A Bilingual (English and Chinese) Online Workshop

How are “queer” art and visual culture situated in the contemporary Sinosphere? What are the latest questions posed by Sinophone cultural producers in the fields of queer artmaking, curating and academic writing?
 We are pleased to announce the Zoom workshop on the theme of “QUEERING THE BOUNDARIES OF THE ARTS IN THE SINOSPHERE.” Our workshop aims to investigate the contact zones in which Sinophone queer artists, writers, curators, and cultural activists meet, cooperate, and occasionally conflict with each other. Besides, we will examine the intersectional layers of time and spaces, which shape heterogeneous representations of queerness in the Sinosphere. Moreover, we hope to establish a sustainable network that will amplify non-binary voices, by bringing together internationally-established and emerging Sinophone queering artists, activists, curators, and scholars in these fields.


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PROGRAM
All Times Listed are in CEST (UTC+2) 

*All Chinese names in the timetable are written in the sequence of surname and name.
*Each speaker will give a 15-min presentation followed by a 5-min Q&A session for urgent questions. Then the panelists will join a 1.5hr Roundtable & Discussion. A team of professional interpreters will offer simultaneous interpretation throughout the workshop.

Thursday, 27.05.2021

ARTISTIC AND ACTIVIST CROSSOVER
Chair: Helen Hess
13:00 Welcome & Introduction by Prof. Dr. Bärbel Küster and Tan Diyi
13.30 Fan Popo, How to cook noodles in a pandemic?
13.50 Wei Tingting, Queer and Feminist Art Practices: How to start a campaign with art and transform activism into an artwork?
14.10 Shi Tou, Artist Talk: Three Artwork Series by Shi Tou
14.30 Break
14.45-16.15 Roundtable and Discussion: Queer Art, Activism and Mutual Support moderated by Prof. Dr. Andrea Riemenschnitter

Friday, 28.05.2021

ARTIST AND CURATOR TALKS
Chair: Tan Diyi
08.30 Xiyadie, Same-sex Love: “Frog in the Well” Looking for A Wider Sky
08.50 Wei Yimu, A kid taught me how to draw “Schnäbi,” but my penis paintings arouse no sexual desire.
09.10 Whiskey Chow, A View from the Bottom
09.30 Gandalf, The Art of Vulnerability: Communication and Subjectivity in Rope Bondage
09.50 Break
10.15 Roundtable & Discussion: Personal Stories— Queering Gender Binarism and Embracing Vulnerability moderated by Dr. Michael Birchall

11. 45 Lunch Break

READING AND WRITING QUEERNESS
Chair: Jin Sujie
13.00 Shen Xiyu, Reading Danmei Novels Through a Queer Lens
13.20 Bao Hongwei, Theatre of Cruelty: Performing Gay History and Queer Desire in East Palace, West Palace
13.40 Dian Dian, A Genealogy of the Translingual Practice of “Ku’er” and “Lala”
14.00 Break
14.15-15.45 Roundtable & Discussion: Writing (on) “Queer”— Representing Queer in the Sinosphere moderated by Tan Diyi and Jin Sujie

Saturday, 29.05.2021

BODY AND POLITICS IN CHINA’S ART
Chair: Helen Hess
09.00 Li Xinmo, Queerness and Image Writing
09.20 Ma Yanhong, Body Portraits
09.40 Juan Xu, Queer as Anti-Mainstream Aesthetics
10.00 Break
10.20 Roundtable & Discussion: The Other Bodies in Chinese Female-authored Art moderated by Prof. Dr. Dorota Sajewska

11. 45 Lunch Break

QUEERING TEMPORALITIES
Chair: Mehmet Berkay Sülek
13.00 Film Screening: Kung Hei Fat Choy N+ (1hr12min, En. Cn. subtitles)
14.20 Wang Qian, Queering the Time-Space (de)Compression — Concepts and Practices of Tuku in Dance Film Kung Hei Fat Choy N+
14.40 Tan Diyi, The Queering of Aesthetics and Positionalities: Revisiting the “Gaps” between Histories, Memories and Aspiration
15.00 Zeng Burong, Non-Taster: A Photo Essay about A Loss of Taste and Ramen Breakfast
15.20 Break
15.35-17.05 Roundtable & Discussion: Queering Temporalities and Lowbrow Culture moderated by Susanne Huber
17.05-17.15 Ending Remark

*Equivalent times for other time zones (For Full Day Participation):
Beijing – Thursday, 07.00-10.15 PM; Friday, 02.30-09.45 PM; Saturday, 03.00-11.15 PM
Tokyo – Thursday, 08.00-11.15 PM; Friday, 03.30-10.45 PM; Saturday, 04.00-12.15 PM
New York - Thursday 07.00-10.15 AM; Friday, 02.30-09.45 AM; Saturday, 03.00-11.15 AM
London - Thursday, 12.00 AM-03.15 PM; Friday, 07.30AM-02.45 PM; Saturday, 08.00AM-04.15 PM

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Registration is required. To join the workshop, please fill out our RSVP form by May 26, 2021: https://queeringartsinosphere.com/blog/

You will receive a notification email after you have successfully completed the registration. One or two days before the opening of this workshop, we will forward the Zoom link to registered participants. Please notice that the number of attendees is limited (max. 160). If you have any questions regarding the workshop or difficulties with registration, please send us an email: infoqueeringartsinosphere.com.

This workshop is funded by the Graduate campus and the Graduate school of the University of Zurich. (https://www.grc.uzh.ch/en.html)

The organizers of this workshop especially thank Prof. Dr. Bärbel Küster, Prof. Dr. Andrea Riemenschnitter, Prof. Dr. Hans Bjarne Thomsen, Prof. Dr. Dorota Sajewska, Prof. Dr. Jeroen de Kloet, Dr. Bao Hongwei, Dr. Michael Birchall, Dr. Milena Guthörl, Dr. Qian Wang, and Ergao Art Production Group for their kind support!

(Diyi Tan, Justyna Jaguscik, Mehmet Berkay Sülek, Helen Hess and Sujie Jin)