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© Photo:
Singapore Biennale
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Born in Tokyo, Japan (1971). Roger McDonald was educated in
the United Kingdom, studying International Politics (BA, Wales), Mysticism
and Religious Experience (MA, Kent) and received a PhD in History and
Theory of Art from the University of Kent in 2000. He has been based
in Tokyo, Japan since 2000.
His curatorial work has included exhibitions in a number of non-gallery
sites including a forest in Kiyosato, Japan, his home in London, a kindergarten
in Tokyo, a disused restaurant and working vegetable market in Naha
city Okinawa, a night club in Tokyo and an ongoing touring exhibition
from a suitcase in the 'Moving Collection' project (Tokyo, Okinawa,
Fukui, New Zealand). He was assistant curator to Fumio Nanjo for The
Yokohama Triennale 2001. He was a co-curator for the major Japanese
contemporary art exhibition 'Mediarena', held at The Govett Brewster
Art gallery, New Zealand in 2004. He is a co-curator for 'Green Times'
(opening autumn 2005), the inaugural exhibition for a new park culture
centre in Tachikawa, Tokyo, which looks into the role of green spaces
and parks in cities with a focus on the way people use such spaces.
He maintains a weblog called The Tactical Museum where he publishes
news about autonomous activities in Japan as well as his research interests
into different forms of curatorial practice: http://rogermc.blogs.com/tactical/
He is Deputy Director of the Tokyo non profit arts collective AIT (Arts
Initiative Tokyo) and co-organises its independent study school programme
called MAD (Making Art Different), which amongst other courses, offers
the first contemporary curating course in Japan. AIT emphasises a collective
curatorial and working approach, and within this framework he has co-organised
the ongoing 'AIT Hour Museum' series of exhibition/ events as well as
the irregular lounge club night 'Minglius'. In 2004 he travelled to
Weimar, Germany to represent AIT in the exhibition 'Even the Moon is
Not Autonomous', an archive and exhibition of socially engaged practices
from Japan. AIT has recently been initiating a series of research and
exhibition platforms exploring notions of the Public now in Tokyo and
beyond.
Roger McDonald also teaches on the arts management course of Tama Art
University, Tokyo, as well as being a visiting tutor at Zokei Art University.
He has also lectured at the California College of Arts, San Francisco,
Tate Britain, UK, The Japan Foundation, Tokyo amongst other places.
(press information, Singapore Biennale)
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