Cynthia Tongson, for Wesley Tongson, artist
Yuki Iiyama, artist
Indu Antony, artist
Christine Wong Yap, artist
Moderator: Melissa Karmen Lee, CEO, Chinese Canadian Museum
How can art facilitate healing and understanding when it comes to mental health? Cynthia Tongson, sister of Hong Kong painter Wesley Tongson, who transmuted his mental health struggles into transcendental ink works, is joined by artists from The Wellcome Trust’s international programme Mindscapes, which partners with institutions and artists to create space for generative reflections on mental health.
Cynthia Tongson is the guardian of and advocate for the legacy of her late brother, Hong Kong artist Wesley Tongson. She currently serves on the boards of Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco and Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive.
Yuki Iiyama is a visual artist who creates installations that consist of video works, recorded materials, and other objects such as hand-knitted tapestries. By using records of the past and interviews with people, she examines the interrelationships between individuals, society, and history. She has shown recently at: Mori Art Museum (Tokyo), Te Tuhi (New Zealand), Yokohama Museum of Art (Kanagawa), WAITINGROOM (Tokyo), amongst others.
Indu Antony is an artist based out of Bangalore, India. Born and raised in a conventional Indian family from Kerala, India, she overcame various social obligations to pursue her forms of expressions. She has hence been working with individuals from the fringes of the society. She is known to explore tonalities of inward discussions which later on bursts out into the communal spaces. Her work comprises of understanding feministic stands which gives way to performances and installations.
Christine Wong Yap is a multidisciplinary artist working in social practice, printmaking, and public art to explore well-being, belonging, and resilience. She has developed projects with Times Square Arts, the Wellcome Trust, and the Othering and Belonging Institute, among others. She lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee 李林嘉敏 is a visual arts and literature scholar, curator, archivist and storyteller with research interests in public art and social engagement. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer at the Chinese Canadian Museum, in British Columbia, Vancouver. From 2019-2022, she was the Director of Education and Public Programs at the Vancouver Art Gallery. From 2016-2019 she was on the founding team to open Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Art, Hong Kong—a UNESCO heritage site—serving as the Education and Public Programs Curator.
This talk was conducted in English, with simultaneous interpretation available in Cantonese and Mandarin.
The Art Basel Hong Kong 2023 Conversations program is curated by Stephanie Bailey.
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