Depicting an all-Asian feminist punk band in the early 2000s, Little Asian Girls is a new short film set to paint the many facets of intercultural relationships, as well as, confront cultural conflicts and patriarchy.

Directed and produced by New Zealand-based third year Television students, Jess Fu and Jogai Bhatt, the film will follow the narrative of Cici, a first generation Chinese immigrant who struggles to balance her traditional values with a love for rebellious punk music. Cici (played by Bridget Wong) is the drummer for Yellow Peril, alongside lead singer KZ (Chye-Ling Huang) and bassist Meimei (Amanda Grace Leo). As mentioned in the production's Boosted page, the trio shall face a series of internal conflict among each other while constantly battling within a white, male-dominated punk scene.

"We are passionate about telling this story, as it expresses themes very close to us - themes that are often underrepresented in mainstream media. We want to present a narrative that is empowering and personable for young women of colour and other minority groups, as well as eye-opening to the majority that are often unaware of the micro-aggressions they perpetuate," said the production team.

Little Asian Girls is currently in its pre-production stage.

The art world knows Banksy as the unidentified graffiti artist (irony intended) whose art has wall-walked England's streets and elsewhere. But no one's for sure if there are Banksys lying underneath the country's rubble and paint-overs, until "Snorting Copper".

The artwork was rumored to have been in hiding in an old public toilet in East London. Vandalized by the local council and recently unearthed by a property developer, says the New York Times, "Snorting Copper" depicts a cocaine-puffing cop that's no more than oblivious to unseen onlookers.

The wall art's restoration is scheduled on October 5.

And a blog, too! I cringe at the thought of having to balance between imagination and reality. Oftentimes, you jolt out of your reveries at a dog's bark to find your actual place in this world. Well, frequently at this time and age, you locate yourself with a little help from Google map.

I know artists who've kept their "day jobs" as, well, artists, which is admirable, hence, as some would say, I'd fall under the category of a "Sunday artist", so to speak. Only problem is, I hardly have a concept of days, with Yesterday and Today added into my weekdays. While on my "day job", I'd daydream my way into believing that what I do is for the betterhood of art, too, henceforth, the betterhood of the whole wide world. I'd weave around this mental cult without disbelief. I'd strive to reach the pinnacle of creativity, as a copywriter and a lot more. But in between this modern-day career carousel and out-of-office fun, there's this tiny voice whispering at intervals: "The rice is boiling".

Balancing night and day, I realized at first that, in my case, there's really not much of a borderline. My wee hours would turn out as an extension of my regular work hours. Even in my previous job, I'd tend to integrate some of my learning with what I'd love to do most, not only referencing knowledge, but also referencing how I acquired it. I have mounds of essays and sketches lying underneath my bed. On my way to work, I'd look around to see all things sped up past me, and they all almost seemed like abstract realities ready to be penned down into verses and lines. Evernote is my bestfriend (this is not a paid ad). Satire is my cup of coffee with a teaspoon of brown sugar.

Learning how to tinker with e-commerce not so long ago and seeing what the interwebz are up to, I left my gloomy cave behind and took a peek. The internet is a jungle filled with small cats and big cats alike, all on a tug-of-digital-space, and all under the influence of the virtual catnip. And there's me dawdling from the doorsteps, keeping track of where others have left off. It was all fun and games at first until your next bills' due date. So, everything turned dark and grim, and you would gulp down a resolution of meeting your pocket's demands and popping out of nowhere with your digitalized face to present valuable content and broken lines. Gradually, I transformed into a weightlifter, balancing an anchor of paint bucket and cloud computing from one shoulder to the other, chatting with artists and digital natives at the same time, at times wondering whether it's a human or a humanoid speaking from the other end of the line.

But all of these are the bumps and turns of the cyber universe. You could turn an invisible switch on when it's time to "market" your psyche to all of its inhabitants - human, android, and all. And then, there's the cyber artists' space, your cyber carpool. You're ready to hitch a cyber ride to announce your cyber existence, learning from their digital ups and downs, sharing your digital sentiments.

At the end of the day, all is well with what you have achieved, so far. You're all set to proceed to a race that has no finish line. Until the alarm clock goes off again. The cats are hungry. And you've just missed your first bus. 

The end.

ASIA NOW, the first Europe-based boutique art fair driving home contemporary Asian art from both emerging and established artists, is opening its doors to around thirty international galleries for its 3rd edition running on 18-22 October 2017 in Paris.

Magnifying on Korean contemporary art this year, ASIA NOW has glued its eyes on the Korean artistic scene, spearheaded by curator, Joanne Kim, side by side the Busan Biennale curatorial team. The fair will feature avant-garde performances by one of the leading performance artists, Jooyoung Kim, as well as, a series of film screenings by contemporary artists such as Kelvin Kyung Kun Park, Ayoung Kim, and Lee Wan.

Director and co-founder of ASIA NOW, Alexandra Fain, conveys the crux of the fair's agenda, which is to encourage "reflection and thinking by taking on a fresh look at Asian contemporary art through a programme of rigorous exhibitions and engaged relevant conversations". She posits that one of the fair's aims is "staying selective while revealing the diversity of practices and exposing the most thorough experimentations of the Asian scenes". 

