The history of Chinese contemporary art has undergone development over the last 40 years. In the cultural domain of China, contemporary art is regarded as an important cultural phenomenon which has received great attention from many fields. Among international cultural exchanges, “contemporary art” as an international art form, is playing an increasingly important role. In the new epoch, the need for research in Chinese contemporary art is even more urgent. As the international status of China has risen, Chinese contemporary art now serves as an important part of culture, thus the development of Chinese contemporary art and the circumstances it faces are obviously more complicated. Whether it is from a desire to promote the self-confidence of Chinese culture or that it is based on the international situation of Chinese contemporary art, re-examining the current situation, issues, ideological resources and future trends of Chinese contemporary art remains an urgent topic.

The topic of “Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in the Global Context” takes “Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art” in the global context as the research object, while combining with the promotion, criticism, analysis and research of Chinese contemporary art by international critics across the world over the past 40 years. From the perspectives of text editing, exhibition feedback, knowledge composition, and analysis of the strength of discourse, it will make a detailed analysis and research on the global criticism confronted by Chinese contemporary art.

If “Chinese contemporary art” was a model, then the global criticism on Chinese contemporary art is like a “mirror.” This mirror may be objective or not. The research on the “mirror” reflects the texture of the “mirror”, the angle of light refraction and the craftsmanship of the manufacturer. In other words, the research on “criticism” itself is not only a textual study, but also refers to a knowledge archeology of its basis, perspective, and judgment. Most of the previous researches have centered on “Chinese Contemporary Art.” This symposium is the first one to focus on “ Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in the Global Context” and it has an important academic value for the development in Chinese contemporary art.

In this context, to further deepen related research, CAFA China Literature and Art Criticism Center plans to hold a symposium on “Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in the Global Context” at the Central Academy of Fine Arts at the end of 2020. 

The symposium and call for thesis are supported by the China Literature and Art Criticism Center of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Sponsored by China Central Academy of Fine Arts(abbr. CAFA), specific activities are undertaken by the CAFA China Literature and Art Criticism Center and CAFA Office of Academic Research, and it is co-organized by the Editorial Office of CAFA Journal.

On the basis of the Selected Theses of Criticism of Chinese Fine Arts in the Twentieth Century and Selected Theses of Criticism of Western Art in the Twentieth Century published by CAFA Literature and Art Criticism Center, the organizer will select outstanding theses and publish the Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in the Global Context (Volume I). As the activity progress develops year by year, more excellent theses will gradually be collected and published. You are welcome to pay continuous attention to the academic research on the theme and recommend the research achievements to CAFA Literature and Art Criticism Center.

Thesis Themes:

Theme I: Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art Research in Various Regions

1. Research on Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in North America

2. Research on Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in South America

3. Research on Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in Europe

4. Research on Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in Australia

5. Research on Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in Africa

6. Research on Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in East Asia

7. Research on Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia

8. Research on Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan

9. Research on Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in the Mainland of China

Note: The above theme selection is just limited to the region, which is convenient for the classification of theses. The researcher can choose the topic freely without corresponding to the above geographical limitation. The thesis put forward for this symposium can conduct research on the overall criticism of Chinese contemporary art from a global perspective, or it can also develop sub-topics under the above themes, such as the research of criticism of Chinese contemporary art in the United States, the research of criticism of Chinese contemporary art in France; the research of criticism of Chinese contemporary art in New York, or the research of criticism of Chinese contemporary art in London, etc..

Since Selected Theses of Criticism of Chinese Fine Arts in the Twentieth Century has been distributed by CAFA China Literature and Art Criticism Center, theses focused on “Research on the Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in the Mainland of China” mainly refer to the research of critical articles and monographs in the Mainland of China.

Theme II: Research on “Holding Exhibitions and Critical Responses”

The exhibitions mentioned here include not just important international contemporary art exhibitions that Chinese artists participated in, such as Venice Biennale, Kassel Documenta, Sao Paulo Biennale, Gwangju Biennale, etc., but they also include important international solo exhibitions of artists, as well as important international art fairs involving Chinese art institutions. Besides, they also include exhibitions featuring Chinese contemporary art presented by important international art institutions, such as the exhibition of INK held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Critical responses refer to publication and reports on the above exhibitions in magazines, domestic and foreign academic theses published by online media and so on.

The call for theses on this theme refers to research on the above-mentioned “critical responses.”

Theme III: Fine Arts Publication and Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art

The theme of “Fine Arts Publication” mainly refers to monographs on “Chinese contemporary art” from China and foreign countries, or research on Chinese contemporary art has been included in the monographs on Chinese or international art history and art criticism. This themed thesis should consist of two parts: one part refers to the introduction to related monographs, and the other part refers to research theses written on the above monographs.

Requirements for Theses

1.The thesis should be in line with the research scope of the theme for this symposium. Both Chinese and English articles are acceptable, with Chinese characters (or equivalent) between 6000-12000. As there are special circumstances, the thesis requirements are relaxed.

2. Scholars who are interested in participating in this symposium and presenting their theses should please send the electronic version of their theses (in Microsoft Word format) to the conference: dadaliubin@vip.126.com, and put the title of “Call for Thesis for the Symposium on Criticism of Chinese Contemporary Art in the Global Context” in the subject of the email before November 15, 2020.

3. The organizer will confirm the selected theses before November 30, 2020, and will issue formal invitations and conference notices to the authors.

Contact information:

Office TEL/ +8610-64771307

Liu Libin / +86 133 6666 9326

Wu Jingying / +86 132 6947 8443

Looking forward to your active participation!

CAFA China Literature and Art Criticism Center

CAFA Office of Academic Research

Translated by Sue/CAFA ART INFO