Lee Mingwei’s projects are always personal, both to him and to others. He first garnered critical attention for The Sleeping Project (2000), in which he invited a member of the public to spend the night with him in the gallery and leave behind an object in the space in the morning. 

In July, the Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan witnessed a major development in its newly democratic government when the opposition leader, Tshering Tobgay, was chosen as prime minister in the country’s second national elections.

One of the world’s most oppressive and isolated countries, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was founded by the autocratic Kim Il-sung in 1948, and is now ruled by his grandson Kim Jong-un. 

Following the dissolution of the military junta in 2011, Myanmar has witnessed one of the world’s fastest socioeconomic transitions since the transformations that swept eastern Europe in the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall. 

The most populous island nation in Melanesia is highly diverse, with more than 750 languages and 1,000 ethnic groups. Despite strong recent economic growth—driven by resource extraction—the low rate of human development in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is abetted by corruption, poor governance and rapid population growth.

The world’s biggest buyer in the art market by value, the Gulf emirate of Qatar established itself on the international cultural map with the inauguration of the IM Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art in 2008, the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in 2009 and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in 2010. 

Despite a rich artistic history, Uzbekistan struggles to escape the legacy of its Soviet past, in political, economic and cultural spheres. 

As founders of Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Nindityo Adipurnomo and I have a lot to celebrate this year.
The status of Indonesian art has reached a position that we could only dream about when we started 25 years ago. 

This section of the Almanac is a precious opportunity to celebrate the publications that have given us the greatest pleasure over the last year.