The present blog of the Research Network for Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art, a grassroots based, non-commercial scholarly network, will close. After its inception in 2015 hosted by Nottingham University’s blog server and following a continuous stream of posts related with academic events, information on publications and exhibitions, and jobs, a new editorial team has decided to transfer the blog to hypotheses.org. Since an affiliation with one particular university does not reflects the global, cross-institutional set-up of ReNetMoCoCA and its mobile members. The new host will allow the blog to be administered by members located in different institutes and places around the world and invites active participation in the editorial team or through submissions for posts covering up-to-date activities in our field.

We thank our readers for following us all these years and welcome you as users and writer on the new blog at www.mococa.hypotheses.org

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The Confucius Institute Heidelberg would like to draw your attention to two events  of the project “TRANSLASIEN” that will take place this Sunday, October 2, 2022. The workshop on Asian science fiction literature with  renowned translator Karin Betz, Heyne publishing editor Sebastian Pirling, Indologist Prof. Hans Harder (SAI), the former head of the Book Information Center of the Frankfurt Book Fair in Beijing, Dr. Jing Bartz, and publisher Dr. Nora Frisch. The workshop will take place at the SAI / CATS campus and will be held in German.

https://konfuzius-institut-heidelberg.de/event/workshop-asiatische-science-fiction-literatur-und-ihre-uebersetzung/

On Sunday evening, Chinese science fiction author Regina Kanyu Wang will speak with Frederike Schneider-Vielsäcker at the DAI about female futures in China and her science fiction short story collection “The Seafood Restaurant.”
The talk will be held in English, passages of selected stories will be read in German.

https://konfuzius-institut-heidelberg.de/event/weibliche-zukunftsentwuerfe-aus-china-ein-gespraech-mit-science-fiction-autorin-regina-kanyu-wang/

Feel free to forward the announcement to anyone interested.

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The Department of Art History and Archaeology, University of Maryland in partnership with The Mozhai Foundation and The Center for East Asian Studies will hold a two day long virtual symposium on “Modern and Contemporary Chinese Ink Painting: Histories, Borders, and Values”, 20 and 27 April 2022, from 8:00-10:30 EST.

Ink painting is arguably the most vibrant of China’s many national arts. Modern ink painting, from the early 20th century onwards, embodies the heroic story of constant renewal and reinvigoration of Chinese civilization through rebellions, revolutions, and reforms in the political and cultural arenas. More recently, ink painting in its multiplicity of forms, has become the face – both literally and figuratively – of contemporary China.

Rather than conceiving of Chinese ink painting merely as a medium, the aim of the symposium is to reconsider its historical, theoretical, cultural, social, and political dimensions. What are the ways in which contemporary Chinese ink painting embodies Chinese culture and society?  How have indigenous and foreign traditions impacted Chinese artists? What are the multiple contexts in which these artworks have been created and circulated? The purpose of this symposium is to ultimately help us take stock of the present state of Chinese ink painting, and to re-consider the multiplicities of contexts, histories, boundaries, and values that have combined to shape its current expression.

To join this public two-day online international symposium with scholars, curators, and practioners of ink painting, please register (free of charge) and find out additional information and the agenda here: https://mozhaifoundation.org/inkpainting/

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The Times Museum Berlin calls for application related with three positions for exhibition related research in context of their long-term project “Three Contested Sites – The Worldy Fables of the Long 1990s“. The affiliated exhibition will be on display from September to December 2022 at Times Art Center Berlin and be continued supported by one exhibition history researcher from Thailand, Berlin, London, Hong Kong, and Mainland China respectively who will form a research group.

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ReNetMoCoCA members Paul Gladston and Beccy Kennedy-Schtyk together with Ming Turner have recently published a highly engaging edited volume titled Visual Culture Wars at the Borders of Contemporary China: Art, Design, Film, New Media and the Prospects of “Post-West” Contemporaneity (London: Palgrave Macmillan 2021). The book presents theoretical as well as analytical outcome of the AHRC UK-funded project ‘Visualising Chinese Borders’ in historically and critically informed perspectives addressing Greater China. It comprises nine contributions structured in three sections – “China and the South Sea”, “Art and Technology”, “Gender and Sexuality” – and conceives of visual culture wars as “comprising resistances on numerous fronts not only to the growing power and expansiveness of the Chinese state but also the residues of a once pervasively suppressive Western colonialism/imperialism”.

