POA 2025 Opening: Mapping Faded Dreams — Keynote by Hit Man Gurung
About Hit Man Gurung
Hit Man Gurung is an artist and curator based in Kathmandu. His diverse practices invoke indigenous methodologies and epistemologies to reconfigure contemporary artistic praxis and interrogate the fabric of human mobilities, frictions of history, and failures of revolutions. While rooted in the recent history of Nepal, his works unravel a complex web of kinships and extraction across geographies that underscore the exploitative nature of capitalism.
About This Event
The third iteration of Per°Form Open Academy of Arts and Activations — live gathering of Per°Form Fellows, intersectional practitioners across diverse disciplines of curation, research, education, visual culture, performance presenting their strategies for activating contexts and communities — opens with Indigenous artists and curators from Nepal. Based in Kathmandu, many of these Fellows are associated with the arts space Kalā Kulo and the collective ArTree Nepal. Their practice reclaims mainstream narratives of Nepal and its surrounding region that often excludes the stories and experiences of numerous marginalised, underserved, and Indigenous communities. While celebrating diverse cultural heritage, this gathering also acknowledges the historical and political complexities faced by these communities, encompassing experiences of oppression, displacement, and the enduring legacy of Nepal’s People's War (1996–2006). It pays homage to Indigenous sovereignty movements, acknowledges embodied practices, and re-examines contemporary and ancestral understandings of identity — including queerness.
Fresh from the 11th Asia Pacific Triennale in Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), artist and curator Hit Man Gurung (co-curator of Kathmandu Triennial 2077, Jogjakarta Biennale 2023, Colomboscope 2024, and Nepal Pavilion at 59th Venice Biennale) will present Mapping Faded Dreams. The keynote draws on Hit Man's longitudinal inquiry into migratory patterns of both human and non-human, including the evolving legacy of the Gurkhas in post-colonial nation states as well as his most recent research on birds.
The opening night of our annual conference series Per°Form Open Academy celebrates the week-long immersive keynotes and engagements with ArTree Nepal, a collective of five diverse indigenous artists (Hit Man Gurung, Lavkant Chaudhary, Mekh Limbu, Sheelasha Rajbhandari, and Subas Tamang) who intersect with the younger collective Kalā Kulo (Bishal Yonjan and Priyankar Bahadur Chand), and an independent writer working on histories and archives (Indu Tharu).
Followed by supper reception.
Donation Ticketing
Inclusivity is a core value of Per°Form Open Academy.
If you are in a position to give more, please consider further contributions towards this and future iterations of Per°Form Open Academy. Your contributions, no matter big or small, help us mount Per°Form Open Academy and enable a gathering of international arts practitioners and cultural innovators in Singapore. Details are in the donation portal below.
Admission Rules
Rating / Age Limit
- No age limit for registration.
- All other admissions are subject to valid registration tickets produced at the entrance.
Photography / Video Recording Rules
- Please note that photographs and videos of patrons may be taken at the event for use in our archival and publicity materials.
Refund Policy
- All donations are non-refundable.
Wheelchair Users
- 72-13 is wheelchair-accessible and includes limited wheelchair seating. Please contact us at 6737 7213 to book wheelchair seats.
Contact Us
- For more information on Per°Form Open Academy of Arts and Activations, visit performfellowship.org.
- For any enquiries, please email perform@tworksasia.org or call at 6737 7213.
About Per°Form Open Academy of Arts and Activations
Per°Form Open Academy of Arts and Activations (POA), T:>Works’ pioneering platform on thought leadership in the arts, returns 7–28 February 2025. POA 2025 brings together some of the most respected and renowned figures at the intersection of arts and social responsibilities. Drawing on their decades-long practices to address issues of minority, disability, gender, sexuality, cultural representation, and stakeholder and public engagement, they challenge conventional perceptions on what is possible today.
Banner and portraits: Images courtesy of Hit Man Gurung.