UCCA Beijing

In|visible: Alternative White Cubes

2017.8.20
14:00-16:00

Conversation
Location:  Workshop
Language:  English with Chinese translation

How much visibility does queer art currently afford in China? During the month of August, UCCA will be holding a series of events, including artist conversations, panel discussions, and screenings, aimed at helping the public answer this question.

In his final collection of writings, philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty describes the creation of art as the intertwining of the visible and the invisible. Queer art gives physical expression to that which is often invisible to the public, and thus dismantle the dichotomy between “inside and outside.” For the audience, Merleau-Ponty states that the act of perception is not a neutral process, but rather necessarily creative. Therefore visibility for queer art is vital in allowing audiences to not only interact with the artists and share in their experiences, but also participate in the interweaving of the visible and the invisible.

The third event in the series will be a panel with the organizers of several independent spaces in Beijing. They will be discussing how independent spaces can improve visibility for underrepresented artists, whether it be through showing their work, providing a communal space, or collaborating on projects. What role do they play in conjunction with or perhaps in contrast to institutions? In addition to physical galleries, what other kinds of fluid alternative spaces are artists occupying? The panel will be moderated by UCCA English Editor Alvin Li.

Ticketing: Free

Note:

*Collect your ticket from reception 45 minutes before the event begins;

*Please no late entry;

*Seating is limited, and tickets must be collected individually;

*Please keep mobile devices on silent.

UCCA Membership Benefits

Scan the QR code below to sign up for UCCA membership and enjoy exclusive member benefits.

会员

For this event, UCCA members will enjoy:

• Exclusive seats reservation service

• Members-only guided tour

For UCCA members, please send us your name and mobile number to RSVP (ve@ucca.org.cn) or call UCCA membership hotline: +86 10 5780 0200

Schedule

13:00-13:20 Ticket pick-up at the reception desk (for UCCA members who RSVPed)

13:20-13:50 Exclusive UCCA members-only guided tour

13:30-14:00 Ticket distribution at the reception desk (for UCCA members who didn’t RSVP and non-members)

14:00-16:00 conversation

*Please arrive promptly.

Guests

Anna-Viktoria Eschbach (Co-founder of I: project space, curator)

Anna-Viktoria Eschbach is a Hungarian-German curator based in Beijing. She is co-founder and director at the art space and residency program I: project space, and one of the three publishers at the Swiss-Chinese publishing platform tria. With her partner at I: project space Antonie Angerer, she started the Independent Art Space Festival in Beijing, and the long-term research projects Beijing22 and Feminist South. In addition to curating exhibitions, she works as a writer for various magazines, and is the China correspondent for the Hungarian art magazine Műértő.

Geisel Cabrera (Curator)

Geisel Cabrera is a cultural administrator and curator particularly interested in the contending realities of contemporary China. He has participated in the organization of music and film festivals in Beijing, and currently helps at Meridian Space with its Meridian Borderline Program, a program that focuses mainly on avant-garde/experimental music and film.

Maoyi (Artist, Co-founder of Q-space)

Maoyi is a freelance designer/illustrator currently residing in Beijing, and hailing from southeast China. She is a co-founder of Q-space, a feminist queer space in Beijing’s hutongs. She is actively involved with Beijing’s LGBT community and feminist groups, collectively working on digital arts, queer art collaboration, and feminist film projects.

Alvin Li (English editor, UCCA)

Alvin Li is a writer, researcher, translator, and queer activist based in Beijing, where Li is currently English editor of Ullens Center for Contemporary Art. Li recently co-curated the group exhibition, “The New Normal: Art and China in 2017,” at the Center. Particularly interested in gender variance and queerness, as well as their implications for community practices and social relations, Li has been organizing queer film festivals, monthly screenings, and community-oriented events in Shanghai for three years. Li is the co-founder of an unrefined queer underground collective named CINEMQ, known for hopping around clubs in Shanghai to screen queer short films and throw badass parties. Li is the guest curator of a queer screening program for Para Site’s summer exhibition “In Search of Miss Ruthless”; titled ”Pièce Touchée”, the program will debut at Para Site on September 10th.