Find out more about the book at https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9789811652929#aboutBook

The post New publication by members: Edited volume on “Visual Culture Wars at the Border of China” (Palgrave MacMillan) appeared first on ReNet MoCoCA.

Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art  calls for contributions discussing performance art in China

Performance art bases an artist’s practice on direct action. In China, performance art is known by the term xingwei yishu (lit. behaviour art). Other terms include action art (xingdong yishu), body art (shenti yishu) and live art (xianchang yishu). Each term links to a practice that involves the body, but can also arise in the use of the body in installation art, video art and even painting. Performance art has been linked to public actions by artists during the 1980s, culminating in the 1989 China Avant/Garde exhibition in Beijing, most notably by artist Xiao Lu, shooting a gun at her installation during the opening. Performance art first rose to prominence during the 1990s when artists across China started to engage in performances that position the body in direct contact with the physical environment. These include artists from the Beijing East Village, such as Cang Xin, Duan Yingmei, Ma Liuming, Zhang Binbin, Zhang Huan and Zhu Ming. During the 1990s performance art in China also becomes known through artists who test their body through endurance, such as in performances by He Yunchang and Li Binyuan. Or by the feminist artist Li Xinmo. The late 1990s and early 2000s also witness the rise of performance art festivals in China. Discourses on performance and performance art can also be linked to dance, experimental theatre and to new media, such as in the case of Lu Yang or Chen Tianzhuo. Discourses on performance art also include those on live art and documentation, performativity, and performance in relation to public and private conduct, with certain performances having been censored in China. This special issue also aims to elaborate papers tracing the development of performance art beyond Mainland China, with early performance artists such as Kwok Mang Ho (Frog King) in Hong Kong and Teching Hsieh in Taiwan, who would become a foundational performance artist in New York during the late 1970s and 1980s. Or, Wu Mali who, from the 1980s onwards, has been creating participatory works and socially engaged art in Taiwan, another important figure in the field of performance art, broadly conceived alongside other performance artists active across Greater China, from the 1980s and 1990s until now.

Possible perspectives for proposals include (but are not limited to) the following:

·         Case studies of individual artists across Greater China and the Chinese diaspora.

·         Discourses of performance art in places and contexts across Greater China.

·         Discourses on performance art festivals across Greater China, and their role in disseminating public awareness of performance art (and live art).

·         Changing perspectives and vocabularies on contemporary Chinese performance art, action art, body art and live art.

·         The role of the body in relation to performance art in China.

·         The position of performance and performativity in Chinese art and culture, especially regarding alternative discourses of performance art and related practices.

·         Issues of public and private conduct in relation to contemporary Chinese art and performance art, including where discourses and practices have been censored.

Publication Timeline
31 March 2022, abstract due (300 words)
1 December 2022, full manuscript due (7,000-8,000 words)
Publication: Spring 2023

Please send abstract submissions and 100-word biography for consideration in the same file to: Guest Editor Thomas Berghuis, researcher based in Leiden, the Netherlands (dr.t.j.berghuis@gmail.com) and Assistant Editor Lauren Walden (ccva@bcu.ac.uk) with the subject ‘JCCA 10.1’. Please visit Intellect’s website www.intellectbooks.com for referencing guidelines.

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Prof. Dr. Juliane Noth (Heisenberg Fellow at the Kunstgeschichtliches Seminar, Universität Hamburg) an expert of modern Chinese art history is organizing a State-of-the-Filed Discussion on the “Art History of Socialist China” in an online workshop. The international event will take place on Friday and Saturday, 18 and 19 June 2021, 2 pm CEST and presents talks by the following speakers: Yi Gu (University of Toronto), Christine I. Ho (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Juliane Noth (Universität Hamburg), Claire Roberts (University of Melbourne), and Zheng Shengtian (Institute of Asian Art, Vancouver Art Gallery/Simon Fraser University).

In recent years, scholars of Maoist China have increasingly explored the use of images, displays, and other visual materials and how they were deployed for political ends. What remains largely absent from these studies are, paradoxically, the visual and aesthetic qualities of the images and media in question, their agency and that of their creators, and thus the possibility that they might offer ambiguous and multilayered readings. Art historians on the other hand, who are trained to analyze and interpret images, have shown more interest in art-specific discourses and how individual artists responded to given tasks or settings on a formal or iconographical level. Indeed, the assumption that images produced in Maoist China possessed a lot of political, but very little artistic value might be one reason why a comparatively small number of art-historical studies have been written on Chinese art from the period between 1949 and 1979. It is only recently that several new studies have begun to more fully assess the complexity of artistic production between political exigencies and aesthetic choices. In this workshop, we will discuss methodological issues and case studies which allow us to seek new perspectives on the image production of that period as well as the relation between art, propaganda, and visual culture in a broader sense.

