The Current I: Tabu / Tapu

Coinciding with the exhibition The Oceanic (until March 4, 2018) — featuring contributions by TBA21–Academy The Current Fellows from the first cycle of expeditions (2015–17) to Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia, and Fiji, and curated by Ute Meta Bauer, Founding Director, NTU Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) Singapore – presented The Current Convening #3, in collaboration with TBA21–Academy, during Singapore Art Week 2018.

Ute Meta Bauer's third Convening marked the culmination of TBA21–Academy The Current’s first cycle of expeditions, bringing together The Current Fellows; Fijian and other collaborators; thought leaders from diverse disciplines; local agencies and activist NGOs. Through roundtable discussions, talks, lectures, workshops, and performances, Convening #3 shared with a wider public the research and challenges inherent to a collective body of knowledge generated through the format of such expeditions. Convening #3, therefore, focused on the modalities of exchange, addresses environmental urgencies, raises questions regarding responsibilities and ownership, and discussed whether rights of nature can equal human rights. Convening #3 provides a platform that invited discussion and reflection on how to engage in the future development of international law, policies, culture, and environmental education.

TBA21–Academy The Current Fellows at Convening #3: Atif Akin (Turkey/United States), artist and designer; Laura Anderson Barbata (Mexico/United States), artist; Dr Guigone Camus (France), anthropologist; Newell Harry (Australia), artist; Dr Kristy H. A. Kang (United States/Singapore), media artist, and Assistant Professor, School of Art, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Dr PerMagnus Lindborg (Sweden/Singapore), composer, sound artist, and researcher; Armin Linke (Italy/Germany), photographer and filmmaker; Filipa Ramos (Portugal/United Kingdom), art writer, curator, and Editor-in-Chief, art-agenda; Lisa Rave (United Kingdom/Germany), artist; and Jegan Vincent de Paul (Sri Lanka/Canada), architect, artist, and NTU ADM/CCA Singapore PhD candidate.

The TBA21–Academy team will be joined by: Tarek Atoui (Lebanon/France), musician, composer, and sound artist; Barney Broomfield (United States), filmmaker; Dr Cynthia Chou (Singapore/United States), Professor, Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Iowa, United States; Andrew Foran (Australia/Fiji), Head, Pacific Centre for Environmental Governance, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Suva, Fiji; Taholo Kami (Tonga/Fiji), Special Advisor, Pacific Partnerships and International Civil Society, COP23 Presidency Secretariat of the Fijian government; Dr Cresantia (Frances) Koya Vaka’uta (Fiji), Director, Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies & Pacific Heritage Hub, UNESCO Faculty of Arts, Law and Education, The University of the South Pacific, Fiji; Dr Hervé Raimana Lallemant-Moe (French Polynesia), Law Department, University of French Polynesia, Tahiti; Dr Sandor Mulsow (Chile/Jamaica), Director, Office of Environmental Management and Mineral Resources, United Nations International Seabed Authority, Kingston, Jamaica; Rasmus Nielsen(Denmark), artist, SUPERFLEX; Lucy Orta (United Kingdom/France), artist, and Professor and Chair of Art and Environment, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom; Maureen Penjueli (Fiji), Coordinator, Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG); Chief Roko Sau(Fiji), Paramount Chief of Totoya Islands; Joey Tau (Fiji), media and campaign officer, Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG); and others.

Convening #3 was conceived by Markus Reymann, Director of TBA21–Academy, Stefanie Hessler, Curator of TBA21–Academy, and Professor Ute Meta Bauer, Founding Director of NTU CCA Singapore, and Expedition Leader of The Current’s first cycle.