Intelligence Squared Asia is proud to host its annual cultural debate in Hong Kong, “Art Must Be Beautiful." The event will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre during the Hong Kong Art Fair (ART HK 11) on Friday, 27 May 2011.
IQ2 Asia, the region’s premier forum for live debate, will present four leading voices in the arts to dispute the questions: Can aesthetic standards of the day dictate the long-term value of art? Who defines taste? Do parameters of institutional validation differ from collector ideals? Does concept in art triumph over creation? Is meaning in art an obligation or an afterthought?
Speakers for the motion:
David LaChapelle, Acclaimed artist and photographer
Simon de Pury, Co-founder of Phillips de Pury & Co auction house, and mentor on the hit US reality TV program Work of Art: The Next Great Artist
Speakers against the motion:
Ming Wong, Award-winning Singaporean multi-media artist
Stephen Bayley, Best-selling author of Woman as Design, former Chief Executive of London's Design Museum and the "second-smartest man in Britain"
Lars Nittve, Executive Director of M+ at the West Kowloon Cultural District will moderate the debate.
Consistent with its longstanding global commitment to promoting cultural vibrancy, Deutsche Bank is the lead sponsor of the 2011 IQ2 Asia debate series.
Doors will open at 6.45pm and the debate will start at 7.00pm.
Tickets are HK$300 per person, and will be available from 31 March from HK Ticketing at +852 3128 8288/ www.hkticketing.com . IQ2 Asia debate tickets are also valid for entry to ART HK 11 on Friday 27 May.
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We regret that there will be no specific seating area for media at the debate. If you are interested in attending, please contact us before 28 April to request for an invitation.
IQ2 Asia was founded in 2009 as a unique forum for political, economic and cultural debate. The Hong-Kong based non-profit organisation is committed to encouraging creative thought and challenging dialogue in the region and brings world-class speakers to high schools as part of its educational remit.
The debate motion derives inspiration from the New York-based Serbian artist Marina Abramovic (b.1946), who began her career in the early 1970s. In a key work titled Art Must Be Beautiful, Artist Must Be Beautiful (1975), the artist is featured brushing her hair with increasing violence while repeating the mantra: "Art must be beautiful, artist must be beautiful," challenging the notion of beauty whilst exploring the limits of the body and the possibilities of the mind. In 2010, New York’s Museum of Modern Art honored Ms. Abramovic with a retrospective.
