Hong Kong-Based Artist Beatrix Pang Announced As The Recipient Of The Inaugural Loewe Foundation / Studio Voltaire Award International Artist's Residency

LOEWE FOUNDATION and Studio Voltaire have today announced Hong Kong- based artist and independent publisher, Beatrix Pang, as the recipient of their inaugural year-long international residency.

 

Launched in March 2021, the LOEWE FOUNDATION / Studio Voltaire Award celebrates talent, creative thinking and individuality within contemporary art practice.

 

The international recipient for 2023 is visual artist, cultural producer and independent publisher Beatrix Pang. In 2011, Pang founded Small Tune Press which publishes and produces artists’ books and zines. Pang also founded the independent publishers’ collective ZINE COOP to promote zine culture in Hong Kong and Queer Reads Library, a mobile library creating space for queer inclusivity and visibility in Hong Kong and the Asian Diaspora. This will be Pang’s first artist’s residency in Europe. They will be based at Studio Voltaire from January 2023.

 

Via the award, Pang will receive:

 

A £25,000 stipend to support living costs and accommodation.

A rent-free studio at Studio Voltaire for the 12–month duration of the residency. Budget for travel, equipment, materials and production.

Bespoke professional development and mentoring programme.

 

Hong Kong-based–institutions Para Site, Asia Art Archive and M+ were invited to nominate four artists to apply for the award. Applications were selected by Para Site’s Executive Director and Curator Billy Tang, Studio Voltaire’s Director Joe Scotland and Curator (Studios and Residencies) Maggie Matić.

 

The LOEWE FOUNDATION / Studio Voltaire Award works to increase and strengthen equitable representation and access, and amplify artistic voices across class, race, gender, sexuality and disability. In 2021, seven UK–based artists were awarded with two years of support through rent-free studio space, professional development opportunities and bursaries. The awardees were Ayo Akingbade, Ufuoma Essi, Adam Farah, Nnena Kalu, Djofray Makumbu, Josiah Moktar and Curtly Thomas.

I cannot believe I have been granted this life-changing opportunity. My research at Studio Voltaire will involve various engagements with creative individuals from independent publishing, the queer community, artists, curators, activists, archivists and South London locals. Through these interactions, I will open up dialogues and exchange ideas on art production, publishing and archiving practices. I am so grateful to LOEWE FOUNDATION and Studio Voltaire for giving me the chance to live and learn in London for a year.
— Beatrix Pang
It was a great honour to contribute to The LOEWE FOUNDATION / Studio Voltaire Award. This visionary initiative inspires a spirit of risk-taking, experimentation and crucial international exchange that will last long into the future. Pang has a strong commitment to working with grassroots communities via experimental practices from both Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. With this selection, we are thrilled that we can contribute to widening awareness and knowledge of Hong Kong artists from nuanced perspectives less visible internationally. Through the award, we are excited to extend the infrastructure of care and support towards vital practices that are increasingly marginalised.
— Billy Tang, Para Site’s Executive Director and Curator
We are honoured to have the opportunity to work with such a talented and timely artist through LOEWE FOUNDATION’s generous support. Beatrix has incredibly exciting plans for the residency. It has been a complete pleasure to draw on the rich expertise of our partners, Para Site, M+ and Asia Art Archive, through the selection process. There was a great level of need amongst the nominated artists, and it is an important time to offer this level of support to artists in the region.
— Maggie Matić, Studio Voltaire’s Curator (Studios and Residencies)

Beatrix Pang
Beatrix Pang Sin Kwok (they/them, b. 1976, Hong Kong) is a visual artist, cultural producer and independent publisher whose early practice revolved around photography, lens-based medium and performance. They studied art photography and fundamental design in Hong Kong and Scandinavia. Pang has exhibited at Tai Kwun Contemporary (Hong Kong), Para Site (Hong Kong), Centre A: Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (Canada), Sprint Milano (Italy) and Chinese Culture Center, San Francisco (USA).

Studio Voltaire
Studio Voltaire is one of the UK’s leading not–for–profit arts organisations. Its pioneering public programmes of exhibitions, participation projects, live events and offsite commissions have gained an international reputation.

 

The organisation has an outstanding track record of supporting artists at a pivotal stage in their careers, championing emerging and underrepresented practices and placing emphasis on risk-taking and experimentation. Many commissions are an artist’s first solo exhibition in London or the UK. Exhibiting artists have included Nairy Baghramian, Phyllida Barlow, Monster Chetwynd, Anne Collier, Thea Djordjadze, Nicole Eisenman, Sharon Hayes, Every Ocean Hughes, Nnena Kalu, Sanya Kantarovsky, Ella Kruglyanskaya, Shahryar Nashat, The Neo Naturists, Henrik Olesen, Paulina Olowska, Elizabeth Price, Charlotte Prodger, Jo Spence, Cathy Wilkes and Rehana Zaman.

 

Studio Voltaire commissions a wide range of participatory and offsite projects working in collaboration with artists, local organisations, schools and community groups and provides a much–needed resource of affordable and accessible onsite artists’ studios, supporting the development of diverse individual and collective practices, from recent graduates to internationally recognised practitioners.

Studio Voltaire is a registered charity and part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio. More information:
web: studiovoltaire.org
Instagram/Facebook: @studiovoltairelondon Twitter: @studiovoltaire

 

The LOEWE FOUNDATION
The LOEWE FOUNDATION was established as a private cultural foundation in 1988 by Enrique Loewe, a fourth-generation member of LOEWE’s founding family. Today, the Foundation continues to promote creativity, organise educational programmes and protect cultural heritage in the fields of craft, design, photography, poetry and dance. The Foundation was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts by the Spanish government in 2002.

More information:
web | loewe.com
blog | blogfundacionloewe.es Instagram | @loewefoundation

 

LOEWE & Culture
With the LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize, the house reasserts its longstanding commitment to creativity in all forms and disciplines. Culture is a pillar of the brand. Reflecting fashion’s vital link to contemporary life, a strong emphasis on art, design and craftsmanship has been a cornerstone of Jonathan Anderson’s rebuilding of the house. In the past four years, LOEWE has initiated an important series of collaborations with artists and artisans who reinterpret and expand the brand’s values. Apart from showcasing the many facets of LOEWE, these cultural projects reflect the transfer of knowledge and the cooperative spirit that have been characteristic of LOEWE since the day it was founded.    

Beatrix Pang, 2021. Courtesy of Beatrix Pang

Beatrix Pang,2021. Courtesy of Mill6CHAT

Beatrix Pang, Seed to Textile, 2021. Courtesy of Mill6CHAT

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