PORT JOURNEYS DIRECTORS MEETING 2024 [English information]

Nidiya Kusmaya

Nidiya Kusmaya - Bandung, Indonesia - is an artist whose deep exploration of colours and nature in her artworks. Intrigued by the vibrant hues of the natural world, she began a journey of studying colours, uncovering the secrets of dyes and pigments from plants, microorganisms, and minerals sourced from waste and discarded materials. Driven by her profound appreciation for nature, Nidiya's art captures the essence and variety of colours found in the natural palette. With careful craftsmanship, she produces pieces that celebrate the harmonious interplay of colours. Nidiya's work also delves into how colours influence human emotions, perceptions, and cultural expressions. Her art acts as a canvas for narratives of joy, sorrow, hope, and resilience, conveyed through the language of colours. A notable aspect of Nidiya's vision is her exploration of the life cycle of colours in nature. She believes that each phase of this cycle, from inception to transformation and eventual return to the earth, adds to the unique splendour of the world, mirroring the stages of human existence.

Thuy Anh

Đặng Thùy Anh is a visual artist currently living and working in Hanoi. She graduated from Vietnam University of Fine Arts in 2019. Since 2017, Thuỳ Anh has engaged more frequently in experimental artistic practice through various performance art events and exploring different mediums such as installation, photography, and conceptual approaches to art making. Her interest revolves around the connection between human and nature, visual motifs that are stereotypically understood, and the impact of social prejudice towards the conceptualization of gender. Thuỳ Anh often uses living organisms, her own body and her personal archives as materials in her art. In 2021, she co-founded Te Rẹt, an independent artist collective, and in 2024, she became a curator board member at Á – An Experimental Art Space. Solo exhibitions include: Silent Intimacy (The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, HCMC, 2019), Chợt Mộng Tan,(Á Space, Hanoi, 2022). Selected exhibitions and performance art festivals include: Swallow & Spit 1 & 2 (A+ WORKS of ART, Kuala Lumpur, 2023), Tái Nạm (Mơ Art Space, Hanoi, 2022), Morning – Noon – Afternoon – Evening (Á Space, Hanoi, 2022); Month of Art Practice (Heritage Space, Hanoi, 2018), IN:ACT (Nhà Sàn Collective, Hanoi, 2017, 2019, 2022); Mot Plus Performance Festival (MoT Plus, Ho Chi Minh, 2019); Wu Wei Performance (Coda Culture, Singapore, 2020), Open Studio I, II & III (Á Space, Hà Nội, 2018); Emerging Artists 6 (Nhà Sàn Collective, Hanoi, 2018).

Iram Ghufran

Iram Ghufran is an independent filmmaker and artist based in New Delhi. Her practice spans moving image, sound and text where she deploys speculative modes in narrative creation in order to critically engage with the nature of truth and the construction of reality. ​ Iram holds an MA in Mass Communication from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre at Jamia Millia Islamia University (2003), and a PhD from the Centre for Research and Education in the Arts (CREAM), University of Westminster (2023). Her doctoral project was a practice-based inquiry into speculative modes of futurity in documentary film. Iram was a member of the Media Lab at Sarai CSDS from 2004-11, where besides pursuing her independent practice, she collaboratively worked on media art and research projects. Iram co-curated Soundphiles: a festival of listening (2014-16) and Artists' Film & Video (2017) for IAWRT's International Women's Film Festival. ​​ Iram's work has been supported by Arts Network Asia, Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council, Public Service Broadcasting Trust, Sandarbh and Westheavens. Her films have been screened at renowned art and cinematic platforms including Arsenal 4 at Silent Green, Brakhage Centre, Cinema Akil, Experimenta India, Forum Expanded at Berlin Film Festival, International Film Festival of India, International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, and Taiwan International Video Art Exhibition among others. ​ Iram teaches at the Department of Art, Media and Performance, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Delhi National Capital Region.

Jan Derk Diekema

Director, CareX/Artist As an artist Diekema is focused on social networks, be- havior and urbanism. Diekema works in the disciplines of research, media-art and writing. Since 2007 he is involved in organizing several creative/artist commu- nities and cultural spots in the northern part of the Netherlands. He started this work at the artist runorganization HaViK and since 2012 he became part of CareX, an organization that works in the field of temporary urban developments. In the last decade Diekema was founder and organizer of artist-exchanges between Groningen and international art-institutes and became a member of the Port Journey Network.

James A. Enos

The University of Georgia, Assistant Professor of Art, Chair Studio Art Core Professor of Art and Chair of Studio Core at the University of Georgia, where his research engages issues of architecture, activism and social practice in an effort to understand how public culture responds to social and economic change amidst urbanization. He received a BS from Purdue University, an M. Arch from The New School of Architecture, and his MFA from the University of California, San Diego. He is a recipient of the 2013 San Diego Art Prize, and has served as director and founder of several public art projects and organizing initiatives, including, The Periscope Project, Exploring Engagement, Port Journeys, and Social Logistics.

Yoshie Kris

Artistic director of SLOW LABEL, a citizen-participatory art project that has been connecting people and communities from different cultures for over 25 years and attempting social change through dialogue and collaborative processes. As General Director of the Yokohama Paratriennale (2014-2020), he was awarded the 65th Yokohama Culture Prize "Culture and Art Encouragement Award". Member of the Ginza Sony Park Project and advisor for the DE&I perspective in the new Ginza Sony Park.