About

Joey Chin is an artist and writer. Her work is at the intersections of text, narrative and visual art, staged through language, poetry, acts and modes of reading, and various disruptions. Her key focus is in the development of personal communications between the self, markings of territoriality, and the inner conversations between the two.

Joey holds an MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the City University of Hong Kong, and her work has received scholarships, grants, and awards from numerous organisations including the Korea Arts and Culture Education Service, the Asia Europe Foundation, the Royal Over-seas League Arts (United Kingdom), the Dorothy Cheung Foundation (Singapore), the National Arts Council (Singapore), the Run Run Shaw Library (Hong Kong), and the Society for Humanistic Anthropology (US).

Reading, Words and Language through Visual Art

I am interested in grammar, script, writing and language use. My work explores the word as image and its shifting meaning between cultures. I use literature as an entry point into making work. I work collectively with artists, the community and with libraries or universities. I have worked with refugees and migrants at Babel (Greece), and the Chinese Community Centre (UK), and these text-based or visual outcomes have been presented at the Library of Birmingham, Leeds Arts University Library and the University of Glasgow.

Teaching and Lecturing

I have taught creative writing, contemporary text and language-based art, and conducted book-arts, or text-based surrealist collage workshops in small groups, as part of adult education programmes or as a guest lecturer in universities. I hold a certificate for Learning and Teaching for the Arts from the Nanyang Technological University.

I have spoken at various conferences, symposiums and public talks, including the National Library Board (Singapore), the International Sinology Conference (China), and the Asian Conference for Humanities and Social Sciences (Japan).

Organising and Curating

I am Librarian and manager for the National Library Board where I work on national scale projects and campaigns. I spearheaded One Story, a multilingual publication project to encourage share in one common literary narrative. I organise and develop residencies, community collaborations and public education workshops. In 2017, I founded the series ALT TXT which explored the intersections of art through text.

I currently manage the Library’s signature reading festival, where I conceptualise, curate and lead public programmes based on selected book titles.  

Spatial Communications

I am keen on spatial communications, and how interactants make meaning in physical spaces through their personal histories. My essays and live art performances have been featured on Anima Loci (Italy/UK), Prospect Art (US), Default19 (Italy), Performance Crossings (Czech).

e-mail: joeychinlmATgmailDOTcom

News:

11 March 2021: Text & Art guest lecture, Hunter College, CUNY (US)

1 March 2021: A Self Assessment text on Food& Gravity (Germany)

1 November 2020: Emptying Cups! text on M.U.C.K (Must Use Critical Knowledge) (UK)

28 October 2020: Here but where exhibition in collaboration with Clare Charnley, supported by Royal Over-seas League Arts (UK)

15 September 2020: Passing the Past photo essay on Anima Loci

1 September 2020: Meet the Artist Joey Chin Zoom webinar with Royal Over-seas League Arts Curator Eilidh McCormick (UK)

9 August 2020: The Writing Life Beyond COVID-19 with Mongrel Writers Residence (US) and Cha (HK)