The International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) presents Ahmad Fuad Osman: Archipelagic Alchemy, an exhibition that addresses the history of the empire by looking at relationships between seas and islands. Presenting an installation titled Run for Manhattan, by Ahmad Fuad Osman, this exhibition is curated by Carlos Quijon, Jr. for ISCP’s first floor project space. The installation gathers archival clippings, popular culture materials, and a newly commissioned speculative video. All pertain to an episode of colonial history involving an exchange of islands in the seventeenth century between two colonial powers. The English traded Pulau Run, one of the Spice Islands, present-day Moluccas, in exchange for New Amsterdam, present-day Manhattan, traded by the Dutch.

The exhibition’s focal point will be an expansive image of the signing of a treaty in 1667 that ended the Second Anglo-Dutch War, and included a provision about the exchange of these two islands. Osman’s work shows a moment in colonial history, European exceptionalism and its postcolonial implications.

Ahmad Fuad Osman has presented work internationally at venues including the Vargas Museum in Manila, Philippines; Kunsthal Rotterdam, Netherlands; Sharjah Biennale; Singapore Biennale; The Singapore Art Museum; Silverlens Gallery, Makati, Philippines; and Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan, among others. 

Carlos Quijon, Jr. is an art historian, critic, and curator based in Manila who is currently a curator in residence at ISCP, and curator of the Philippines national pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale. He was a fellow of the research platform Modern Art Histories in and across Africa, South and Southeast Asia (MAHASSA). He writes for Artforum and CNN Philippines; his essays are included in SEA: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia and Writing Presently; and his exhibitions include Courses of Action, Para Site and Goethe-Institut, Hong Kong; Minor Infelicities, Post Territory Ujeongguk, Seoul; and In Our Best Interests, NTU ADM Gallery, Singapore. Carlos Quijon, Jr. is currently a curator-in- residence at ISCP. 

This exhibition is supported by Asian Cultural Council; Hartfield Foundation; Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Legislature; James Rosenquist Foundation; van Beuren Charitable Foundation; and William Talbott Hillman Foundation.
______

Accessibility information: Please note that the entrance to ISCP has seven steps and a ramp, which is ADA compliant. There are seven artist studios and one exhibition space which can be accessed on the first floor of ISCP. There is an accessible bathroom on the first floor at the end of the hallway, up one step, where the artist studios are located. To access the second floor there is a staircase with a grab bar installed on the right side with 22 steps. The second floor has 22 artist and curator studios, one exhibition space, and a lounge where remarks by our guest speaker will take place. To access the third floor there is a staircase with a grab bar installed on the right side with 24 steps. The third floor has five artist and curator studios. ISCP  can access a freight elevator to bring visitors between the first and second floors on request.

ISCP can offer two reserved parking spaces on request for people with disabilities. Please email Veronica Sanchez at vsanchez@iscp-nyc.org to request a parking space and/or freight elevator usage.