Khai Hori

Khai Hori : Singapore

Name of your organisation: Wunderspaze

Website of your organisation: none

How is your organisation funded?

It runs mostly on private funds from members.

Explain what your organisation is about (to somebody who does not know about it).

Wunderspaze (established 2006) aims to be a venue of exchange for emerging local, Southeast Asian and other artists and curators interested in the development and discourse of contemporary art in Southeast Asia. It intends to make its work through regional networking, research, documentation and presentation of works, ideas and strategies by such young artists and curators that is has contact with. Aside from artistic development within contemporary visual art and associated practices, the concurrent direction is to examine and develop curatorial approaches, models and methodologies.

Describe how your organisation is engaged in international cooperation and exchange.

Wunderspaze’s international/regional co-operation takes off from my existing contacts which are largely based in Southeast Asia, namely Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. I make connections and work with several young curators from these countries, constantly collaborating and exchanging projects. Since Wunderspaze’s inception in early 2006, we have (amongst others):

Hosted part of the research/residency of German artist, Dirk Fleishmann while he was traveling on the Hessische Kulturstiftung Travel Grant from August to November 2006.
Hosted and facilitated TUPADAXINGapore, a performance art event by Filipino performance art collective, Tupada with ‘live’ performances by Maki Calilung, Thomas Daquioag, Ronaldo Ruiz & Mannet Villariba on 26 October 2006 at our premises.
Initiated and curated several exhibitions at Warong M Nasir (Indonesian café) on 69 Killiney Road, Singapore. Artists exhibited includes Orkibal (Malaysia), Tupada collective (Philippines), Safaruddin Abdul Hamid (Dyn), Erzan Adam, Er Poh Luan, Kimberley Shen, The Killer Gerbil, ZERO and Lil Pink Devil (Singapore).
Initiated and facilitated Rasa Singapura, a one-month artist residency for artist Mohamed Zaki Razak aka Lil Pink Devil (Singapore) at The Land Foundation in Chiangmai, Thailand (May-June 2006).
Curated Open SEA (2006) exhibition at The Substation Gallery featuring 3 emerging talents from Southeast Asia. Artists featured were Patiroop Chychookiat (Thailand), Sharon Chin (Malaysia) and Lynn Lu (Singapore/Tokyo).
Hosted artists and curators while researching/working in Singapore. Artists/curators includes, Dr Thomas J Berghuis (Netherlands/Australia/China), Sharon Chin, Aswad Ameir, Shahrul Jamili, Ili Farhana, Orkibal (Malaysia), Bebe, Dani Wardani (Indonesia), Thanavi Chotpradit, Chattiya Kate, Patiroop Chychookiat (Thailand), Dirk Fleishmann (Germany), Tran Luong (Vietnam) Ronaldo Ruiz, Mideo Cruz (Philippines).

Describe how your art space relates to the local community. If you are about to open an art space, explain how you related to the local community in your previous experiences.

At the moment, Wunderspaze does not hold capacity for open visits by the general public. It functions more like as catalytic vessel where artists, curators and art activists meet, exchange, study and generate ideas which could then be presented in the public sphere to be equally consumed by the general public and contemporary arts community.

One such public engagement by Wunderspaze would be the series of curated exhibitions presented to the largely ‘unconverted’ public at Warong M Nasir (Indonesian café) on Killiney Road. Apart from locals, audiences at this very casually set café placed just across Orchard and Somerset roads at the heart of Singapore’s prime shopping district includes various tourists and expatriates. Art exhibited there exists both as decoration and artistic statements, conjuring occasional questions from its patrons to be explained by waiters and café owner based on their knowledge from prior briefing.

Nevertheless, events like artist talks and presentations that are open to public have been occasionally held at the Wunderspaze studio.

What are the major internal and external challenges your organisation is facing?

Being a creative entity placed in a fast progressing and apparently ‘wealthy’ country such as Singapore also means a large disincentive in funding possibilities (especially from overseas sources). Although the country does financially well in its economy, receiving local funding for the arts especially as a small independent collective with alternative vision in engaging artists, the public and art itself, is very much a real struggle. At present, the governmental arts council (which simultaneously acts akin a sanctioning body for local arts production) holds ‘monopoly’ of sponsors through its unchallenged incentive schemes, leaving small collectives struggling just to keep its vision alive. Also, as a result of this same economic success, potential project partners from around the region (Southeast Asia) almost always have an expectation of funding coming from Singapore to be guaranteed. On the other hand potential partners from regions such as Europe and America feels that Singapore is unattractive in developing work or collaborations if compared to countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and The Philippines. Internally, Wunderspaze needs to expand and deepen its relationship with partners around the region, develop a macro understanding in strategic planning coupled with better skills in bookkeeping.

What are the main achievements and strengths of your organisation?

In less than 2 years of existence, Wunderspaze has gained considerable visibility, at least amongst the local contemporary art community in Singapore. It has managed to function with very minimal dependency on national grants and is beginning to attract partnership projects with established institutions. Wunderspaze prides itself in taking time and personalized efforts in acquainting itself to artists and curators before embarking and executing any kind of projects with them. It also believes that presenting massive number of exhibitions, finished artists’ objects/works or close association with big name artists or organisations does not satisfactorily denote success. Being founded by an artist-curator, empathy towards the artistic process becomes its key quality.