Room for FAAM Residence Program vol.2

Since its inauguration in 1999, the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (FAAM) has conducted their Residence Program, which invites artists and researchers from Asia every year to stay for a certain period and cultivate exchanges through collaborative art-making, workshops, talks and other programs with citizens. Through the Residence Program, FAAM intends to promote local people’s further understanding of Asian arts and cultures, which is expected for us to become a hub of artistic exchanges in Asia

From this year, we set up the ‘Room for the FAAM Residence Program’ in order to introduce both the previous ‘past’ and the ongoing ‘present’ of the program. The room showcases the activities of artists and researchers staying in FAAM and the works created by artists in Fukuoka. We wish that the display provides the sense of stimulative exchanges between those who live in Fukuoka and its neighborhood and artists or researchers.

Candy Bird [Taiwan]
[Residence Period: From February 18 to March 30 (41 days) and 2 weeks in the fall]
1982 Born in Taipei (currently resides there)
In Fukuoka, Candy Bird carried out his project, The Others, which has continued since 2017 in the cities in East Asia. The artist interviews the migrants or the people with a sense of alienation, invites them to write about their personal story, and turns it into a mural. During his stay in Fukuoka, Candy Bird found a local
collaborator, and the project is now taking a shape as they continue sharing the stories via emails. The work will be completed in the fall based on the story of the collaborator.

Workshop
Train Cheers ！
Date: March 8, Friday 12:00-13:50
Venue: Open Studio
Participants: 12 students
1-6 grades special education
class in Saitozaki Elementary School
Students painted their imaginary train with the artist. Candy Bird talked about Taiwan and his previous works and demonstrated his painting technique before students start painting their own train. Candy Bird then added the railway to connects everyone s train to complete the piece.

Han Sungpil [Korea]
[Residence Period: From May 14 to July 19 (67 days) and 2 weeks in the fall ]
1972 Born in Seoul (currently resides in Yongin)
Han Sungpil is an artist active in his home country of Korea and abroad including in Japan, having participated in the 2011 Yokohama Triennale and exhibited in the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts in 2018. During his residency at FAAM, Han will work on the second edition of a project ‘Botanica Project’ first held at Busan Museum of Art. Using the forests and moss of Fukuoka as his subject, the artist will
create large-scale photographs and display them in the city. The artist has increased his environmental awareness through his trip to Arctic and Antarctic and says, “I hope my work to increase attention to the environmental issues and provide an opportunity for the Fukuoka residents to reflect their urban lifestyle.”

Cheong Kiet Cheng [Malaysia]
[Residence Period: From May 7 to June 6 (31 days)）]
1981 Born in Kuala Lumpur (currently resides there)
Cheong Kiet Cheng received the United Overseas Bank Painting of the Year Award 2018
(Malaysia). She completed 14 paintings in her short 1-month residency. During her stay, she walked around the Hakata area and visited islands including Iki. By collecting the fragments of mythological motifs still remain in Fukuoka, Cheong finely depicted the gods, women, and natures including trees and birds.
With the support from NPO Sansonjuku, Cheong also visited the Okuyame area, which was damaged by the 2012 heavy rain, and created a series of works based on her interview to the local residents.

Research and collaborative art making in Kasahara area, Kurogimachi, Yame
Cheong Kiet Cheng learned about the heavy rain in northern Kyushu while she was in Malaysia and strongly hoped to visit these areas and, if possible, work with local residents. Accordingly, we visited the Kasahara area, Kurogimachi, Yame, which was one of the severely damaged area in the past heavy rains, with the support from a local NPO Sansonjuku, which has continued to protect and manage the Kasahara s natural scenery.
We observed the current condition of the Kasahara area in the first trip and then conducted the interview to the three local people on the second trip. The interviewees were invited to draw their message on canvas,
and the artist added a painting inspired by the message.