This library display presents a selection of materials from AAA’s Collection with a focus on pedagogy. Featuring exhibition catalogues, journals, zines, artists’ books, symposium notes, and a selection of archival materials, this presentation initiates a dialogue between institutional and non-institutional approaches to artist-driven pedagogical models.
The first thread in the display is grounded in three art schools explored in AAA’s Collection and Programmes, including the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Baroda; the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, Hangzhou; and Gendaishicho-sha Bigakkō, Tokyo. By positioning themselves as sites for experimentation, these schools have allowed new methodologies within an institutional framework, ranging from a curriculum developed by a publishing house, to creating a fine arts fair for students to experiment outside of their studios and classrooms. The selection also includes publications that respond to the rigidity of art educational systems in East and Southeast Asia, and the continuing importance of institutional critique in this region.
The second thread explores alternative education via printed materials about artist-led and community-based projects. The materials on display show modes of pedagogy designed by artists or activists that empower local communities and engage with their immediate surroundings. They feature a compilation of ideas and skills acquired through the collective actions of artist-activists engaging with urban farming as well as migrant domestic workers from Indonesia and the Philippines living in Hong Kong. These publications highlight the importance of exhibition-, publication-, and zine-making in the production, documentation, and distribution of knowledge outside of formal institutions.
