Arthub will facilitate and participate in the Open Academy project that has been initiated together ith Jay Koh and Chu Chu Yuan as part of the Compass project (2006).

Seminars and Workshops of Open Academy Ulaanbaatar Sept. 2008 – May 2011
This Open Academy is open to all contemporary practitioners in the local cultural and art environment. There will be 2 main sessions (Winter + Summer) that will take place in May and September/October. In between these sessions, visiting specialists will conduct talks and discussions to expose participants to various perspectives of art making and art critique and make independent assessments of the participants of the Open Academy.

The list of specialists to be invited in the initial session in September 2008 will be Chu Chu Yuan ( artist and project director of NICA in Yangon), Fatima Lasay (artist and educator, University of Philippines, Manila), Sharaad Kuttan (journalist, activist and educator from Malaysia) and Jay Koh. For subsequent 5 sessions it will build on the findings of the previous session.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This Open Academy offers focused practical training in form of workshops targeted at facilitating the development of art practices. Artists, writers, curators and other cultural workers will be placed in learning situations where they themselves can identify and address their own learning needs. After a basic and broad-based exposure to various aspects of contemporary art practice and management in the first main sessions, participants will decide on the content, direction and approaches of the following sessions.

The programme will also expand participants’ visual and creative thinking as research including the use of materials and identifying issues in contemporary art practices in Asia. Participants will begin to develop their self-led enquiry through (studio) practice, fieldwork and case studies, leading onto project proposals and engagements, through presentation of these ideas, in critical debate with peers, facilitators and visiting specialists.

Special attention will be given to the workings of knowledge transfer and knowledge generation across cultural and belief systems due the internationalisation of contemporary art. As information and different bodies of knowledge cross cultures, it is also important to recognise the effects of these cross cultural influences on existing local memories and knowledge and the impact of applying these knowledge onto local contexts.

These workshops offer a balance of theory and practice and will provide participants with basic skills and methods in enhancing their professional practice. Skills in a range of critical and professional practices, such as accessing resources, critiquing and analysing material, writing and communication, curating, programming, documenting art history, fundraising and marketing will also be covered.

Targeted Audience: Artists, curators, art writers, cultural practitioners and students of the Fine Art Institute. Sessions will be conducted in 2 separate groups. Students and practitioners.

Timeframe: May and September/October is to coincide with the timing of the semester ending and beginning of the Fine Art Institut.