Grantee Database

Absari HANIFAH

• 2026
• Conservation
• Indonesia to United States

To explore recent advancements in textile and organic material conservation through research, interviews, and visits to leading conservation institutions in the United States. Hanifah hopes to develop her conservation skills and gain insights into conservation methods not yet practiced in Indonesia through museum visits, mentorship, and conversations with conservation experts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. Hanifah will commence her fellowship with a two-week engagement with a conservator colleague at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She also plans to visit the Getty Conservation Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the de Young Museum, and the Asian Art Museum. Upon her return, Hanifah hopes to hold seminars and workshops to pass on the knowledge and skills she gains, empowering fellow new conservators.

Seiko HIHARA

• 2026
• Visual Art
• Japan to Vietnam

To conduct research across Vietnam on the history of ethnic embroidery, the social role of handicrafts and handwork, and labor in the garment industry. Hihara’s research has a particular focus on tailoring traditions and individual craftsmanship developed during the French colonial period, which have become obscured within contemporary industrial systems. She will also carry out interviews with workers who have experience working in Japan, examining the structures embedded in textile production and handwork in relation to historical and social contexts. She will further examine the transformation of minority embroidery practices into the souvenir economy in the north and, through engagement with local communities, reflect on the structures embedded in textiles, seeking to make visible what remains unseen in Japanese society.

Szu-Han HO

• 2026
• Music
• United States to Taiwan

To deepen her understanding of Taiwanese sound art and build bridges between sound artists in Taiwan and her home state of New Mexico.Ho will immerse herself in Taiwan’s contemporary sound art and experimental music scenes, meeting sound artists, curators, and scholars; practicing deep listening; visiting venues, galleries, and museums; attending workshops; and making field recordings of local soundscapes. She will meet artists and curators across Taiwan’s west coast and spend time meeting indigenous artists on the east coast, with the hope of developing collaborative links between practitioners in Taiwan and New Mexico.

Michelle HỒ

• 2026
• Literature
• United States to Vietnam

To build relationships with local writers, study poetry, and research contemporary literary trends in Vietnam. Hồ hopes to learn about how the poetics of contemporary Vietnamese writers are being formed in an increasingly globalized literary world dominated by English and Western ideologies. By connecting with established and emerging writers and literature professors, she will examine how histories of colonialism, imperialism, and war have shaped the literary landscape, and how various generations in Vietnam have navigated literary production, publishing, and community-building under these conditions. Hồ also plans to attend and host workshops and informal gatherings through which she can cultivate meaningful relationships and opportunities for collaboration with members of Saigon’s literary scene.

Phu HOANG

• 2026
• Architecture
• United States to Vietnam

To examine architectural and cultural links between urban tube houses and rural communal houses in Vietnam. Hoang’s fellowship investigates relationships between these two foundational building types that link domestic and civic life and embody centuries of cultural adaptation, social hierarchy, and climatic response. Through site visits, archival research, and interviews with architects, researchers, homeowners, and community members, Hoang will explore how spatial practices express climate adaptation and shape social and familial life. Hoang’s research aims to deepen cross-cultural dialogue around climate-responsive design and trace how these enduring forms continue to shape architectural thought.

Atiqa KAWAKAMI & Kimi IDONUMA

Country / Region:
• Japan

• 2026
• Film/Video
• Japan to Indonesia, Thailand

To study alternative film networks in Asia, focusing on collectives that, under challenging political and social conditions, create spaces for screening, production, and education independent of commercial cinema. In Indonesia, they will learn about community management and engagement with local residents, while exploring collaborative workshops and screenings addressing colonial histories between Japan and Indonesia. In Thailand, they will visit Wiwat Lertwiwatwongsa and examine how he has developed screenings, a short film festival, and publishing activities in collaboration with organizations of various scales through the Bangkok Experimental Film Festival and the Filmvirus group. They intend to share their insights in ways that contribute to the development of a sustainable network of film collectives across Asia.

