The Asian Cultural Council is proud to announce our roster of 2021 fellowships and grants in support of programs and projects connecting artists, scholars, and arts professionals across Asia and the United States. We celebrate these infinitely resourceful and creative individuals and their ability to inspire connectivity across borders throughout this difficult period in world history. We look forward to working closely together to realize their goals amidst a landscape of constantly shifting conditions. Since its founding in 1963, ACC has remained dedicated to a vision of a world made better and more harmonious through the understanding and respect achieved through international cultural exchange.  Whether through in-person or virtual programs, ACC is committed to fostering mutual understanding and respect, laying the foundations for the future of international engagement in a post-pandemic world.


China

Jia Li
Independent Curator
A 3-month Individual Fellowship to undertake research on social practice in Japan’s contemporary art world.
 

 

Sisi Liang
Associate Professor in Urban Planning and Assistant Dean in the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University 
A 4-month Individual Fellowship to participate in the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS) at MIT in 2021. 

 

Jian'an Wu
Professor, China Central Academy of Art 
A 6-month New York Fellowship to research traditional art forms in the U.S. and the artists and practitioners conserving and innovating within these traditions.

 

 

Hong Kong

Sandy Man Yee Chan
Holistic Culture & Arts Education Curator
A 6-month Individual Fellowship to observe and conduct fieldwork on community art programs in New York and San Francisco. 
 

 

CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile) by Mill 6 Foundation Limited
A 4-month virtual program to facilitate the online program Following Traces, enabling seven project participants to conduct research on various issues concerning the social and cultural history of East Asia.

Cho Wun (Clara) Ma
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Virginia 
A 2-month Individual Fellowship to carry out dissertation research on Buddhist art in China.
 

 

University of Hong Kong/MUSE
A 5-month Project Grant to provide support for a virtual program connecting musicians and composers at the University of Hong Kong and the U.S.-China Music Institute at the Bard College Conservatory of Music.

Ching Yan Birdy Wong 
Actress, Playwright, & Artistic Director, Artocrite Theatre
A 6-month New York Fellowship to observe the latest developments in New York’s theater scene, carry out research on the societal roles of Asian women in the U.S., and explore the experience of Asian artists during the pandemic.

 

Chun Tat Ata Wong 
Theatre Director, Choreographer, Actor, Movement Coach & Part-Time Lecturer, Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts 
A 6-month Individual Fellowship to explore traditional and contemporary art forms in Japan. 

 

Samuel Sau Yin Wong 
Senior Architect, Farrells  
A 3-week Independent Fellowship to study post-war architecture in the U.S. and understand the historical, social, economic, and urban contexts in which it was created. 

 

Indonesia

Joned Suryatmoko
Ph.D. Candidate, The Graduate Center, CUNY
A Graduate Scholarship to continue in his fourth year of a Ph.D. program in theater and performance.

 

 

Yayasan Kelola
A 6-month Project Grant to support the ongoing Southeast Asian Choreographers Network program, connecting dance artists, scholars, and producers in Southeast Asia to develop and advance the field across the region.


 


Japan

Bridge for the Arts and Education 
A 1-month Project Grant to provide support for a music workshop and open forum for artists from Asia coming to Japan to participate in a theater production of the Mahabharata, that will be held as part of the official cultural events for the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

 

Japan Center, Pacific Basin Arts Communication (PARC) 
A 1-month Project Grant to support the 2021 Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama (TPAM) in an online, hybrid format. 
 

KYUN-CHOME (Eri Homma & Nabuchi) 
Independent Artists 
A 4-month joint Individual Fellowship to research the identities and cultures of the Japanese and Okinawan diaspora in Hawai’i as a means of entering into dialogue about current immigration to Japan.

 

Arata Mino 
Independent Artist, Photographer, Playwright 
A 6-month New York Fellowship to conduct research on the work of Edward Steichen in the archives of the Museum of Modern Art and explore contemporary visual and performing arts in New York City and beyond.

