jay koh

The artist Jay Koh was born in Singapore and since 1999 has been a German citizen. He has in his relatively short career of 15 years in the field of art, created projects and shown his installations, videos, performances, given lectures and had his writings published, all in all in more than 30 countries, mostly in Asia and Europe. He is currently based in South East Asia, managing an art and cultural resource development centre NICA (Networking + Initiatives for Culture and the Arts) in Yangon to facilitate resource development through art and cultural activities. He is working to set up new spaces in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to investigate "engaged" cultural and art activities in today's urban and global cities. The concepts of his practice are grounded in the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School and the New French Theory of Foucault and Derrida with references to Intercultural studies.

Jay is prolific in initiating and managing international projects, especially in intercultural work. He has initiated and established networks for artists' exchanges between Asia and Europe, including founding the network International Forum for InterMedia Art (IFIMA) in 1995, evolved from the independent space arting, which Jay set up in Cologne, Germany in 1992 and managed till 1999. Beside the activities in the space in Bruesseler Str. 29, arting have carried out large scale public projects such as Genopoly, 1990-92 in Bonn, Dueren and Cologne(a multi disciplinary project that speak on the effect of genetic and reproduction technology) and Auszeit der Demokratie, 1993 in Halle Kalk, Cologne that response to the rise of active facisim in Germany after the reunification. IFIMA is currently registered in Singapore and mobilizes ad-hoc affiliations of artists, writers and activists in Europe and Asia for specific projects.

Since 2001, he has been collaborating with Malaysian-born artist Chu Yuan in most of his activities. Together, they take on multifaceted roles in order to negotiate with social-political structures on site and conceives of appropriate actions in response to each site. These actions can range from curating and organising exhibitions, seminars, workshops and learning programmes; community capacity-building, advocacy, writing, publishing, to other necessary activities. NICA in Yangon is IFIMA's longest running project initiated from research started in 1997.

His wide associations and experience have earned him positions as adviser to O+I (Organisation and Imagination), London, formerly known as APG (Artist Placement Group), the League of Khmer Artists in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and The Ayeyarwaddy Artists Assembly in Myanmar. Jay's recent Artist-in-Residencies include those with IASPIS, Sweden (based at Umea University with Bildmuseet) and HIAP, Helsinki.

Additionally, Jay also lectures and writes. His works and writings are based on the concepts of Engaged Art and Critical Art Process. Jay's efforts in building up a critical discourse, complemented by practice, on Engaged Art activities include his work as the co-organiser of the Collaboration, Networking and Resource Sharing - Myanmar, Beikthano Gallery, Yangon; International Symposium of Public Engaged Art, The Substation, Singapore; co-curator of the International Symposium on Critiquing Critical Art, Pananaw Ng Sining Bayan, Inc., Lopez Centre, Manila, The Philippines and the curator of the International Symposium and Project for City Transformers, Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art, Danzig, Poland, all of which took place in 2002. Comparative Contemporaries, The Substation, Singapore 2003 and PSi #10, Singapore Management University, 2004.

Prior to becoming an artist, Jay studied Chemistry and Biology at the University of Cologne, and worked in a Health and Social Interest NGO "Gesundheitsladen Koeln" in Cologne, specialising as a critic on the subject of Genetic and Reproduction Technology. He helped create a Citizen Interest Group called "BuegerInnen Beobachten Petuniaen" in Cologne (1988) which continues to be active till today.

2005 IASPIS, Sweden with the Umea City, Bild Museet, Gallery Verkligheten and Academy of Fine Art, Umea Univeristy

2005 Helsinki International AiR Programme, Helsinki and RAUMARS residency with commissioned public work with Lonnstrom Museum, Raumar, Finland

2001 The Substation, Singapore, тАЬInvestigating Public Engaged Art, SingaporeтАЭ

2000 Translation, Displacement and Actualisation, Galerie 68elf, Cologne, Germany, international show and symposium, part of Heimat Kunst, a federal german culture programme organized by the House of Cultures of the World, Berlin and Art Council Cologne.

