What happens when conditions are not favourable for artistic growth? In this panel, we bring together Alexander Koch and Lim Kok Boon who once practiced as artists. The discussion would look into their journeys as art practitioners to how they navigate the same field today in different modes. 

This panel is one of two discussions that provide a glimpse into the perspectives of individuals who have moved on from the arts due to personal or professional commitments. These acute and tangential observations provide an opportunity to review and rehabilitate inhospitable artistic conditions.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Jun Jie (JJ) Ng works as a Powerlifting Coach and has coached on the Singapore National Team, University College London Team as well as works 1-1 independently with over 40 athletes of varying levels with an emphasis on proper technique, mindset and coach-athlete communication. He is also a Powerlifter that has medalled Internationally and continues to compete. He also produces powerlifting specific informational content on the Technique Matters Youtube Channel. 

Cheryl Capelli is an animal welfare activist and business owner of hamster supplies store Fat Pouches and the President of the Hamster Society of Singapore. Her focus is on sculpting nutritious food for hamsters as well as pet welfare. While pursing Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from LASALLE College of the Arts, she worked as a BDSM dominatrix performer for six years, collaborating with artists like Divagaar and Becca D'Bus. 

Lim Kok Boon is an art educator and artist based in Singapore, passionate about contemporary art and art education. He is an independent art critic who writes art reviews on his blog, boonscafe.com. His artworks often surround food culture in Singapore. His foodie works are often nostalgic paintings of children’s snacks or mundane archival-like photographs of boring daily meals.
His research interests in art education includes visual literacy, e-pedagogy, museum-based learning and art criticism. A frequent creator of art teaching resources in Singapore, he believes every child is entitled to meaningful arts experiences.

Alexander Koch is a curator, gallerist, writer and cultural mediator. In 2008 he co-founded KOW, a gallery specialised in socially oriented art, representing international artists such as Hito Steyerl, Chto Delat,Tobias Zielony and Candice Breitz. Koch is also the co-initiator and director of the NEW PATRONS program in Germany as part of a European network that provides citizens with the means to commission art projects internationally in response to their social concerns.  He worked as a curator and editor on various exhibitions and publications. Koch is a frequent lecturer and author focused on economic and institutional transformations within the art world have been the main concerns in his theoretic writings.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Marc Glöde (PhD) is a curator, critic and film scholar. His work focuses on the relationship between images, technology, space, and the body, as well as the dynamics between fields such as art/architecture, art/film, and film/architecture. He received his PhD at The Free University of Berlin and has taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden, the FU Berlin, Academy of Fine Arts Berlin, and was Assistant Professor at the ETH Zürich. Since 2017, he is an Assistant Professor at NTU ADM, Singapore, and Co-Director of the MA in Museum Studies and Curatorial Practices. 

Presented by H0thouse, as part of their 3-day virtual symposium titled In Suspension from 21-23 January 2022. Visit their website for the full programme.