The Purpose of Asia-Pacific Network for Cultural Education and Research (ANCER)
The idea of ANCER was birthed by the following set of considerations and inquiries:
First, what is the relationship between public and cultural policy discourse in Asia and artists and their communities? We are interested how they intersect and in the kinds of issues that emerge from these intersections in the face of highly technologized and connected communities.
Secondly, with an increasing social and economic investment in the cultural and creative industries in Asia, what kinds of communities of practice are emerging that inform a 21st century art making community?
Thirdly, that any notion of the cultural and creative sector is primarily framed within notions of neo-colonialism, modernity and commerce. What, if any, new frameworks relating to cultural preservation and representation are emerging especially in new spaces and places, in countries and regions such as Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia or Indonesia, for example?
Fourthly, how can we enable conversations and ground-up initiatives within Asia — without the burden of hierarchy and previously established frameworks and knowledge?
Fifthly, how can we enable each participant of the network to be empowered to explore concerns in their respective fields?
These critical questions inform the ecology of an artist in the 21st century and the carapace of contemporary discourse in arts management and public and cultural policies. ANCER was established to facilitate conversations amongst academics, intellectuals, artists and writers.
Modelled after an artist collective, ANCER aims to provide multiple sites of inquiry, and entry and exit points for a collective to meet and exchange. But more importantly, to bring forth new visions, new ideas that will help contextualise a fast evolving world and fast changing face of the cultural enterprises.
To this end, I have every faith that ANCER will continue to be a fertile ground for new ideas in a changing world.
Venka Purushothaman, PhD
Provost, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
Founder, ANCER