Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (CCA)
Installation shot of No Country: Contemporary Art for Southeast Asia, the inaugural touring exhibition of the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative, at the Centre for Contemporary Art, Singapore
• June Yap is curator of No Country and the Guggenheim UBS MAP Curator, South and Southeast Asia
• Zoe Butt is Executive Director and Curator of Sàn Art in Ho Chi Minh City
The title of No Country draws from the opening line of a poem by William Butler Yeats, “Sailing to Byzantium” (1928), which was adapted into a contemporary thriller by Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men (2005), and film by the Coen Brothers (2007). No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia appropriates historical, geographic and intertextual traversal of Irish poem, American novel and film to an exhibition on Asia, and in so doing references the traces and overlaps in the exchanges and adaptations that are characteristic of the histories and cultures of the South and Southeast Asia. While appearing at first to negate the concept of nation, No Country is finally an exploration of its problematic cartography. In this talk, No Country curator June Yap and Zoe Butt from Sàn Art explore curatorial strategies in negotiating mappings and representations of Asia today.
The Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore is a research centre of Nanyang Technological University, developed with support from the Economic Development Board, Singapore. Located in Gillman Barracks alongside a cluster of international galleries, the Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore Singapore is led by Founding Director Professor Ute Meta Bauer. The Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore takes a holistic approach towards art and culture, intertwining its three platforms: Exhibitions, Residencies and Research.
The Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore positions itself as a centre for critical discourse and experimental practices for Singapore, the region and beyond. It aims to play an active role within the local art scene, as well as being a part of the development of regional and international art infrastructures.