In April 2000, Zheng Shengtian organized an international group of several members of the curatorial team of documenta 11 to visit China. After the meeting, Xu Jiang and Gao Shiming published an article titled ‘The Concept of the Global and the Circumstances of Chinese Contemporary Art—Written After the Visit of the documenta 11 Curatorial Team’.

In 2001, Zheng Shengtian and Lu Jie jointly wrote to Xu Jiang, then Vice President of China Academy of Art, to suggest the establishment of the first curator’s workshop in the Chinese-speaking regions, to train professional art curators. They also submitted a ‘Curator Workshop Plan.’

In 2002, Lu Jie initiated the ‘Long March—A Walking Visual Display’, with Qiu Zhijie serving as the executive curator. The display followed a historical timeline, with twenty planned implementation points, covering 12 points in four months, later establishing the ‘25,000 Cultural Transmission Center’ in Beijing’s 798. The project emphasised thought and dialogue through walking and practice, creatively reflecting on the established linguistic paradigms of contemporary Chinese and international art through international and local relationships held in collective memory.

In the same year, Xu Jiang launched the large-scale project ‘Edges of the Earth: Migration of Contemporary Asian Art and Regional Politics’, with Gao Shiming as the executive planner and Qiu Zhijie as the documentary director. This project adopted visual culture research methods, inviting art historians, curators, artists, designers, and scholars to visit cities important to the development of contemporary Asian visual culture, such as Bangkok, Tokyo, Kyoto, Tehran, Istanbul, and Hangzhou. The research team set different discussion themes based on the geographical and cultural characteristics of each city, conducting surveys of various forms of contemporary art practiced in different cultural spaces, in an effort to to examine the ways contemporary art is recognized and differentiated within the complex cultural realities of diverse regions.

These two almost simultaneous curatorial projects demonstrated an attitude and approach distinct from the conventional curating practices of the time—critical awareness of global cultural politics, intellectual capacity oriented towards history and fieldwork, interaction with the intellectual community, and the positions and stances of the individuals involved. More importantly, they showcased a determination to advance artistic practice beyond the field of art.

Consequently, in 2003, China Academy of Art officially established the first curation program in China, named the ‘Visual Culture Research Center’, with Xu Jiang serving as the director, and Gao Shiming, Qiu Zhijie, and Johnson Chang as deputy directors. Lu Jie, Lu Xinghua, and others were appointed as research mentors. This center was the precursor to ICAST. It was focused on cultural research, discourse practice, media research, and ideological critique, aiming to explore the visual systems and display culture of contemporary society beyond contemporary art, thereby promoting curatorial practice from a broader perspective. Since its inception, ICAST has led numerous projects deeply involved in cultural and political discourses and social thought movements.

In 2002, Xu Jiang began his tenure as the Academic Committee Director for both the Shanghai Biennale and the Guangzhou Triennial. Over the following decade, under Xu Jiang’s leadership, the academic committees of China’s contemporary art biennials and triennials adhered to a rigorous academic approach, emphasizing the concept of ‘global—local’ and utilizing the city, broadening the international horizons of the events, elevating curatorial technique and intellectual depth within China’s cultural system in the new century, and significantly furthering the development of Chinese contemporary art.

Xu Jiang launched the large-scale project ‘Edges of the Earth：Migration of Contemporary Asian Art and Regional Politics’, with Gao Shiming as the executive planner and Qiu Zhijie as the documentary director. This project adopted visual culture research methods, inviting art historians, curators, artists, designers, and scholars to visit cities important to the development of contemporary Asian visual culture, such as Bangkok, Tokyo, Kyoto, Tehran, Istanbul, and Hangzhou.

The ‘Long March Project’ launched, with Lu Jie served as chief curator, and Lu Jie and Qiu Zhijie as executive curators. The four-month journey covered the route: Ruijin and Jinggangshan in Jiangxi—Daoxian in Guangxi—Kunming and Lijiang in Yunnan—Lugu Lake (Yunnan/Sichuan)—Guikun Railway—Zunyi and Maotai in Guizhou—Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Daliangshan, Moxi and Anshunchang in Sichuan—Dadu River. In April of the following year, the ‘25000 Cultural Transmission Center’ was established at Beijing 798, which later became known as ‘Long March Space’.

