WOMEN’S ISSUES ARE EVERYBODY’S ISSUES: Gender is a subtext in all my work. As a neurodivergent woman of colour, my presence in work (directly/indirectly) is already often political. There have been many, many women who have inspired and guided me throughout my career (for instance the exceptional Professor Amanda Ravetz, who embodies feminist leadership and genuine allyship in her powerfully quiet, selfless and inclusive ways). With #Metoo and #Timesup exposing how women’s body, mind and thoughts remain policed, a question is: how can co-creation catalyse new insights into modes of working and leadership? My processes include: critical curatorial practice, mentoring & championing early-career researchers and emerging artists, practice-led artistic research, subjective embodiment, co-creation.  

CASE STUDY 2019: Sisterhood? Commissioned by the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art in Singapore as part of Artist-In-Residence award. Co-curated an exhibition & event participated by 600 people in 3.5 hours, led seminar, all of which resulted from a 6-month research initiative with 3 women:  Singapore’s pioneer feminist artist Amanda Heng who nominated my residency, Veronique Sapin (France/Singapore, artist-curator of Femlink) and Dr Fang Tze Hsu (Taiwan/Singapore, curator, National University of Singapore Museum). We re-enacted Heng’s seminal performance Let’s Chat (1996). Shared Véronique Sapin’s installations and my new rendition of my Three Sisters: Her Story of Trying to Tell the 2 Sisters’ Stories (commissioned for Shot In The Face at Earl Lu Gallery with China artist Song Dong, 2001). During the seminar, Heng discussed her Women In The Arts collective (1999) while I outlined 5 strategies on working with and empowering women. NTU CCA, founded by Professor Ute Meta Bauer, is a national research centre of Nanyang Technological University, developed with the support of the Economic Development Board, Singapore.

OTHER CASE STUDIES:

  • RUN! RUN! RUN! Biennale #r3fest 2016: Invited & trained two artists as co-curators; focus on gender and ageing; featured Free To Run (running group for women & girls in conflict areas set up by UN human rights lawyer) & A Mile In Her Shoes (for homeless women in London).
  • #r3fest 2014, 2018, #MagicCarpet and more: Good practice including showcasing Early Career Researchers’ work alongside that of senior peers, for instance at Open Studio (2017), and working with women, especially those of colour or are disabled.
  • #MagicCarpet: Highlights how ADHD (popularly focused on mischievous boys or male criminals) relates to women, who remain under- or mis-diagnosed (NICE 2018).
  • Art-Science Creative Collisions: invited international female ECR to co-chair
  • Co-chairpersonship of Neurodiversity In/And Creative Research Network with social scientist and sculptor Dr Ranjita Dhital
  • See other efforts here, and efforts around inclusivity more generally here.

Caption: Art After Dark open studio: exhibition and participatory art. Reenacting Amanda Heng’s seminal performance Let’s Chat (1996). The exhibition also featured Véronique Sapin’s installations and my new rendition of Three Sisters: Her Story of Trying to Tell the 2 Sisters’ Stories, which was first commissioned for Shot In The Face at Earl Lu Gallery with China artist Song Dong (2001).