| Type | Non-governmental organization |
|---|---|
| Established | 1980 as the Asian Cultural Council |
| Chairman | Elizabeth J. McCormack |
| Location | Hong Kong , China |
| Website | http://www.asianculturalcouncil.org/index.html |
History
The Asian Cultural Council (ACC) was established in 1980. It was previously known as the Asian Cultural Program of the JDR 3rd Fund, which was set up in 1963 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd. The council has offices in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taipei.The council and The JDR 3rd Fund have provided grant assistance to more than 4000 Asians and Americans for cultural exchange in the visual arts and performing arts over the past 43 years.A combination of endowment income and contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations in the United States and Asia are the main funding source for the Council's programs.
Aims
The Council aims to provide support for the cultural exchange between Asia and the United States in visual and performing arts. The Council also provides grants to Asian individuals to pursue research, study and work in the arts in the United States. Likewise, grants are also awarded to Americans who wish to work in the arts in Asia and to various educational and cultural institutions in both countries to promote Asian-American cultural exchange. The grants are funded by individuals, foundations, and corporations from Asia and the United States. In line with the Council's objective that resources are concentrated on fellowship awards to individuals, ACC grants are usually awarded to individual artists in visual and performing arts. Therefore, proposals for publications, film and video production, capital campaigns and general program and administrative costs are not considered by the Council. Nevertheless, the Council does consider supporting projects of exceptional importance in cultural exchange between Asia and the United States or within Asia. Besides, since ACC provides grants to individuals doing research, studying, receiving training, undertaking observation tours, etc., proposals for personal exhibitions, individual performance tours or undergraduate study are also not considered by the Council. Americans undertaking activities in Asia are eligible to apply for grants, whereas individual activities conducted in their home countries are not.
Mission Statement
The Asian Cultural Council clearly indicates the council's purpose, aim, and objective in a wider picture hoping to create a common ground in form of art to join together nations from around the world:
"The arts are central to the lives of people around the world and offer unique opportunities for the growth of communication, respect and mutual understanding among citizens of all nations."
Endowment Donors
Asian-American cultural exchange programs are funded by a range of endowment donors, ranging from multi-national corporations, to large charitable foundations, to smaller individual contributions from across the globe. The larger corporations who serve as donors are the Asian Oceanic Groupand The Seibu Saison Group. Large charitable foundations who contribute include [Ford Foundation] , [Foundation], The JDR 3rd Fund, The Starr Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Blanchette H. Rockefeller fund, Estate of Blanchette H. Rockefeller, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Loyal individual supporters of the program are respectively Mr. and Mrs. George D. O’Neill, Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Mr. Laurance S. Rockefeller and various anonymous supporters.
Annual Donors
Apart from the more detached funding relationships between endowment donors and the Asian Cultural Council (ACC), the ACC Grant rogram also receives long-term support from annual and multi-year funds, contributed by committed donors. In the past, such contributions have led to major succession in the growth of the Asian Cultural Council by expanding the council works across Asia], allowing such programs to be accessible to developing countries as well as influencing more nations to understand the importance of cultural exchange between ethnic groups. For instance, [Ford Foundation]financially assists ACC in projects of the Arts and Cultural Management Fellowships in Indonesia. [The Rockefeller Foundation]supports the Council's grant programs in Mekong region of South East Asia. In addition, the ACC receives annual unlimited assistance from the Rockfeller Brothers Fund and Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund.
Fund Placements & Donors in Asia
The Asian Cultural Council currently has four grant programmes across Asia funded by local donors. The four grant programmes are destinated in Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and the Philipines.
Hong Kong
The Asian Cultural Council's works in Hong Kong involves the Hong Kong Arts Program, established in 1986, this grant program receives multi-year funding from local donors in Hong Kong, they include: [The Lee Hysan Foundation, The Sir Kenneth Fung Ping Fan Foundation Trust, the Hsin Chong-K.N. Godfrey Yeh Education Fund, the AIA Foundation, Spring-Time Group Limited, the Sovereign Art Foundation and individual supporters Mr. and Mrs. Paul Li.
Japan
In Japan, ACC has established a Japan-United States Arts Program. The grant program receives endowment donations from the Seibu Saison Group, a fund donated to the ACC via the [Foundation] in 1983. Since 1989, annual contributions builds on the existing fund on a yearly basis from the Saison Foundation in Tokyo. Early 1993, a group of former grantees in Japan excecuted a fund-raising program in memory of Blanchette H. Rockefeller, who served as the chairman of ACC from 1980 to 1990, where the money raised was established as the Blanchetter H. Rockefeller Fellowship Fund of the Japan-United States Arts Program.
