M+ Online Talks on Contemporary Visual Culture

EVENT DESCRIPTION

M+, Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District, is pleased to announce that a series of online talks will be held in March and April 2022 for the public to learn about visual culture.

The online talks cover a wide range of themes and topics, inviting the public to dive into the world of visual culture through conversations with curators and industry experts. The talks include a new session for the ‘Open Up M+’ series centred around Individuals, Networks, Expressions, one of M+’s opening exhibitions in the South Galleries, inviting audiences to explore the different aspects of the museum— from the building as an architectural landmark to the collaborative effort from across teams in the making of M+’s exhibitions. As the the second session of the M+ bi-monthly talk series ‘What is Visual Culture?’, the talk ‘Technology, Identity, and Power: Living in a Digital World’ will explore the significance and impact of the digital world to visual culture.

China and the ‘Cosmotechnics’ of Fashion
31 March – 7pm – 8:45pm

Fashion manifests itself as a visual language and culture, and a social practice, constantly redefined by social interactions. Technology continues to influence contemporary living trends, especially in China and its fashion landscape.

Referencing techno-philosopher Yuk Hui’s concept of ‘cosmotechnics’, Anouchka van Driel, an M+ / Design Trust Research Fellow of 2021, will investigate China’s fashion sector today and the changing dynamics between designers, users, and consumers through the mediated relationships of online platforms . This talk will examine their impact on the design, creation, marketing, and consumption of garments and clothing, including the surrounding social ephemera of style. It will also explore the impact of COVID-19, which has exacerbated and accelerated changes already in motion , such as a new form of de-globalised production.

Anouchka van Driel will present her research findings, followed by a panel discussion with Shaway Yeh, moderated by Tanja Cunz, Associate Curator of Design and Architecture at M+.

Shaway Yeh is Group Style Editorial Director of Modern Media and founder of YehYehYeh, an independent consultancy focused on fashion and sustainability. As former Chief Editor and Editorial Director of Modern Weekly, Yeh made progressive developments to the publication. It has become one of the most influential lifestyle publications in China since.

Young People Meet-up: Mapping Out a Museum Career
1 April – 7pm – 8pm

Ever wondered what your ideal job may be like? How can you map out your career path?

Follow the journeys of young M+ staff from college to the workplace as they share their life experience with M+ Young Collective. What inspired them to work at a museum? How did they embark on a career path through exploration and self-reflection? What have they gained from this new experience?

M+ invites Visual Art Assistant Curator Jessie Kwok and Assistant Art Technician Ice Wong to speak about their roles. Both had studied art-related subjects in university; Kwok’s role at M+ is more research-orientated—selecting and organising objects for an exhibition—while Wong’s focuses on the safe handling of an artwork’s transportation and installation. What inspired them to move in different paths? How might their work be different from what we perceive?

This event is recommended for participants ages sixteen to twenty-four.

Technology, Identity, and Power: Living in a Digital World
6 April – 7pm – 10pm

How does the digital era influence our lives?

Video games and digital media are today integral forms of visual culture. M+ dives into these visual mediums in this global conversation hosted on the interactive livestreaming platform, Twitch—used by creators from gaming, the arts, and more.

Local and international artists, writers, researchers, and designers will join Amsterdam-based media and design studio Moniker in a synchronous playthrough of Touch for Luck, as they discuss various social and cultural phenomena of the digital world:

· addiction behaviours (7pm – 8pm)
· data usage and surveillance (8pm – 9pm)
· self-image and community building (9pm – 10pm)

Tune in to this live three-hour ‘marathon’ session to explore how the digital world impacts us and, more importantly, how we utilise its highly visual nature to share ideas and advocate for change:
Ulanda Blair, Curator of Moving Image; Kate Gu, Producer of Digital Special Projects; and Sunny Cheung, Curator of Design and Architecture at M+, will moderate this event—the second session of M+’s ‘What is Visual Culture?’ series.

Open Up M+: South Galleries
13 April – 7pm – 8:30pm

Curious about how we put together M+? The ‘Open Up M+’ series invites you to explore the different aspects of the museum—from the building as an architectural landmark to the collaborative effort from across teams in the making of our exhibitions.

Join M+ Curator of Learning and Interpretation Keri Ryan and Lead Curator of Visual Art Pauline J. Yao in this conversation. Yao will share some of the key issues discussed and considerations made during the making of Individuals, Networks, Expressions, one of M+’s opening exhibitions . On view in the South Galleries, the exhibition explores over fifty years of artmaking that situates Asian artists within a global context.

Alessandra Guarascio, M+ Conservator of Installation Art, will join the conversation and explain the challenges to installing and conserving works of art created by living artists who use a range of techniques and, often, surprising materials.