ASIA NOW 2019 | Programming

ASIA NOW, the first European art fair focusing on Asia’s contemporary art scene, celebrates its 5th Edition at 9 Avenue Hoche, Paris 8e from 16-20 October, with a Collectors Preview and Vernissage on October 15, at 2-6pm and 6-9pm respectively.

The artist Cheng Ran, winner of the Nomura Emerging Artist Award, will present a special performance entitled Tattoo Station during the vernissage.

ASIA NOW is expanding and this year will welcome over 50 of the most prominent and cutting-edge galleries presenting over 250 established and emerging artists from China, Korea, Japan, Central and Southeast Asia, who push the boundaries of contemporary art. For its 5th edition, ASIA NOW reinforces its support of the younger art scene, by inviting galleries who are under 5 years old.

Building upon the success of its previous guest curator programs, ASIA NOW has invited Xiaorui Zhu-Nowell, Assistant Curator at the Guggenheim Museum New York, to devise this year’s Curatorial Platform. Taking its title from the popular internet abbreviation IRL {In Real Life}, their programme celebrates an emerging generation of artists who are digital natives and whose work critically engages with new media: aaajiao, Chando Ao, Chen Chen-Yu, Chen Qiulin, ITEM IDEM, Lui & Chang TM, Liu Wa, Lu Yang, Jiu Society, MARTIN GOYA BUSINESS, Shi Zheng, Teppei Kaneuji, Victoria Sin, Wang Ye, Wong Kit Yi.

This platform will be enacted in four sections, each of which will refer to a different mode of interaction:

Peer-to-Peer

This portion of the programme takes its name from the decentralized computer network systems made infamous through early internet le sharing platforms such as Napster. Peer-to-Peer will place collectors at its heart through Special Projects and Salon-style encounters with visionary collectors who will present their latest discoveries: Michael Xufu Huang, collector and founder of X Museum, will introduce two curated projects within the IRL {In Real Life} Platform; Lu Xun, co-founder of Sifang Art Museum (Nanjing), will present the museum's residency programme “HUGE HUGE”.

Hyperlink is a series of performances that will run throughout the fair and will occur across the site. The programme's highlight, a nocturnal programme by Paris-based curators, Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou will be held on Saturday 19 October, with a DJ set by Erwan Sene and Antonin Roux, a DJ duo and founders of the Proxi label specialised in pan-Asian electronic music, and a DJ set by ShuShu, underground DJ, songwriter and vocalist, specially invited by the collective Nüshu. Hyperlink also features the lecture performance Hong Kong Weather Modification Office (Square Cloud) by artist Wong Kit Yi.

Using the idea of online chat rooms as a framework, the Chat Room will connect various artists, collectors, curators, thinkers, and gallerists together, to discuss a wide range of topics in an informal setting. Browse the full programme here.

For its 5th edition, ASIA NOW will present a programme of special artistic projects: Qiu Zhijie by Galleria Continua (San Gimignano, Beijing, Les Moulins, Havana), City Pop by TOKYOITE (Paris, Tokyo), Desiree Tham by VADA x Intersections (Singapore) and Emeline Piot x Mathon. The fair is also the site of the launch of the first edition of KIRTI (Singapore) as well as a book signing of He Xiangyu's "Yellow Book" with an introduction by curator Li Zhenhua. The fair will also feature video screenings of "Cernuschi art video#3: Transmissions", a selection of video art from the Far East by the Musée Cernuschi - Musée des Arts de l'Asie de la Ville de Paris, and “Cinéhaïku”, a series of poetic short films inspired by Japanese haiku.

In partnership with other Parisian cultural institutions, the fair's off-site programme features events organised in collaboration with the Musée national des arts asiatiques - Guimet / Musée Cernuschi - Musée des Arts de l'Asie de la Ville de Paris / Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris / Les Maisons du Voyage.