Practitioners of visual arts in Asia are proactively exploring new art forms that can demonstrate, summarize and integrate into the ever-changing Asian societies and realities. These efforts have generated extensive information. Where can researchers and writers on art history find this information? In response to such demand, Asia Art Archive (AAA) is established to collect comprehensive information that helps reflect the entire development process of Asian arts.
During the past 20 years or so, AAA has made relentless efforts to overcome various challenges confronting it. As most donations are private collections, including some valuable only existing copies, donors often require the receiving institution to be capable of keeping running in the long term. How did AAA, a newly-established archival institution, win the trust of donors? Given that most enterprise entities and private sponsors prefer exhibitions over archival institutions, how did AAA obtain adequate funding? Considering that Asia hosts, on its vast land, a wide range of ethnic groups with different languages and religious beliefs living in various landscapes and economic systems, how did AAA overcome language and cataloging system differences and network access gaps to ensure information exchange?
Since it established in Hong Kong in 2000, AAA has been committed to the conservation and exchange of resources illustrating Asian modern arts from multiple perspectives. Valuable archives are available both on AAA’s website and in the brick-and-mortar institution for the public to search for and read useful information for free. In addition, AAA has developed effective research tools, established a community for audience, and promoted inspiring communication by hosting a number of research programs, residency projects and education events. It has enhanced public awareness of collecting, managing, sharing and communicating knowledge and information on contemporary arts.
In this talk, the speaker will also answer the following questions:
1. As a single entity, or an entity specialized in a specific field, is not capable of covering the diverse fields of contemporary arts in Asia, how did AAA develop an effective network of experts and partners to provide a comprehensive set of infrastructure necessary for contemporary art creation?
2. How can art museums, higher education institutions and individual researchers collaborate with AAA?
3. As AAA and RAM are both dedicated to promoting the development of Asian contemporary arts, what are their shared challenges?
4. In this ever-changing world, how has AAA transformed itself over the past years, and what has it been doing to flexibly address the changing trends?
亚洲视觉艺术正在积极探索一切新的艺术形式，以诠释 、提炼及融入变化中的亚洲社会和现实，它的发展产生了大量信息。艺术史的研究、写作者要怎样找到这些信息呢？有一群人于是发愿要建立反映亚洲艺术发展的整体面貌的艺术文献资料库——亚洲艺术文献库（Asia Art Archive）。
近二十年的历史里，他们遇到了各种困难，做了各种尝试。大部分捐赠物品都属于私人珍藏，其中不少还是孤本，所以捐赠者都希望能确保接受捐赠的机构在数十年内如常运作，年轻的独立文献库如何取得捐赠者的信任？企业和私人赞助者亲睐的往往是展览而不是文献库，如何争取资金支持？亚洲幅员辽阔，是一个众多宗教、民族、地域、经济体系和语言所组成的多元化地区，信息交流如何克服语言、编目系统差异和网络不通的障碍？
亚洲艺术文献库自2000年于香港成立以来，致力于保存亚洲近代艺术的多重历史，并促进相关资源的流通。公众可透过文献库网站或亲临图书馆免费查阅珍贵的艺术文献馆藏。此外，它还开发研究工具及建立社群，借着举办研究项目、驻场计划及教育活动，集思广益以开拓知识领域。它的存在已使社会各界的人士逐渐意识到收集、管理、共享和传播当代艺术知识与信息的重要性。
单一机构，或者单一类型的机构不足以涵盖整个亚洲庞杂的当代艺术领域，亚洲艺术文献库是如何构建专家和机构网络来组织协调，为当代艺术创作提供基础设施的呢？美术馆、高校和研究人员可以如何与之合作？同为关注亚洲当代艺术发展的机构，我们面临哪些共同问题？在一个日新月异的范畴里，亚洲艺术文献库自身经过了哪些转变，又如何保持灵活应变以应对新的发展趋势呢？