esea contemporary and Asymmetry Art Foundation are delighted to jointly present 'Proxy Conference: Collaborative Research through Gameplay' by AFSAR (Asian Feminist Studio for Art and Research). In this thematic fictional conference, interlocutors from diverse backgrounds are invited to engage with members of AFSAR through live stream gameplay. The inaugural conference, ‘Proxy Conference: On Boat,’ is currently on display at esea contemporary, Manchester, as part of exhibition ‘Practise Till We Meet’.
For this edition of the Proxy Conference, the four members of AFSAR, namely Mooni Perry, Hanwen Zhang, Eugene Park, and Yu’an Huang, will meet in person for the first time at Asymmetry HQ. The practitioners will open a discussion on the durational, trans-local, and manifold strategies to deviate from the homogenous narrative fronted by the ESEA communities in the UK and EU context. While reading through a map that guides participants through the conference, the group will give a collective presentation on the methodologies underlying the foundation of AFSAR, then delve into the individual practices of its members that expand on pertinent themes of translations, Asian Feminism, speculative fantasy, and digital transnational communities.
The recording of this event is available to watch here.
Asian Feminist Studio for Art and Research (AFSAR) was founded by Mooni Perry and Hanwen Zhang in 2020 and joined by Eugene Park and Yu'an Huang in 2022, with the aim of establishing connections between contemporary art, scholarly discourse, and activism anchored in (Asian) Feminist thought. The prefix ‘Asian’ evokes ESEA localities to conceptualise a space for engaging in dialogues with diverse partners. Localities are also manifested in diasporic people’s engagement with their place of residence, the land of their heritage, and places beyond. AFSAR constructs a place for archiving contemporary feminist discourse and artistic research. Its online platform serves as a decentralised virtual space that brings together a wide range of practitioners from a variety of disciplines, fostering collective research to develop and support sustainable interactions.
%2C%202018.%20Production%20still.%20Courtesy%20the%20artist..jpg)