ASIA NOW is drawing a note on the value of artists hailing from more than 10 countries in Asia, while exploring new perspectives, issues, and transformation in contemporary Asian art and its market. 

Visit ASIA NOW's website for more info.  

It was in February of this year. I was lucky to have been assigned to cover an international expo in Shanghai when I found out that the China Art Museum was just a couple of strides away from the main venue of the expo. I realized that I haven't penned down my experience of the tour yet, and although unplanned, it was one of the most memorable museum visits I've had to date.

The China Art Museum (China Art Palace), an inverted pyramid-shaped giant of a building located in Shangnan Road, Pudong, Shanghai, is dubbed one of the most iconic structures in Asia. It sits next to The Shanghai Expo Exhibition and Convention Center (SWEECC) and has its own dedicated metro line (Line 8). It is a towering 70-metre-high pavilion and spreads about 39 acres across the neighbourhood.

The museum houses modern and contemporary Chinese art and is considered one of the largest in Asia (about 27 exhibition halls). I felt triumphant in selecting a day and time for a free entrance, by the way. It was Friday afternoon at around 3:00 PM, just about time the expo had called it a day. Some halls do not allow cameras, of course, but I've managed to grab a motley collection of snapshots of the interior and a few exhibits hanging around. 

Now, here's a story, hold your farcical coffee cups. As soon as I've completed my work, I darted toward the museum because it's near the expo, even though I've already initially planned a visit to the historic Guilin Park afterwards. But since the museum visit was unplanned, I thought it would last for only a maximum of two hours. It was too late when I realized that I was being transported to a maze of huge exhibition halls. Yes, I was obviously having one of the best times of my life, bear with me. It took me a couple of hours finding my way around and out of the halls that I ended up leaving the museum late. And all of these happened despite the very efficient signboards scattered throughout the corridors, plus lifts to sweep me off my feet. I was bursting with excitement and weeping rainbows that I granted my feet the freedom to drag me wherever they pleased while my eyes drooled over one painting to another.

Needless to say, the museum was worth a visit as I also haven't expected stumbling upon ancient pieces and archives in select halls, too, from where I believe I've spotted a few depictions of the Silk Road. It was, overall, an awe-inspiring experience, although there's still much more to learn about the soul and culture that have bound the art pieces together, in which I wish I had equipped myself with beforehand. Nevertheless, The China Art Museum is one of the modern-day treasures that I'd always have high hopes of visiting again in the future.

Applications for galleries for the 12th edition of Art Dubai, happening on March 21-24, 2018 at Madinat Jumeirah, are now open.

Art Dubai Contemporary welcomes applications from commercial galleries operating in the primary market that have been established for at least two years. It includes two gallery programmes, exhibited alongside each other: Collective, the main section featuring exhibition booths with three or more artists, and Solo, which is dedicated to one or two-artist presentations.

Art Dubai Modern is devoted to exhibiting gallery represented modern art from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, and beyond. Each exhibitor presents a solo or multiartist show, featuring works by modern artists from the 20th century (up to the year 2000).

The deadline for application is on September 15, 2017.

Visit Art Dubai's website for more info. 

Photo credit: Art-Dubai Modern Preview 2017, Courtesy of Photo Solutions

Meet the cutie-ified, you-wouldn't-wanna-mess-with corporate slave in red panda form, Aggretsuko, Sanrio's latest addition to its "kawaii" consumer merchandise. If I were to meet her in real life, I mean, complete with her white-collar panda garb and crabby tail, glaring at me next to a coffee dispenser machine, I'd probably burst into a "cuddles plssss!!!" fit, in between bites and scratches. Adorable-ness IS the BOSS.

Read it here: How Sanrio Makes Anti-Capitalism Adorable, and Profitable

Since the beginning of time, artists, writers, and thinkers alike have pondered like forever trying to define "art", in the same way that they've wrapped their heads around trying to find the meaning of love, ehem, under the waning moon. From the worn and torn "What is art?" to the "What makes good art?" and to the most macabre "But is it art?"

So, I gathered a few of the most interesting assertions from some of the household names in human history. Who do you think had the most convincing answer? Do you agree with them? Do you know of other thought-provoking quotes about art or creativity? Let me know!

"Art is either plagiarism or revolution." 

― Marcel Duchamp

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"Art is what you can get away with." 

― Andy Warhol

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"Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television." 

― Woody Allen

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"Painting, n.: The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather, and exposing them to the critic."

― Ambrose Bierce

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"Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious." 

― Oscar Wilde

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"But let's speak of art for a moment. Yes, art. I know a gentleman who makes excellent portraits. This gentleman is a camera."

― Tristan Tzara

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"Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist." 

― Pablo Picasso

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"Nature is a haunted house--but Art--is a house that tries to be haunted." 

― Emily Dickinson

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"Why can't a tree be called Pluplusch?" 

― Hugo Ball

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