Is Southeast Asia a Single Market?

Southeast Asia has historically been an intersection of trade and culture, with the archipelago’s straits and waterways forming the channels through which markets crossed. How might this historical legacy feed into the region’s contemporary art scenes, and might they constitute a world unto their own? If Southeast Asia is one market, what defines it? If it isn’t, why not?

Speakers

Jun Tirtadji, Founder, ROH Projects

Jun Tirtadji founded ROH Projects in 2012. ROH is a gallery that seeks to initiate new dialogues within and beyond its hometown in Jakarta, Indonesia. Tirtadji envisions the gallery as a way to provide a multifocal and multi-generational platform for dialogue between artists – Collaboration between domestic and international peers act as an underlying philosophy that forms the basis for its program.

ROH represents Aditya Novali, Arin Dwihartanto Sunaryo, Bagus Pandega, Davy Linggar, Faisal Habibi, Kei Imazu, Luqi Lukman, Maruto, Nadira Julia, Nadya Jiwa, Syagini Ratna Wulan, Syaiful Aulia Garibaldi, Tromarama, and Uji “Hahan” Handoko, alongside a wide spectrum of artists. The gallery regularly participates in domestic and international art fairs. In constant evolution, it is constantly seeking new models of disruptive collaboration.

The gallery is currently situated in a historic neighbourhood in Menteng area, Jakarta, converting a heritage site from the 1950’s into a multidisciplinary exhibition space.

Isa Lorenzo, Founder and Co-director, Silverlens Galleries

Isa Lorenzo is the founder and co-director of Silverlens Galleries (2004, Manila). She takes the lead role in artist management, sales, and programming, including special projects and art fairs. She has been instrumental in establishing and maintaining the professional structure of the gallery, finding the right opportunities for artists, and keeping in close contact with the different members of the art world, locally and internationally.

Silverlens aims to place its artists within the broader framework of the contemporary art dialogue. Its continuing efforts to transcend borders across art communities in Asia have earned it recognition from both artists and collectors as one of the leading contemporary art galleries in Southeast Asia. 

Valentine Willie, Creative Director, Ilham Gallery

Valentine Willie was born in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo. He headed his own law firm in Sabah from 1979 until his retirement in 1996. He then switched career and decided to focus on his passion for Southeast Asian art by starting his own art gallery in Kuala Lumpur. He eventually started several galleries across the region including in Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. In 2013, he retired from the commercial gallery business and initiated the founding of a non-profit public art space in Kuala Lumpur called Illham, where he is now the Creative Director.

Illham Gallery is a public art gallery committed to supporting the development, understanding and enjoyment of Malaysian modern and contemporary art within a regional and global context. The gallery aims to appeal to a diverse audience and serve as a resource for those who are engaged in the arts and those for whom art is a new experience.

Moderator: Stephanie Bailey, Curator, Art Basel Hong Kong’s Conversations series