Taipei
The ACC established the Taiwan Fellowship Program in 1995, a joint project with the Sino-American Asian Cultural Foundation, a foundation that was especially formed to collaborate as the council's partner in raising funds and making grants on behalf of US-Taiwan exchange. The program is currently sustained by annual donations from corporations and other foundations including the SAACF (Sino-American Asian Cultural Foundation), the Group 33 Supporting Committee, Yageo Art Foundation, Accton Corporation and various other donors.
The Philipines
The Philipines Fellowship Program is the newest Asia-based program developments of the council. The program was introduced in year 2000 in collaboration with the Asian Cultural Council Philipines Foundation. The ACC Philipines Foundation is located in Manila, and formed partnerships with the ACC to raise funds and make grants on behalf of the Philipines-American cultural exchange. Contributions and grants to improve and sustain the Philipines Fellowship program are donated by a broad range of donors in the Philipines and the United States. Following such generous inputs in favor of the program, the ACC awards a Quimson Fellowship award each year.
Programs
The Asian Cultural Council, as a non-governmental organization, provides the following programs to enhance the exchange of cultures between the Asian and American students:
Unrestricted Grant Funds
ACC Fellowhips and Projects
Artists and specialists from Asia, who undertake research, training, and creative programs in the United States, engage in the ACC's fellowships and projects which are supported by unrestricted grant funds. In 2005, seventeen individual fellowhips and eighteen project were awarded with unrestricted grant funds.
A number of funds have been restricted for specific programs, which are listed below.
Restricted Grant Funds
ACC Residency Program in Asia
This program helps support Americans who come to East Asia and Southeast Asia to conduct research, teach, or take part in creative residencies at cultural and educational institutions. Visiting Americans and the host organization work together to produce results such as publication, course development, or the creation of new artistic work. This program allows the exchange of the Asian culture in the United States and American culture in the Asian countries, and helps build strong bonds between the American individuals and institutions and their counterparts in Asia, in regards to the arts and humanities. However, the ACC Residency Program was not run in 2006-2007 due to the lack of funding.
Asian Art and Religion Fellowship Program
Ford Foundation Fellowship Program
Hong Kong Arts Program
More importantly, the Asian Cultural Council offers the Hong Kong Arts Program for Hong Kong students, scholars, and promising artists. This program, as said by the Asian Cultural Council (ACC), should allow the the individuals to enhance their skills and give them a better understanding of the subject they love, that is, studying cultures, practicing their art, and, researching aspects of their interest, which are mostly funded, through grants and subsidies, by the Asian Cultural Council.
Humanities Fellowhip Program
This is a programme aims to assist American scholars,doctoral students, and specialists in the humanities to undertake research, training, and study in Asia,espeacially in the following field:archaeology; conservation; museology; and the theory, history, and criticism of architecture, art, dance, film, music, photography, and theater.It's primary intention is to support American scholars and graduate students.And it was initiated with a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and matching funds from The JDR 3rd Fund and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Apart from assisting American scholars,the program also supports Asian scholars participating in international conferences, exhibitions, visiting professorships, and similar projects.Duration of fellowship grants range is from one to nine months.
Japan-United States Arts Program
John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award
Mekong Region Fellowhip Program
Philippines Fellowship Program
The Philippines Fellowship Program was established by the ACC in 2000 to support talented artists and scholars in the Philippines. The scholarship grants however began in the 1960's, and, as of present, has sponsored more than 100 talented artists and scholars in the Philippines. This Fellowship program not only allows Filipinos to harness and practice their talents, but also, it allows students and scholars from a developing country to live their dream, that is, to be able to study and research the arts, that which is their passion.
There are many different awards that are given to qualified applicants. Grants in fields such as archaeology, music, art history, art criticism, painting, photography etc. are offered to qualified individuals. It is important to note however that priority is given to those who are incapable to fund their studies or research in the United States. This also suggests that any recipients of said grants are expected to go back to the Philippines and apply their research and field of study in their hometown. This said arrangement not only allows the students and scholars to apply their new found knowlege in their home country, but also, allows the Philippines to develop more as scholars and learned individuals who are given the chance for better higher learning come back to apply their skills.
Starr Foundation Fellowship Program
Taiwan Fellowship Program
News
Contacts
The Asian Cultural Council branch in Hong Kong is located at:
Asian Cultural Council
Hong Kong Arts Program,
One Hysan Avenue, Suite 1503,
Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2895-0407
Fax: (852) 2576-7206
E-mail: [email protected]
External Links
- Asian Cultural Council
- Asian Cultural Council: Japan-United States Arts Program- in Japanese
- Asian Cultural Council: Hong Kong Arts Program- in Chinese
- Asian Cultural Council: Taiwan Fellowship Program- in Chinese
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