Contemporary Art in China, U-M Museum of Art

Center for Chinese Studies Public Lecture Series

University of Michigan – Fall 2009

Contemporary Art in China:

Where has it come from and where is it heading?

A talk by Dr. Melissa Chiu
Museum Director and Vice President of Global Art Programs
Asia Society Museum, New York

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

6:30pm: Reception to meet the author

Commons Area ▪ First floor ▪ UMMA Frankel wing

7:30pm: Presentation

Stern Auditorium ▪ Lower Level ▪ UMMA Frankel wing

U-M Museum of Art

525 South State Street

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1354

Free and Open to the Public

Many assume that Chinese contemporary art emerged five years ago when the market was established through record-breaking auctions but this belies a much longer history. Melissa Chiu’s lecture is designed to shed light on the early experimental developments in the Chinese art world through an analysis of the past three decades with specific attention on how these artists responded to local conditions while also keenly aware of their international audiences.

Dr. Melissa Chiu is Director of the Asia Society Museum in New York and Vice President of the Society's Global Arts Programming. She was appointed director in 2004 after serving for three years as the Museum's first curator of contemporary Asian and Asian American art. As a leading authority on Asian contemporary art, she has initiated a number of major initiatives at the Asia Society Museum, including the launch of a contemporary art collection to complement the museum's outstanding Rockefeller Collection of traditional Asian art. Prior to joining Asia Society, Chiu was Founding Director of the Asia-Australia Arts Centre in Sydney, Australia (1996–2001). She earned her Ph.D. in Art History and M.A. in Arts Administration in her native Australia.

This presentation is sponsored by the U-M Center for Chinese Studies of the International Institute, the LSA Museum Theme Year, and the U-M Museum of Art.

For more information, please contact the U-M Center for Chinese Studies at 734-764-6308 or at chinese.studies@umich.edu.

Ena Schlorff

Program Coordinator

Center for Chinese Studies

4668 SSWB

University of Michigan

1080 S. University

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106

tel: 734-764-4189

fax: 734-764-5540

website: http://www.ii.umich.edu/ccs