For the access link please register per e-mail: arthistorysocialistchina.kunst@uni-hamburg.de

You can view the full programme and abstracts at: https://www.kulturwissenschaften.uni-hamburg.de/ks/ueber-das-institut/art-history-socialist-china-program.pdf

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The Graduate Programme for Transcultural Studies (GPTS) at the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies (HCTS) at Heidelberg University welcomes applications for up to three doctoral scholarships for international students beginning in the winter semester 2021/22. The scholarships amount to 1200 EUR per month for a period of three years.

In accordance with the research scheme of the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies, the three-year graduate programme focuses on the dynamics of cultural exchange processes between and within Asia and Europe, and challenges established notions of national, ethnic, and disciplinary categories. The GPTS offers an excellent, highly interdisciplinary, and international research environment combining the German model of individualized doctoral studies with a system of guided courses.

Applicants are expected to submit a doctoral project with a strong affinity to the research agenda of the HCTS. Prospective candidates must hold an M.A. or equivalent in a relevant discipline of the humanities or social sciences with an above-average grade and provide proof of advanced language skills in English.

Applications must be submitted in one PDF file that includes the completed application form, a letter of motivation, a CV, a project proposal, a schedule for the dissertation, language certificates, and transcripts of all university degrees, and two letters of recommendation.

The three scholarships are offered in cooperation with the DAAD Graduate School Scholarship Programme (GSSP) and include further benefits. Only international (non-German) candidates are eligible to apply. In addition to fulfilling the criteria listed above, applicants must meet the criteria set by the DAAD. For more information, please visit the DAAD website.

The application deadline is February 14, 2021.

Please note that the starting date for one of the scholarships is June 1, 2021; the other two will start on October 1, 2021.

For more information about the Graduate Programme for Transcultural Studies and the application process, see http://www.hcts.uni-heidelberg.de/en/gpts. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact application-gpts@hcts.uni-heidelberg.de.

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The Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at the University of San Francisco (USF) calls for doctoral and post-doctoral research fellowships for summer 2021. The USF Ricci Institute is a premier global resource for the study of Chinese-Western cultural exchange with a core focus on the social and cultural history of Christianity in China. Besides its more than 80,000 volumes of books in Chinese and Western languages, its library also includes (1) a digital copy of the Japonica-Sinica Manuscript Collection from the Roman Archives of the Society of Jesus (ARSI); (2) the Francis A. Rouleau Microfilm / Digital Archival Collections’ (3) the Canton Diocese Archival Collection; (4) a digital copy of the Passionist China Collection; (5) the Anthony E. Clark Collection; (6) Pre-Modern Japanese & Korean Christian Materials; and (7) other archival materials.

Doctoral Research Fellowships:

This fellowship is open to doctoral candidates who have completed all course work and have defined their specific research topic. We invite research proposals that will benefit substantially from consultation of the archival and/or library holdings of the Ricci Institute in order to complete the candidate’s dissertation. Topics of enquiry may include Chinese-Western cultural history, local society and politics, history of education and other charitable enterprises, history of Christianity in China, history of diplomacy, art and art history, science and history of science, comparative studies of Christianity and cultures in China, and the “Sino-sphere”, namely, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Recipients are also expected to present their work and actively participate in all regularly organized research seminars at the Ricci Institute.

The entire fellowship program will be three-months long. Barring any unforeseeable circumstances due to the pandemic, both nationally and internationally, the Ricci Institute is planning to conduct this year’s fellowship in two phases. The first phase will be 4-6 weeks from June 4 to early/mid-July with virtual academic activities through the Zoom platform. The second phase, 4-5 weeks from early/mid-July to August 31, will require fellowship recipients to be physically in residence at the Ricci Institute conducting research and interacting with other scholars on site.^[*]

Participation in all activities is mandatory throughout the program, and exceptions will require approval well in advance. The stipend is up to $4,000/month. Candidates are highly encouraged to apply for any necessary supplemental funding for their travel and stay from their home institutions.

