Who defines art? Who can make art? Who is an artist? These questions have been explored, dealt with and talked about by artists and critics since the beginning of the 20th Century. The perception and relevance of the figure of the artist has also evolved over the centuries: it spans from the pre-Renaissance vision of a medium between God and the mere mortals, to the Andy Warhol “commercial-popular artist” and anything else that comes in between.
Last Sunday at Snap Cafe, the organisers of Creative Shake answered this question clearly: anyone.
Creative Shake is a new art project conceived and run by Lea and Marin from FMG group. Their idea is to promote themed exhibitions where artists (professionals or amateurs) can display their work.
A different theme is given each time and artists have one month to conceive and produce their work which will be then exhibited at a different venue around town. I like the idea of bringing art to people in various parts of Saigon but moreover, it’s interesting to see how the art and venue interact together.
The aims of the project are to challenge artists to freely express their creativity (any type of medium is accepted, from jewellery, paintings, videos and even food) and to encourage the public to engage and express their opinion about art. After all, it is the public that chooses the theme and votes for their favourite artwork.
Normally, I would grimace at the thought of voting for art. However, when I attended the first Creative Shake, I had the chance to talk with some of the participants and none of them viewed it as a competition. In fact, the atmosphere was very friendly and easy-going, which allowed a certain level of comfort for the visitors to talk with the artists about their work.
The last chosen theme was “On the way to bed” and 8 artists from different nationalities got involved:
Lea Bro - installation
Laurent Krief - painting
Jordane Nguyen - photo montage
Ayano - drawings
Alicia Mc Koegh - song
Elija Mc Koegh (the winner, 15 year old boy) - video of Saigon by night
Henry Nguyen - painting
Caroline Istas - painting
I encourage and support initiatives like this, which strive to present an alternative environment for local artists to experiment with their creativity as well as stimulate conversations about the often forgotten importance of culture and art in our society.
The organisers will announce the next theme and venue soon. They hope that Vietnamese as well as international artists will join in.
For more information or to join the next exhibition, contact: fmg.creativeshake@gmail.com.
