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Kakim Goh performing in “Vissa d'arte”, produced in Montreal, Canada, 2013. Still video frame: © Kakim Goh
Kakim Goh - Visual Artist & Curator
Introduction
I’m always thinking about things I have to do, things I haven’t done, things I did but should have done in a different way, and it’s hard to live without regrets or anxiety. So I think one great thing about the creative process is when you’re able to arrive at the moment when all of that disappears...
Kakim Goh is a Singaporean-born Montreal-based contemporary visual artist and curator who creates interdisciplinary painting, performance and video installations.
Born into a family of artists, Kakim’s father was a poet, doctor and nightclub owner whose wanderlust spread Kakim’s youth across Singapore, Malaysia, Vancouver and Cowhead, Newfoundland.
At the age of 19, Kakim left Vancouver for Mexico where he studied oil painting, drawing and printmaking processes for 5 years in the artist colony of San Miguel de Allende. Upon his return to Canada, he complemented his training with a BFA (Major in Painting and Drawing with distinction) from Concordia University in Montreal.
Kakim has been exhibiting in Canada and Mexico since 1993. He has participated in numerous exhibitions and performances in Quebec, most notably at MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels), the OBORO New Media Laboratory and la Maison de la Culture du Plateau-Mont-Royal. His artworks can be found in private collections in Canada, the United States, Singapore, Mexico, and Chile.
From 2014 to 2016, Kakim held the position of Curator of the Visual Arts Program at Festival Accès Asie (an arts festival dedicated to promoting Asian arts, histories and cultures in Quebec), where he organized international visual arts exhibitions, professional development workshops and cultural mediation activities for new immigrants in collaboration with the OBORO New Media Lab, la Ville de Montréal and the Embassy of Mongolia to Canada.
He has a long history of community engagement helping to advance equity, diversity and inclusion in the education, arts and culture sectors.
Kakim currently serves as the Vice-President of the Board of Directors at Festival Accès Asie and as a Member of the Board of Directors at the English-Language Arts Network (ELAN). He is an appointed Member of the Evaluation Committee for New Artistic Practices and Multidisciplinary Sector at the Conseil des arts de Montréal.
Kakim lives with his daughter Xian in Montreal.
"Atlantic Pacific", from the series "Visions from North of the 49th Parallel", Flashe acrylic on paper, 42 5/8 x 119 5/8 in. (108.4 x 303.9 cm.), {FT= 3 ft. 6 5/8 in. x 9 ft. 11 5/8 in.}, produced in Montreal, Canada, 2013. Photo: © Kakim Goh