IN-TRANSIT: DIALOGUE SESSION

2025
EDITION

To complement the Between Lands: Migration as Transformation exhibition, this special dialogue session will delve further into exhibitions themes of mobility, cultural displacement and more, from the perspective of artists, curators, and culture professionals. Moderated by Valentina Riccardi of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), the session will draw from the speakers’ diverse practices in Southeast Asia to look at migration and displacement as not isolated phenomena, but ongoing aspects of our shared human experience. Whether driven by personal aspirations, environmental changes, or unforeseen circumstances, such movements shape not only the lives of individuals and communities, but also influence culture, identity, and artistic expression.

The discussion will explore how artistic practices can reflect, respond to, and reimagine experiences of movement, memory, belonging, and transformation, considering questions such as: How do artists interpret and communicate the idea of “home” across shifting geographies? How can creative practices preserve personal and collective histories? And what role can cultural institutions play in supporting mobility and exchange?

Art, in this context, becomes a space for storytelling, reflection, and connection — one that values diverse voices and fosters deeper intercultural understanding. Rather than focusing on causes, the panel centers on what emerges through mobility: hybrid identities, new artistic languages, and shared narratives.

Attendance for the panel discussion and exhibition are free by donation. Register here to secure your spot.

Discover the full AECFest programme.

Valentina Riccardi, Director, Culture Department (ASEF) | Valentina Riccardi is the Director of ASEF Culture Department. With over 20 years’ experience in the arts and cultural sector in Asian and European contexts, she leads the team in the overall strategy of its programmes. She has extensive experience developing projects and partnerships in the field of cultural diplomacy and international cultural relations. Valentina is also the general editor of ASEF’s digital platform, culture360.ASEF.org, offering up-to-date information and insights on arts, culture and heritage from 51 countries in Asia and Europe.
Valentina Riccardi, Director, Culture Department (ASEF) | Valentina Riccardi is the Director of ASEF Culture Department. With over 20 years’ experience in the arts and cultural sector in Asian and European contexts, she leads the team in the overall strategy of its programmes. She has extensive experience developing projects and partnerships in the field of cultural diplomacy and international cultural relations. Valentina is also the general editor of ASEF’s digital platform, culture360.ASEF.org, offering up-to-date information and insights on arts, culture and heritage from 51 countries in Asia and Europe.
Tamares Goh (b. Singapore) is an arts administrator, educator, and artist. From 1996 to 2003, she taught intermittently at LASALLE and was actively involved in exhibitions and artist residencies. In 2003 to 2017, she worked in a more arts administration position at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, where she has since developed and curated numerous music festivals and also headed the visual arts programmes. She also headed the Curatorial Programmes and audience engagement portfolios in National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum where she was Festival Director of Light To Night, Painting With Light and the Gallery’s Children Biennale. In 2017, she produced Dapunta Hyang: Transmission of Knowledge by Zai Kuning for the 57th Venice Biennale, and in 2013, she served as co-curator of the Singapore Biennale. She is currently Head of Visual Arts programme at Esplanade.
Tamares Goh (b. Singapore) is an arts administrator, educator, and artist. From 1996 to 2003, she taught intermittently at LASALLE and was actively involved in exhibitions and artist residencies. In 2003 to 2017, she worked in a more arts administration position at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, where she has since developed and curated numerous music festivals and also headed the visual arts programmes. She also headed the Curatorial Programmes and audience engagement portfolios in National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum where she was Festival Director of Light To Night, Painting With Light and the Gallery’s Children Biennale. In 2017, she produced Dapunta Hyang: Transmission of Knowledge by Zai Kuning for the 57th Venice Biennale, and in 2013, she served as co-curator of the Singapore Biennale. She is currently Head of Visual Arts programme at Esplanade.
Born in 1972, Da Nang, Viet Nam, Bùi Công Khánh is a multimedia and multidisciplinary artist who works across painting, performance, video, photography, and installation, taking an interest in vernacular materials such as ceramics, textiles, and indigenous Vietnamese woods and their carved ornamentation. Bùi Công Khánh’s pieces explore paradoxes and frictions of culture, identity, history, politics, and society in the Vietnamese context as well as beyond. His practice melds a research approach to social and historical realities, a commitment to form and aesthetics, and the belief that art can play a part in the spread of social justice at home and overseas.
Born in 1972, Da Nang, Viet Nam, Bùi Công Khánh is a multimedia and multidisciplinary artist who works across painting, performance, video, photography, and installation, taking an interest in vernacular materials such as ceramics, textiles, and indigenous Vietnamese woods and their carved ornamentation. Bùi Công Khánh’s pieces explore paradoxes and frictions of culture, identity, history, politics, and society in the Vietnamese context as well as beyond. His practice melds a research approach to social and historical realities, a commitment to form and aesthetics, and the belief that art can play a part in the spread of social justice at home and overseas.
Dr. Asma Diakité, Director, Goethe-Institut Singapore | Dr. Asma Diakité is the director of Goethe-Institut Singapore. Prior to his, she headed the cultural department of Goethe-Institut South Africa and coordinated the regional cultural programs of the Goethe-Institutes in Sub-Saharan-Africa for almost 7 years. After studying Theater-, Film and Media Studies, Philosophy and Cultural Anthropology in Frankfurt am Main and Cairo, she founded and directed the artist network “Revolution Divine” and, after research in Thailand and Egypt completed her doctorate on the concept of exuberance in the performing arts.
Dr. Asma Diakité, Director, Goethe-Institut Singapore | Dr. Asma Diakité is the director of Goethe-Institut Singapore. Prior to his, she headed the cultural department of Goethe-Institut South Africa and coordinated the regional cultural programs of the Goethe-Institutes in Sub-Saharan-Africa for almost 7 years. After studying Theater-, Film and Media Studies, Philosophy and Cultural Anthropology in Frankfurt am Main and Cairo, she founded and directed the artist network “Revolution Divine” and, after research in Thailand and Egypt completed her doctorate on the concept of exuberance in the performing arts.
Cheng Hao is a final-year undergraduate pursuing a double major in English Literature and Art History at Nanyang Technological University. With a penchant for experimental film, he is interested in the intersections between moving images, text, art, and writing, particularly with the limitations of language, and looking at what falls through the gaps in translations. Recently, he has spoken at the 2025 SUNY New Paltz Undergraduate Art History Symposium about the works of Indonesian artist S. Sudjojono and authorial intentionalism.
Cheng Hao is a final-year undergraduate pursuing a double major in English Literature and Art History at Nanyang Technological University. With a penchant for experimental film, he is interested in the intersections between moving images, text, art, and writing, particularly with the limitations of language, and looking at what falls through the gaps in translations. Recently, he has spoken at the 2025 SUNY New Paltz Undergraduate Art History Symposium about the works of Indonesian artist S. Sudjojono and authorial intentionalism.

 

Moderator

Valentina Riccardi | Director, Culture Department (ASEF)

Speakers

Dr Asma Diakité | Director, Goethe-Institut Singapore 

Tamares Goh | Head of Visual Arts, Esplanade

Bùi Công Khánh | Participating artist in Between Lands: Migration as Transformation

Goh Cheng Hao | Youth Curator for Between Lands: Migration as Transformation

The project is part of Gathering Ground 2025 organised by The Substation, and Asia-Europe Cultural Festival 2025 – Closing Curtain organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), with the financial support of the People’s Republic of China and venue partnership with Goethe-Institut Singapore.

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