F-ing Good Provocation was born out of the lived / living experiences of mine and the artists involved, concerning race, racism, injustices in our everyday life as well as within the landscape of movement and dance. It was also born out of survival at the time (2020) where all of our works were cancelled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. In addition, noticing gaps in scholarly writing, journals, articles alike. Not being able to find scholarship from the East and Southeast Asian diaspora, especially centring dance was disheartening when I was doing my research in my masters and bachelors degree (about a decade ago now). F-ing Good Provocation is an attempt in contributing to narrowing that gap.

The F-ing Good Provocation was first published online specifically to an invited audience of approximately 100 industry professionals in the landscape of movement, dance and body practices in spring 2021. This community of industry professionals are curated and trusted by the 20 artists as apprehension regarding the possible repercussions of lived/living experiences shared had been expressed.As we progress into 2022, we continue to gain confidence and courage to disrupt and disturb as awareness of such issues have been raised and it feels permissible to speak about such issues more openly. Moreover, the artists involved recognised the effort that had been put into the Provocation in protecting artists’ identity without compromising the specificity of their personal lived/living experiences.

The artworks in the zines are generous contributions from the artists involved and their emotional response to the F-ing Good Provocation and some of the conversations around the project, their lived experiences and the injustices that exist in many walks of lives, shapes and forms.

The F-ing Good Provocation also acknowledges not everything in the research, scoping and organisational phases are visiblised and made known in this publication and that includes many more artists whom we have yet to reach out to, their lived/living experiences, conversations that we have had and continue to have. As you journey through the pages, please hold space for those who are with, before and after us.

By the time The F-ing Good Provocation publication reaches you, we may be in a different paradigm to that of lockdown 2020/21 and the publishing of this zine, autumn 2022. I urge and encourage you to engage with these texts and art works more with their essence than the form they may take with an open heart and hold them gently with kindness and care.