A stockpile of conversations and encounters with the potential to veer off in multiple directions.

The third edition of Frieze New York, which returns to its gigantic white tent on Randall’s Island Park from May 9 through May 12, features a remarkable 18 exhibitors from Asia, including a smart mix of established and emerging galleries from Japan, Korea, China, India, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Israel and Turkey.

Last November, Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF), in the United Arab Emirates, announced Eungie Joo as curator of Sharjah Biennial 12, which opens in March 2015. Previously the director of art and cultural programs at Instituto Inhotim in Brumadinho, Brasil, and director and curator of education and public programs at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, Joo recently curated SAF’s seventh annual March Meeting, titled “Come Together.”  This four-day symposium of presentations and panel discussions by cultural practitioners has become a notable platform for exchange between artists, curators and researchers.  At the meeting, Joo spoke with ArtAsiaPacific on her initial impressions of the art conference, her approach to “reactivating” the format, and also shared some thoughts about the upcoming Biennial.