and poet Ji Chao (姬超) will be exploring contemporary expressions of traditional art in theatre, and will be attending the Yale University School of Drama as a visiting scholar as part of his exchange program. Zhang Wuyi (張武宜) is a performing arts presenter and Chief Representative (Hong Kong) of the Beijing Midi Music Festival who will be conducting research on small-scale independent performing arts festivals in the U.S. for his future work in China.
In architecture, this year’s Tsinghua – MIT Exchange Program and Young Architects’ Award – both supported by the Hsin Chong K.N. Godfrey Yeh Education Fund – have been awarded to Tang Yan (唐燕) and Yip Chun Hang (葉晉亨). Dr. Tang, Associate Professor of the Tsinghua University School of Architecture, will be participating in the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Yip Chun Hang, Architecture Director and Co-Founder of LAAB Studio will be researching the ‘Maker Movement’ on a special study tour in the U.S.
Amongst this year’s cohort, two fellowship recipients working in arts administration and arts criticism are supported through ACC’s recently-established partnership with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York (HKETONY). Lam Suk Yee, Connie (林淑儀) is Executive Director of the Hong Kong Arts Centre and will be conducting research on arts institutions in the U.S. for the future development of her work in Hong Kong. Leung Wai Sze, Jass (梁偉詩) is a performing arts critic and researcher who is interested in alternative performing arts spaces, and will be conducting exchange and research on this topic through an extended stay in the New York.
About the Asian Cultural Council
Since the establishment of the Hong Kong office in 1986, the Asian Cultural Council has awarded more than 500 fellowships to leading arts professionals from Hong Kong and China for programs of advanced study and research in the United States and other countries in Asia. This group of individuals and organisations are part of a network of over 4,000 outstanding cultural professionals across Asia and the United States who have been supported by the ACC since it was first established in 1963 in New York by John D. Rockefeller 3rd.
Application for 2016 Fellowships
The Asian Cultural Council will begin receiving applications on September 1, 2015 for fellowships to be awarded in 2016. For more information, please refer to the website: www.asianculturalcouncil.org.hk
Editors who are interested in more information from the ACC or in arranging an interview with our grant fellows are welcome to contact: Ms. Kathy Ip | T: 2895 0407 | E: kip@acc.org.hk