Applicants who are not U.S. Citizens or Legal Permanent Residents will need to contact the Ricci Institute well in advance for information regarding the following: (1) proof of English proficiency for non-native speakers, (2) visa application procedures, (3) health insurance requirements, and (4) other necessary documentation, depending on the country of provenance of the applicant. Because of possible ongoing travel restrictions and other additional documentation that might be required to travel to the U.S. (i.e. pre-flight proof of a negative COVID test), recipients who are not in the U.S. are asked to allow more time than would normally be necessary to prepare for their visa application (i.e. at least three months before travel).

 Applicants should submit the following by February 28, 2021:

(1) a most recent Curriculum Vitae;

(2) a 5–10-page double-spaced statement with an outline of the proposed research and related activities, the contribution the scholar hopes to make in the relevant field(s), tentative plan for the publication of the research results, and how the research is related to and enriched by resources available at the USF Ricci Institute;

(3) a proposed budget and other funding sources, if any;

(4) two up-to-date letters of recommendation. All required documents must be in English.

Successful applications will be announced by mid-March 2021.

 All application documents should be submitted by email to fedulow@usfca.edu with the subject line: “2021 Summer Ricci Doctoral Research Fellowship Application”.

 Letters of recommendation must be submitted directly from the recommenders on institutional letterhead electronically to: fedulow@usfca.edu with the subject line: “2021 Summer Ricci Doctoral Research Fellowship Recommendation Letter for xxxxxx (the name of the fellowship applicant)”

For questions and inquiries, please write to Dr. Xiaoxin Wu, Administrative Director of the Ricci Institute at: wu@usfca.edu. For more information about the USF Ricci Institute’s resources, please visit. http://www.ricci.usfca.edu/collections.html For more information about previous activities of the Ricci Institute’ Research Fellows, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/usfricci Also see our new Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClHhRDgxMIZCus1tLCgo2-Q

^[*] We aim to begin the virtual part of the program with an orientation program on Friday, June 4. Ideally, we would hope that fellowship recipients would travel to the U.S. and be present at the Ricci Institute to begin the second phase at USF on Monday, July 5. These dates may need to be adjusted (e.g. a postponement until Monday, July 12) once it becomes clear (over the next few months) [1] what the new U.S. visa and travel policy will be, including COVID-related restrictions; and [2] when USF will allow on-campus activities to resume during the summer months. The USF President has announced that the feasibility of summer activities will depend on the situation with the pandemic.

CALL FOR 2021 SUMMER LUCE POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS

This fellowship is open to post-doctoral level applicants, including Junior Faculty members and researchers (i.e. normally within five years of having received the PhD degree). We invite research proposals primarily based on the archival collections at the Ricci Institute in preparation for research publications. Topics of enquiry may include Chinese-Western cultural history, history of Christianity in East Asia (China, Japan, and/or Korea), comparative studies of Christianity and cultures in China, Japan, and Korea, and Vietnam. The aim of the fellowship is to offer recipients the unique opportunity to conduct research and to prepare manuscripts for publication that focus on archival, historiographical, and methodological issues that are relevant to different areas of Christianity and cultures in East Asia. Recipients are also expected to present their work and actively participate in all regularly organized research seminars at the Ricci Institute.

The entire fellowship program will be three-months long. Barring any unforeseeable circumstances due to the pandemic, both nationally and internationally, the Ricci Institute is planning to conduct this year’s fellowship in two phases. The first phase will be 4-6 weeks from June 4 to early/mid-July with virtual academic activities through the Zoom platform. The second phase, 4-5 weeks from early/mid-July to August 31, will require fellowship recipients to be physically in residence at the Ricci Institute conducting research and interacting with other scholars on site.^[1]

Participation in all activities is mandatory throughout the program, and exceptions will require approval well in advance. The stipend is up to $4,500/month. Candidates are highly encouraged to apply for any necessary supplemental funding for their travel and stay from their home institutions.

Applicants who are not U.S. Citizens or Legal Permanent Residents will need to contact the Ricci Institute well in advance for information regarding the following: (1) proof of English proficiency for non-native speakers, (2) visa application procedures, (3) health insurance requirements, and (4) other necessary documentation, depending on the country of provenance of the applicant. Because of possible ongoing travel restrictions and other additional documentation that might be required to travel to the U.S. (i.e. pre-flight proof of a negative COVID test), recipients who are not in the U.S. are asked to allow more time than would normally be necessary to prepare for their visa application (i.e. at least three months before travel).

