De-Imperialising Histories and Blazing Forms

PUBLIC CONFERENCE | June 25th - 26th, 2025 | Balzaal, Wereldmuseum Rotterdam

Conversations on Arts from Global Asias

In collaboration with Asia Forum (Annie Jael Kwan, Hammad Nasar, John Tain and Ming Tiampo), we are very pleased to invite you to attend our upcoming conference De-Imperialising Histories and Blazing Forms. This conference will be the second in a series of gatherings aimed at rethinking global art histories through the expansive intellectual space of the “world museum,” which challenges the structures and assumptions of both art history and anthropology through new approaches to material culture.

The conference will be divided in two days, which will bring focus to the following themes: Connectivities, Making, Value and Spirituality.

Image credit: Zico Albaiquni, Ruwatan Tanah Air Beta, Reciting Rites in its Sites, 2019, part of Wereldmuseum Collection, inv. number: 7224-1

About the conference

The inaugural gathering, “Possible Histories and Blazing Forms” took place in 2024, and focussed on the writing of (art) histories in, of, and through Africa and the African diaspora. The term “blazing forms” comes from Margaret Danner’s poem “The Convert” (1960), which reflects upon the blazing power of art and material culture objects from Africa to prompt an understanding of the many worlds made by and inhabited by people from Africa and the diaspora over time and space. Building on this foundation, our upcoming conference, tentatively titled “De-imperial Histories and Blazing Forms,” seeks to extend Danner’s concept to rethink the writing of (art) histories in, of, and through Global Asias.

Program

DAY 1

June 25th, 2025 | 10.00 - 16.40

9.45 - 10.00	Doors open
10.00 - 10.10	Deep Kailey (without SHAPE without FORM) & Nirbhai (NEP) Singh Sidhu
10.15 - 10.30	Introduction- Wayne Modest
	Connectivities
10.35 - 10.40	Panel Introduction - Ming Tiampo
10.40 - 11.00	Ming Tiampo
11.05 - 11.25	Hira Nabi
11.30 - 11.50	Yoshiko Shimada
11.55 - 12.15	Hammad Nasar
12.20 - 12.50	Discussion of morning session - moderated by Ming Tiampo
12.55 - 13.10	Introduction to Made in China by Wereldmuseum curator Willemijn van Noord
13.10 - 14.10	Lunch break
	Making
14.15 - 14.20	Panel Introduction
14.25 - 14.45	Winnie Wong
14.50 - 15.30	Sopheap Pich and John Tain
15.35 - 15.55	Yuko Kikuchi
16.00 - 16.40	Discussion of afternoon session - moderated by John Tain
16.40	End of Day 1

DAY 2

June 26th, 2025 | 10.00 - 16.00

9.45 - 10.00	Doors open
10.00 - 10.10	Introduction - Carine Zaayman
	Value
10.15 - 10.20	Panel Introduction - Hammad Nasar
10.25 - 10.45	Eunsong Kim
10.50 - 11.10	Beatrice Glow
11.15 - 11.35	Yazan Khalili
11.40 - 12.00	Vera Mey
12.05 - 12.50	Discussion of morning session - Moderated by Hammad Nasar
12.50 - 13.40	Lunch break
	Spirituality
13.40 - 13.45	Panel Introduction
13.50 - 14.10	Sara Sejin Chang (Sara van der Heide)
14.15 - 14.35	Conversation Annie Jael Kwan and Sara Sejin Chang
14.40 - 15.10	Dee Kailey (without SHAPE without FORM) & Nirbhai (NEP) Singh Sidhu
15.15 - 15.45	Discussion of afternoon session - Moderated by Annie Jael Kwan
15.50 - 16.00	Simran session
16.00	End of Day 2

About our collaborators

Asia Forum is a new platform envisioned for discourse surrounding experimental art practices and research that produce hopeful new worlds. Asia Forum is proud to receive Sakti support from the Bagri Foundation for its continued research and core development from 2023-2025.

Conceived by Annie Jael Kwan, the Asia Forum works with a council of international curators and researchers, Hammad Nasar, John Tain, and Ming Tiampo, in a sustained dialogue with contributors to navigate the key themes that have arisen in relation to contemporary artistic practices of Global Asias.

Confirmed Speakers

Sopheap Pich
John Tain
Winnie Wong
Yuko Kikuchi
Hira Nabi
Ming Tiampo
Hammad Nasar
Yoshiko Shimada
Eunsong Kim
Beatrice Glow
Yazan Khalili
Vera Mey
Sara Sejin Chang (Sara van der Heide)
Without Shape Without Form (Deep Kailey) & Nep Singh Sidhu
Annie Jael Kwan