Gwangju, South Korea: The Kyoto School & Far East Network
Co-hosted with the Gwangju Biennale, The Kyoto School and Far East Network mark the launch of Frequency of Tradition , a three-year series of programs in Asia curated by Hyunjin Kim and initiated by KADIST. Comprising seminars, commissions, and exhibitions through collaborations with artists and institutions, Frequency of Tradition will explore the historical turbulence of imperialism, colonialism, and nation-state building in the Asian region, and their impact on tradition. The programs at the Gwangju Biennale 2018 are conceived in collaboration with artist Ho Tzu Nyen, featuring the transnational improvised music group Far East Network. The Kyoto School, which was founded around 1913, was a philosophical-academic movement at Kyoto University, Japan. Members sought to reformulate unique thought and morality in the East Asian cultural tradition while assimilating Western philosophy and religious ideas. The Kyoto School and Far East Network will examine the resonance and mutations precipitated in this epochal encounter between Eastern and Western philosophical traditions. The Kyoto School Forum 1 – Saturday, November 10, 11.00am to 1.00pm Forum 2 – Sunday, November 11, 11.00am to 1.00pm Speakers: Kim Hang, Yoon Yea-YI, Park Chan-Kyong, Ho Tzu Nyen. Moderated by Ho Tzu Nyen and Hyunjin Kim Ho Tzu Nyen will use the Archive Lounge as a staging ground for a new musical collaboration inspired by the wartime philosophical debates of the Kyoto School. The artist has also co-convened a seminar featuring leading Korean thinkers to deepen the research underpinning the collaboration. The exploratory discussion, along with the musicians’ ‘open rehearsals’, will examine the resonance and mutations precipitated in this epochal encounter between Eastern and Western philosophical traditions. Far East Network Open Rehearsal 1 – Saturday, November 10, 2.00 to 4.30pm Open Rehearsal 2 – Sunday, November 11, 4.30 to 6.00pm Improvised music group Far East Network (Otomo Yoshihide, Yan Jun, Yuen Chee Wai, Ryu Hankil) and Korean vocalist Park Minhee will stage a series of ‘open rehearsals’ for an ensemble performance inspired by the Kyoto School’s wartime debates, an epochal encounter between Eastern and Western philosophical traditions. The Kyoto School and Far East Network are organized in collaboration with David Teh, KADIST advisor and curator of Returns for the Gwangju Biennale 2018.