TSAI Jia-Hong

• 2026
• Crafts
• Taiwan to United States

To conduct research on prehistoric figurines, mother-goddess imagery, and feminist symbolism within historical and contemporary art contexts, whilst exploring the relationship between ceramic practice and experiences of personal trauma. Tsai plans to visit institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History, gathering and organizing materials through observation, sketching, and photographic documentation, in order to examine how artifacts embody both sacred and secular meanings. She will also visit art therapy-related organizations to observe how craft practices may serve as a connection between the body and emotional responses. Tsai aims to integrate these cultural exchange learnings into her future ceramic practice.

YAU Kit Sze Jessy

• 2026
• Architecture
• Hong Kong to Japan

To observe and learn hands-on processes of architectural regeneration and explore revitalization models that may be applied to villages and abandoned architecture in Hong Kong. Yau is a recipient of the Young Architects Fellowship, awarded by the Hsin Chong Foundation in partnership with the American Institute of Architects Hong Kong Chapter. Through their three-month research fellowship in Kobe, Japan, Yau will participate in diverse on-site activities, including the surveying of abandoned houses; hands-on learning related to regeneration and revitalization models; and interviewing peer professionals and local residents. A graduate of The University of Hong Kong’s Department of Architecture, Yau currently manages heritage conservation outreach initiatives for a Hong Kong nonprofit.

Jessica Su-Yin KWOK

• 2026
• Curation
• United States to Indonesia, Vietnam

To research feminist historiography, performance, and time-based practices in Indonesia and Vietnam. Kwok will investigate feminist and feminized performance practices in the two countries, drawing on methodologies articulated by Indonesian art historian Wulan Dirgantoro. By engaging artists and scholars in Indonesia whose practices exemplify the feminist strategies Dirgantoro identifies, Kwok aims to learn how feminist performance emerged historically within Indonesian art discourse and how practitioners continue to navigate intersections of religion, politics, and agency. In Vietnam, she will meet artists and collectives whose works traverse ritual, domestic labor, and the politics of visibility to understand how feminized gestures and embodied practices articulate critical perspectives on gender, sovereignty, and social constraint. Kwok hopes to learn how feminist performance in both countries circulates through transnational exchanges and shared vocabularies of intimacy and desire.

Thuan Uyen Le

Country / Region:
• Vietnam

• 2026
• Curation
• Vietnam to Hong Kong

To research the networks, exchanges, and activities of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian contemporary artists in Hong Kong in the 1980s-1990s. Lê will conduct archival research that maps the historic activities, exhibitions, and artistic exchanges of Southeast Asian artists in Hong Kong, focusing on how they articulated their practices within a broader regional context. She also aims to visit and meet peers from Hong Kong art institutions to learn about their respective approaches to archiving, exhibition-making, and presenting key artistic figures and moments, and to share her own insights on the current art landscape in Vietnam. Lê hopes to deepen her understanding of regional artistic networks and histories, contributing to a more inclusive, critical, and dynamic engagement with art history.

• 2019
• Grant to ACC Taiwan Foundation

Ying Chiun LEE

• 2026
• Crafts
• Taiwan to Japan

To conduct research in Okinawa, Japan, focusing on the impact of postwar U.S. military presence on local Ryukyu glass culture and urban development. Lee aims to explore Ryukyu glass and urban development of “American Village” in Chatan and Okinawa City. They will conduct archival research and interviews with glass artisans, local historians, and community members to examine how Okinawan society has engaged with, adapted, and reinterpreted foreign influences post-World War II from a material culture perspective.

Li-chin Li

• 2026
• Music
• China to Indonesia, Thailand

To conduct field research on the cultural roots, traditions, and historical creative practices of the sheng in China (Mainland), Indonesia, and Thailand. Li will trace and examine the historical development and cultural trajectories of Chinese ethnic sheng, Thai bamboo sheng, and the preservation of sheng craftsmanship in Indonesia. She will study instrument-making techniques with local sheng artisans, and shadow master craftsmen in sourcing raw materials in order to understand the cultural and ritual significance behind the instrument-making process. She aims to map a trans–Southeast Asian “cultural geography of the sheng,” whilst establishing connections with local art institutions to further deepen her understanding of sheng culture through cultural immersion.