Artist and researcher Young Catherine Sarah

Chess Encounters on the Trans-Siberian Railway

Chess Encounters details the artist’s travels from Southeast Asia (the artist’s origins) to Helsinki by train through the Trans-Siberian Railway and documenting her conversations with passengers using the Ice Chess project through video and photography. While the artist may or may not speak the same language, she will likely encounter people who can play the almost-universal game of chess. She will invite these individuals to play Ice Chess, which examines the Arctic crisis and the consequences of the melting North and yield valuable insights as to what the project and its consequences mean to participants. It is expected that the participants will be varied in nationalities, which reflects the different political figures on the chess game. As well, the train trip itself mirrors the Global North - Global South conversations that the project is meant to provoke. The project currently exists as a prototype and has never been played by the public. The trip from East to West will be a test case to see what the game could mean and improve on, while the trip back to Asia after the residency will be the second iteration, as well as to invoke other ideas incurred during the residency. This application asks to fund both trips to and from Helsinki, although if funding is limited to only one part, it is requested that the West-to-East trip is funded as there will be more to learn since the project will be more in progress.