 

Chatori Shimizu 
Independent Composer & Sound Artist 
A 6-month Individual Fellowship to travel to China for research on the Sheng(Chinese bamboo mouth organ) in traditional and contemporary music practice. 

 

Miyuki Tanaka 
Independent Curator, Producer, Editor 
A 6-month New York Fellowship to pursue research on the intersection of visual and performing arts and design in the context of creating interdisciplinary programs for individuals with disabilities.

 

Myanmar

Gitameit Friends USA 
A 1-year Project grant for the continuation of a collaborative project between Gitameit in Yangon, Myanmar, and faculty and students at SUNY New Paltz, exploring spirit worship and the practice of tolerance in Myanmar.

 

Pakistan

Aziz Sohail 
Independent Writer, Curator and Researcher
A 1-year fellowship to gain experience during an Optional Practical Training year following the completion of an M.F.A. in critical and curatorial studies at University of California, Irvine in spring 2021.

 

Philippines

Radnel Ofalsa
Independent Artist/Teacher, Euphony Music Center & Studio
A Graduate Scholarship to support his first year as a candidate for the Master of Music degree at the Mannes School of Music, The New School, in New York City.

 

Charles Ivan Yee
M.F.A. Candidate, California Institute of the Arts Director 
Designer &  Lecturer at the Ateneo De Manila University 
A Graduate Scholarship to support his third and final year in the M.F.A. program in directing at the California Institute for the Arts. 

 

Taiwan
 

The Corridor, Taiwan
A 1-year Project Grant in collaboration with Borneo Laboratory for a virtual research exchange program between arts specialists focusing on indigenous arts practices on Taiwan’s east coast and in Borneo, Malaysia.

 

 

Gung Ho Projects
fiscally sponsored by La MaMa E.T.C.
A 6-month Project Grant for collaborative exploration of historical sites of memory in Taipei, Seoul, and New York, resulting in site-specific digital performances connecting the experience of these communities.
 


Chia-Ming Hsu, Jorge Bachmann, Shiuan Chang
Independent Musicians/Composers
A 6-month Individual Fellowship to enable virtual collaboration between Chia-Ming Hsu and Shiuan Chang in Taipei and sound artist Jorge Bachman in San Francisco.


Po-Chih Huang & Lai Chu Hon
Director of DAC Taipei & Novelist 
A 1 year-long joint Individual Fellowship for a virtual collaborative research program between Po-Chih Huang and Hong Kong novelist Lai Chu Hon. 
 

Jut Art Museum 
A 3-month Project Grant to support four keynote speakers from the U.S. and Japan to present a series of presentations accompanying the museum’s major 2021 exhibition, Drawing Ambience: Alvin Boyarsky and the Architectural Association. 

 

Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei 
A 10-month Project Grant for a series of podcasts bringing Taiwanese artists in discussion with artists from Hong Kong, Japan, and Indonesia.

 

 

Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts 
A 7-month Project Grant for an online program bringing together specialists in the conservation of contemporary art to lay the groundwork for a collaborative approach to developing conservation strategies for the region. 

 

Waley Art 
A 9-month Project Grant for a collaborative online program bringing together artists from Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong to share research on experimental art practice, internet-based subcultures, and emerging societal issues expressed in the contemporary arts across East Asia. 

 

United States

Association for Asian Studies 
A 7-month Project Grant to support the preparation for and participation in a virtual roundtable on Visualizing and Envisioning Asia: Films, Documentaries and Advocacy in Southeast Asia and South Asia at the Association for Asian Studies meeting in Asia in fall 2021. 

 

Project SEED Virtual Academy 
fiscally sponsored by New York Foundation for the Arts 
A 6-week Project Grant to support a virtual academy, organized by Chatori Shimizu and JunYi Chow, to increase international awareness of East Asian instruments, musical forms, and composition techniques.