Applicants should submit the following by February 28, 2021:

(1) a most recent Curriculum Vitae;

(2) a 5–10-page double-spaced statement with an outline of the proposed research and related activities, the contribution the scholar hopes to make in the relevant field(s), tentative plan for the publication of the research results, and how the research is related to and enriched by resources available at the USF Ricci Institute;

(3) a proposed budget and other funding sources, if any;

(4) two up-to-date letters of recommendation. All required documents must be in English.

Successful applications will be announced by mid-March 2021.

 All application documents should be submitted by email to fedulow@usfca.edu with the subject line: “2021 Summer Luce Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship Application”.

Letters of recommendation must be submitted directly from the recommenders on institutional letterhead electronically to: fedulow@usfca.edu with the subject line: “2021 Summer Luce Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship Recommendation Letter for xxxxxx (the name of the fellowship applicant)”

For questions and inquiries, please write to Dr. Xiaoxin Wu, Administrative Director of the Ricci Institute at: wu@usfca.edu. For more information about the USF Ricci Institute’s resources, please visit. http://www.ricci.usfca.edu/collections.html For more information about previous activities of the Ricci Institute’ Research Fellows, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/usfricci Also see our new Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClHhRDgxMIZCus1tLCgo2-Q

^[1] We aim to begin the virtual part of the program with an orientation program on Friday, June 4. Ideally, we would hope that fellowship recipients would travel to the U.S. and be present at the Ricci Institute to begin the second phase at USF on Monday, July 5. These dates may need to be adjusted (e.g. a postponement until Monday, July 12) once it becomes clear (over the next few months) [1] what the new U.S. visa and travel policy will be, including COVID-related restrictions; and [2] when USF will allow on-campus activities to resume during the summer months. The USF President has announced that the feasibility of summer activities will depend on the situation with the pandemic.

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The Centre for Chinese Visual Arts (CCVA) at Birmingham City University calls for papers in context of its 14th Aanual Conference “Transcultural Curation and the Post-Covid World” (2-3 December 2021). The Centre aims to sharpen understandings and perspectives of Chinese contemporary arts, design and visual culture through interdisciplinary practices and theoretical studies. The two-day conference invites researchers, curators, artists, designers and practitioners at all stages of their careers to reassess the significance of transcultural curation, both before and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The idea of the ‘transcultural’ is currently gaining momentum in academic, curatorial and artistic contexts, providing a framework for thinking through non-hegemonic global exchanges and knowledge production. Highlighting entanglements between and within cultures, the transcultural provides a new set of ethical, methodological and theoretical concerns, as well as a timely platform for curatorial and artistic practices in the globalised art world. How do exhibitions of Chinese contemporary art engage with the ideas and possibilities of transcultural curation, and with what kinds of political imaginaries? In what ways is Chinese contemporary art mobilised through international exhibitions situated in between institutional, commercial, independent art spaces and beyond?

Following the arrival of the coronavirus, the normal, globalised art world is in a state of suspension. From the closure or delay of biennials/triennials around the world, restricted access to art venues, to virtual exhibitions and programmes, what is the new role of a curator? With the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, the increasing geopolitical, economic and cultural conflicts between China and its Western allies, the rise of racist attacks against Chinese in the diaspora, what does the ‘transcultural’ mean in the post-Covid context?

Drawing on the rich history and debates on decolonial approaches that move beyond binaries and static positions of East-West, at the current pivotal moment, we are exploring innovative discussions, new understandings and methodological approaches in curatorial research and practice. This conference seeks to open up new modes of enquiry within the fields of art, curation, visual culture and cultural studies in China, and beyond.

Possible perspectives for proposals include, but are not limited to:

• Curating China as a method
• Transcultural and transnational
• Production, dissemination, participation and reception of Chinese contemporary art in a global context
• Relations between international exhibitions and (de)globalisation
• Tensions between the local and the global, between the indigenous and the international
• Curatorial strategies and practices during and after the Covid-19 pandemic
• Curatorial visions for the art of contemporary China in the post-Covid world

Please submit an abstract of up to 300 words, a 100-word biography, contact information and any institutional affiliations, by 31 March 2021 to ccva@bcu.ac.uk, with a subject titled ‘14^th CCVA Annual Conference’. Any general queries should also be directed to ccva@bcu.ac.uk. Conference presentations should last no more than 20 minutes. Successful proposals for conference contributions will be notified no later than 1 May 2021. Invited full papers should be submitted by 31 March 2022, for the Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art (Intellect)’s special double edition 9.2&3 edited by Professor Jiang Jiehong and Dr. Nuria Querol to be published in the autumn 2022.

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