#22 Nikki Lam, Australia Council for the Arts Residency
50 opportunities for 50 years
“This residency offered me the opportunity to see my practice through a different lens, something that I have been yearning for. As an artist whose work mainly responds to migration, it makes sense for me to be here in the mother-land of the two colonies I’ve lived all my life. It is also a gift to re-consider my art practice beyond survival.”
Nikki Lam is a Hong Kong-born artist-curator based in Naarm (Melbourne). Nikki has a moving image and text-based practice exploring the Hong Kong and Asian diaspora, as well as community building in the settler colony. Through her work she plays with the intersections, slippages and fragments of time and memory.
The Australia Council for the Arts has partnered with Acme to provide six-month London work/live residency opportunities for Australian visual artists since 1992.
“It’s such a gift to be offered the time and space to think, rest and play. As an artist who could never afford to spend time on practice, this residency has given me the permission to focus on research, connection and experimentation without set outcomes. I’ve already felt a shift in my thinking.”
Nikki Lam
Nikki’s first impressions of the studio were positive “As someone who also runs artist residencies (Hyphenated Projects) I know how much work it is to keep spaces liveable, functional (and dust-free!). I’m very impressed by the care that has been put into this space by the Acme team and I feel very cared for.”
Nikki is hoping to spend some time in the many archives for her ongoing research, and to connect with diaspora artists—particularly new Hong Kong diaspora since 2020.
“It is really nice to be in a different context for an extended period of time where I can just be.”