The first Guangzhou Triennial ‘Reinterpretation: A Decade of Experimental Chinese Art (1990-2000)’ was held, with Qiu Zhijie curating the 90s’ Chinese Cinema section.

The academic symposium ‘Edge of the Earth: Cultural Imagination, Sensibility, and Polysemic Modernity in Non-Western Contexts’ was held, featuring themed lectures by over twenty artists, scholars, and curators from around the world.

China Academy of Art established the Visual Culture Research Center, the predecessor of ICAST, with Xu Jiang serving as director and Gao Shiming, Qiu Zhijie, and Johnson Chang as deputy directors. Lu Jie, Lu Xinghua, and others were appointed as research mentors. The research directions were set to include Visual Communication, Visual Culture, Image Studies, and Visual Analysis.

In 2004, Xu Jiang and Johnson Chang served as academic judges for the Tehran International Biennale in Iran.

Xu Jiang was the chief curator of ‘Techniques of the Visible: The Fifth Shanghai Biennale’, with Zheng Shengtian as co-curator, and Gao Shiming as assistant curator. This biennale used the principal spaces for contemporary image production and consumption—such as the ‘film studio’, ‘theater, ‘darkroom’, ‘painting studio’, and ‘cinema’—as its framework. It constructed a multi-layered system of discourse and narrative around ‘image-existence’.

Johnson Chang curated ‘Yellow Box’ in Taipei, Taiwan.

Qiu Zhijie curated the second ‘Triennial of Chinese Art: Archaeology of the Future’ at Nanjing Museum.

Gao Shiming curated ‘Microcosm: Chinese Contemporary Art’ at Macau Museum of Art.

Johnson Chang and Gao Shiming co-curated Yellow Box: Qingpu.

Qiu Zhijie curated ‘Second Songzhuang Art Festival: New Folk Arts Movement — Reconstructing Public Life’, with Ye Nan and Liu Tian (PhD, 2012) as assistant curators.

Gao Shiming curated the exhibition ‘Parable: Depths of Reality’ based on the concept of ‘microscopy’.

China Academy of Art established the ‘Curatorial Studies and Administration” program in the Department of Art Theory, with Gao Shiming, Qiu Zhijie, and Johnson Chang. Another precursor of ICAST, following the establishment of the Visual Culture Research Center, it was at this stage that ICAST began to enroll MA students.

Gao Shiming was the chief planner of ‘The Alchemy of Shadows: Third Lianzhou International Photo Festival’, with a curatorial team including Johnson Chang, Guo Xiaoyan, Qiu Zhijie, and Sun Shanchun, and assistant curators Tang Suo (MA, 2009) and Sun Datang (MA, 2007).

Qiu Zhijie initiated the first ‘Miscellaneous Grains: Exhibition of Chinese Experimental Art Education and Creation’ at China Academy of Art. The project included ‘Miscellaneous Grains UNPACK—Chinese Experimental Art Education’ and ‘Creation Exhibition, 18 Teaching Cases: China Experimental Art Education Curriculum Exhibition’, and ‘Pink is the New Red: Miscellaneous Grains’. Invitations were extended to outstanding educators in experimental art education from major art institutions across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, as well as renowned artists who have made a deep impact on contemporary art education. They were invited to participate in the exhibition to showcase and share the experiences and latest achievements of contemporary art education and creativity in China, and to explore the complex relationship between contemporary art and institutional frameworks. Tang Suo (MA, 2009) also served as an assistant curators and was involved in the planning process.

Gao Shiming, Sarat Maharaj, and Johnson Chang co-curated ‘The Third Guangzhou Triennial: Farewell to Post-Colonialism’ which included mobile forums held at various locations including Tate Modern, Guangzhou Art Museum, China Academy of Art, Beijing University, and Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (a total of eight locations). Research members included Dorothee Albrecht, Sopawan Boonnimitra, Stina Edblom, Tamar Guimaraes, Guo Xiaoyan, Steven Lam, and Khaled Ramadan. Tang Xiaolin (PhD, 2010) served as assistant curator, and Liu Xiao (MA, 2010) was a key member of the working team.

