Art History is being taught in local universities and has recently been included in the curriculum in secondary schools, yet it is often perceived as a dry, stagnant and conservative subject. Such perception is a reflection of an outdated mode of thinking about art history, a field which is actually undergoing exciting changes.

To coincide with the recent publication of a number of books on Hong Kong art history, guest curator Lau Kin Wah has invited 9 Hong Kong artists to re-examine their relationship with this academic discipline. The project is not only interested in how the artists view art history, how they view themselves as situated in it, but also what art history for contemporary art could otherwise be.

The artists will produce works in response to historical writing on Hong Kong art. Over the five-month period, these works will be installed one by one in the Asia Art Archive, accompanied by documentary materials that aim to generate extensive and in-depth dialogue. The Archive becomes the context for the artists’ works, and simultaneously, sees the materials in the collection being presented in a different way.

Participating artists
CHING Chin Wai, Luke
FUNG Mei Wah, May
LAW Man Lok
LEE Kit
LEUNG Mee Ping
PAK Sheung Chuen, Tozer
TANG Ying Chi, Stella
TSANG Tak Ping
WONG Yui-Hin, James

Other related activities
A series of reading group sessions accompanying the project will be held from June to September, with a roundtable symposium open to the public on 29 September 2007. For further details, please contact Janet Chan at janet@aaa.org.hk or 2815 1112, or Lau Kin Wah Jaspar at jaspar@ctimail3.com or 9418 8184.

About mMK
mMK (mini-Museum von Kaspar, after MMK - Museum fuer Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt) is the nickname for the DIY, experimental curating project first initiated by Jaspar Lau Kin Wah in 1996.

This event is part of 2007 Curator-in-residence: Lau Kin Wah Jaspar