1992 "Interaction", Gallery Het Getal-0, Amsterdam/ Holland + Gallery arting, Cologne/ Germany

1997 TransArt Communication: 9th International Multimedia Art Festival, Nove Zamky, & Samorin/ Slovakia Republic und in Mucsarnok Art Museum, Budapest, Hungary

1996 ET - Exchanging Thoughts, ChiangMai Social Installation, open markets in ChaingMai, Thailand

Critiquing Critical Art, Pananaw Ng Sining Bayan, Inc., Lopez Museum, Manila, The Philippines

Selected conducting of workshops and seminars

2001 Seminar on Engaged Art, Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art, Danzig / Poland

Selected Lectures

2001 Public Engaged Art practice, Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art, Danzig / Poland

2000 Symposium on Cultural x/Change, Crossing Cultures: Theories and Practices on Engaged Art, Museum of Site and Shanghai Street Artspace, Hong Kong Art Development Council, Hong Kong

1998 Littoral "Critical Sites", Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art and Technology, Dublin/ Ireland

1997-8 Critical Art Practicein ShilpaSamannaya Art Centre, Chittagong; Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University and Shilpakala Academy in collaboration with Goethe Institut, Dhaka, Bangladesh

2005 Politics of the Self in the Negotiation of Soilidarities a presentation in Locus: Interventions in Art Practice published by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Manila
City Transformers 2002 Gdansk Poland, published by Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art, Gdansk

2004 Potholes and Corners: Intentions, Desires and Constraints of Cross and Intercultural Activities a presentation in Links, Platform and Networks, Publications of Asia Art Archive (AAA), Hong Kong and International Association of Art Critics Hong Kong (AIAC/HK)

2002 The Need for Opening up Structures for more Effective Engagement, Focas #2, Singapore

2000 "58", Anchor essay for catalogue of Station to Station: Images of the World, Copenhagen, Danish Center for Culture and Development (DCCD), Denmark

Selected Bibliography

2004 Grant H. Kester, Conversation Pieces: Community and Communication in
Modern Art, University of California Press, 2004, USA

2003 Theory in Contemporary Art since 1985, edited by Zoya Kocur and Simon Leung, Blackwell Publishing 2003, New York/ USA

2000 KunstForum Bd 149, Kunst und Kapital: metaphorische Symbiose und politische Kritik, Juergen Raap, Cologne/ Germany

1998 The Third Text, Grant Kester, "The Art of Listening (and of Being Heard): Jay Koh's Discursive Networks" in The Third Text, Special Sum. Edition 1999, ed. Sean Cubitt, Liverpool/ UK

Teaching experience as visiting lecturer and artist in Nanyang Academy of Fine Art and Singapore Art Museum, Singapore; Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh; KUVA - Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, Department for Environmental Art, University Turku and Tempere Polytechnic Art Academy, Tempere, Finland.

Symposium "Art and Social Intervention: the Incidental Person" in Tate Britain, London/ UK

Performance Studies international #11, Providence, Brown University, Rhodes Island presenting a paper "Setting up an Uncomfortable Site" within the panel, Intervention.

Symposium on "Art and Knowledge-Encounter in Intercultural art projects", Helsinki Art Museum and Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki/ Finland

Public Art project "Portraying Ourselves" commissioned by Loennstroem Art Museum, Raumar/ Finland

Presentation in Asian Artists' Mobility, Taiwan artist village assoc. Tainan and Taipei, Taiwan

Presentation in Res Artist#10, Sharing Cultures and Social Changes, panel "Curating Differences", House of the Cultures of the World and Ufa Fabrik Berlin International Cultural Centre, Berlin, Germany

Presentation in Living Art Museum, Reykjavik and reseach on Icelandic art scene hosted by CIA.is(Center for Icelandic Art), Iceland

Research trip to Dublin and take part in the Art in the City - Document 17, hosted by CityArts, Dublin, Ireland

Conducting a workshop on Dialogue in art practices within the frame work of Dialogical and Engaged Art, Bildmuseet, Umea, Sweden

Commissioned works and activities in 2006

The lead curator chosen by Asia-Europe Foundation(ASEF) to assist the organizers(ASEF, Goethe Institute, Jakarta and Selasar Sunaryo Art Space, Bandung) in the selection of participants and creating the programmes for the workshops, The Multi Faceted Curator in Jakarta and Bandung in Indonesia, March 2006. These workshops are open for application to practicing curators from 37 countries in Asean+3 and the European Union. http://www.asef.org/default.asp

Visiting Artist Lecture Series of University of California San Diego, Spring 2006

Conducting the workshop "Articulating the Art Encounter: Art Criticism and Writing Workshop"
in the Singapore Art Museum with Chu Yuan

In negotiation with Performance Studies international #12, organised by Queen Mary University, London and Live Arts Agency, UK to hold an exhibition for the PSi#12's theme Site of Rights, June 2006

Collaborating with Art Council Mongolia to set up a resource development programme for art and culture