BANGKOK
3-5 March 2023
The ANCER Lab is a platform for critical conversations to take place on the development and management of arts and culture in Southeast Asia and aims to foster the development of wider and deeper participation in a sustained reflection on arts and cultural work. Held in specific locations in Southeast Asia, it is a fora for scholars, arts practitioners and researchers to engage in dialogue about emerging trends in the arts and cultural policy developments. Previous Labs have taken place in Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, and Manila (virtually via zoom). ANCER Lab Bangkok focused on focus on systems of support and the complex relationships with funders.
Sustaining an arts organisation or cultural initiative, funding artistic work, making sure people are paid a decent wage –these are all preoccupations for arts and culture workers everywhere in the world. In Southeast Asia, much cultural work is supported by individual patronage, and corporate sponsorship as well as international funding agencies. National government support varies from generous (Singapore!) to non-existent. Love them or loathe them, we can’t get away from funders… But what are our relationships really like with funders, patrons and donors? Is it a struggle to get them to pay attention to you? Is technology helping make it easier or is it just another way to experience heartbreak (swipe left!) and the struggle to make yourself stand out in a crowd of hopefuls? How do we move from casual ‘dating’ to a long-term partnership? What are the power dynamics in these relationships? Our ANCER Lab Conversations in Bangkok discussed these questions and more, in an effort to deepen our understanding of how to survive and thrive in an industry that is full of love and loss.