In the first half of this two-panel symposium, panelists will talk about their curatorial practice in traditional museums and institutions, newly emerged private museums, as well as galleries, while discussing different strategies in building public and private collections. Karin Oen, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, is going to discuss the interconnected exhibitions and program of the museum as its modern and contemporary art program bourgeons. Former Senior Curator of Chinese Art at The Asian Art Museum and now a consulting curator, Michael Knight will offer us precious insights into the different surroundings working with public institutions and private clients. Independent Curator and former Director of Visual Arts at YBCA, Betti-Sue Hertz will give an insightful and fresh talk about her curatorial research at the HOW Art Museum in Shanghai, where she focused on contemporary art and environmentalism.
Devoted to unfolding current discourses in academia and writing in the evolving art ecosystem, panelists in Panel Two will examine the values and functions of art criticism, research, and publication as well as their relevance in the global, commercial and digital age. Richard Vine, Managing Editor of Art in America, is going to unveil the problematic perception of western eyes when seeing Asia Art, while Shengtian Zheng, Adjunct Director for the Institute of Asian Art at Vancouver Art Gallery, will share with us the 16 years of publishing Yishu, the first English language journal focusing on Chinese contemporary art and culture, where he serves as the Managing Editor. Entitled “What You See is What You See”, art critic Lilly Wei‘s talk will demonstrate her approaches to art criticism and address issues relevant to art critics and their audiences today. Professor John Zarobell from University of San Francisco, author of Art and the Global Economy, will center his talk on the research and writing on global art, and the notion of displacement in particular.
Asian Art Now: Curating, Collecting, and Writing the Contemporary, the 2018 Asia Week San Francisco Bay Area Symposium is jointly sponsored by NanHai Art, Christie’s, and The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
