The Asian Cultural Council is committed to strengthening the bonds between individuals across international borders during this difficult period in world history. Since 1963, ACC has enabled more than 6,000 international exchanges of artists, scholars, and arts professionals in Asia and the U.S. Today, ACC continues to support both traditional and innovative approaches to international engagement and creative collaboration that fosters lasting connectivity and strong relationships across borders. Through the exchange of artists and scholars, ACC is investing in a vision for the future: one built on mutual understanding and deep respect through the art and culture that express our societies’ collective ideas, values, and hopes.

Following our first round of grants in May 2020, we are pleased to announce the latest grants and fellowships, enabling artists, scholars, and specialists to connect with their peers in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the U.S.


China

Studio Lijiang Foundation
A 3-month Organization/Project Grant to support Lijiang With/Out, a virtual experiment in sound recording and collaboration between women sound artists from Japan, China, Taiwan, and the U.S., and local artists and residents of Lijiang, China.

 

Hong Kong

Lee Kai Chung
Visual Artist
A 5-month Individual Fellowship to conduct field and archival research on local histories in China and North Korea.


 

Lee Wing Ki (Kalen)
Researcher and Visual Artist
A 15 to 18-month Individual Fellowship to conduct research on media archaeology and digital humanities in the U.S. and Japan through a hybrid program of online research and in-person exchange.

 

No Discipline Limited (NDL)
A 1-year Organization/Project Grant to support an artist-in-residence program promoting cross-cultural research, collaboration, and experimentation through virtual activities.


 

Poon Way Shun
Dance Artist/Choreographer
A 3-month grant supplement to enable virtual engagement and travel to Japan to explore contemporary movement practice.


 

Wong Chi-Ching
Musician
A 2-month Individual Fellowship to meet and exchange with artists specializing in traditional crafts and music in Japan.


 

Wong Yok Fai (Arnold)
Architect, Aedas Hong Kong
A 3-week Individual Fellowship to research how Air Rights and Modular Integration Construction are applied in significant housing and architectural projects in the U.S.


 

Helen Yu
Violinist
A 2-month Individual Fellowship to participate in the Aspen Music Festival and School in through a hybrid program of virtual masterclass in 2020 and in-person travel in summer 2021.

 


Indonesia

Yayasan Kelola
A 6-month Organization/Project Grant to provide for the third year of the Southeast Asian Choreographers Network Program, adapted as a virtual program with online workshops for dance artists in Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand.

 

Japan

Bridge for the Arts & Education
A 6-month Organization/Project Grant to support a joint film project around Hiroshi Koike’s Mahabharata Series with participating artists from nine countries across Asia.

 


Philippines

Abner Delina
Artistic Director, BLACK CANVAS
A 6-month Individual Fellowship to continue research into contemporary theater and engagement, ecological art practices, and arts and cultural responses to the pandemic and current social movements.

 

Maria Sofia Amparo Santiago & Ana Victoria Tamula
Co-founders, The Museum Collective PH
An 8-month Individual Fellowship for a hybrid program on online and in-person to research into the practices of memorializing sensitive histories through museum programming, using Cambodia as a case study. This project will initially be conducted online, followed by a four-month research trip to Cambodia, and culminating in shared documentation and learnings through the Museum Collective PH platform.
 

VIVA ExCon
A 7-month Organization/Project Grant to bring participants from Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines together in an interactive virtual conference of the Visayas-wide biennale VIVA ExCon.


 


Taiwan

Bamboo Curtain Studio
An 8-month Organization/Project Grant to carry out the second year of ACC Taiwan Foundation’s Taiwan Southeast Asia Program (TSAP) through virtual exchanges between artists and arts professionals in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

 

Hao Theater
A 3-month Organization/Project Grant to enable four members of Hao Theater to collaborate with Japan-based theater scholar Naoko Hosoi in researching the Tang Dynasty story of Du Zichun.


 

Horse Dance
Theatre
A 1-month Organization/Project Grant to provide support Rama’s House, a series of master classes and dialogue between dance artists from Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Taiwan.
 


United States

DJ Hatfield & Rahic Talif
Professor of Music, Berklee College of Music; Artist and Director, Toko Studio
A 5-month Individual Fellowship to conduct research and collaborate on a project, Following the Direction of the Waves to Discover One’s Own Place to Stand, in Taiwan.

 

Gitameit Friends USA
A 1-year Organization/Project Grant to support a collaborative program between the Gitameit Music Institute in Yangon, Myanmar, and faculty and students in the Music and Asian Studies departments at SUNY New Paltz to explore spirit worship and the practice of tolerance in Myanmar.