The ‘Visual Culture and Curatorial Studies’ program enrolled its first two PhD students, with advisors Xu Jiang, Fan Di’an, Gao Shiming, and Johnson Chang. This marked yet another precursor to ICAST, following both the Visual Culture Research Center and the “Curatorial Studies and Administration” program. It was at this stage that ICAST began to recruit doctoral students.

Gao Shiming curated ‘On Top of a Thousand Mountains’, part of China’s invitation to Europalia at the Royal Court of Brussels, based on the core concept of ‘Shan Shui: Art with a World Outlook’.

Xu Jiang served as Artistic Director for the Shanghai World Expo.

China Academy of Art integrated the former Department of New Art, Department of Integrated Art, and the Curatorial Studies and Administration program from the School of Art and Humanities, to establish the School of Intermedia Art, the first contemporary art school in China. The Curatorial Studies and Administration program of the School of Art and Humanities were reorganized into the Institute of Contemporary Art and Social Thought (ICAST), which was incorporated into the School of Intermedia Art. The graduate program was renamed to Contemporary Art and Curatorial Studies, a title it maintains to this day. That year, the program admitted six MA students and three doctoral students.

Zhang Songren, Chen Kuan-Hsing, and Gao Shiming jointly launched the Western Heavens project, initiating the forum ‘Western Heavens: India-China Summit on Social Thought’. This included 14 lectures and discussions held at institutions such as Shanghai Art Museum, China Academy of Art, Fudan University, and Zhejiang University. Participants included Sarat Maharaj, Raqs Media Collective, Prasenjit Duara, Partha Chatterjee, Homi K. Bhabha, Xu Jiang, Chen Chuanxing, Qiu Zhijie, Chen Jieren, Ho Tzu Nyen, Zhao Jingrong, Zhao Tingyang, Dai Jinhua, Ni Wei, and Wang Hui.

Gao Shiming (along with Fan Di’an and Li Lei) served as the curator for ‘Rehearsal: Eighth Shanghai Biennale’. ICAST faculty and students participated in the exhibition production. In June, the ‘first act’ of the ‘Rehearsal’ project, titled “Ho Chi Minh Trail,” was organized in collaboration with Long March Project, involving a field trip with participants including Gao Shiming, Lu Jie, Wang Jianwei, Lu Xinghua, Wu Shanzhuan, Liu Wei, Wang Jiahao, Xu Zhen, Zhang Hui, Zhang Songren, and Chen Jieren. The ‘second act’, ‘Guiding Lights’ was held in collaboration with Performa Biennial in New York, and featured artists Liam Gillick and Anton Vidokle along with over twenty artists, critics, and curators. The ‘third act’, the ‘Rehearsal’ main exhibition, opened at the Power Station of Art in October, accompanied by the publication of a catalogue. The ‘fourth act’, ‘Theory and Practice of Socialist Self-Management: Yugoslavia’, was organized in collaboration with the international curatorial collective WHW and German artist group Gernot Faber. Between October 2010 and April 2011, eight ‘Post-Rehearsal’ lectures and workshops were held.

Johnson Chang initiated the ‘Jiali Hall’ project and launched the first International Ritual Studies Symposium in 2012. The second and third International Ritual Studies Symposiums were held at China Academy of Art in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Gao Shiming organized ‘Image vs Spectacle: The Political Economy of Image and Sound’ at China Academy of Art. Keynote speeches were given by Chen Chieh-Jen, Lin Chi-Wei, and Cheng Shih-Hwa. Discussions on performativity included scholars and artists such as Lu Xinghua, Chen Jiaying, Qiu Zhijie, Lin Chi-Wei, Gao Shiqiang, Zheng Bo, and Cheng Shih-Hwa, with active participation from students of the School of Intermedia Art’s various studios and research institutes.

Li Shengzhao (MA, 2007) won the second prize in the ‘Artforum Criticism Award’ for his paper ‘Contemporary Art drawn into the History of Thought: Xiamen Dada’.

Qiu Zhijie served as chief curator of ‘Reactivation: The 9th Shanghai Biennale’, with Liu Xiao (MA, 2010) as assistant curator. Hundreds of students from the School of Intermedia Art participated in the planning and organization of the exhibition. The biennale featured urban pavilions for the first time, with Huang Mi (along with Le Dadou and Ge Fulan) as project leader, assisting Qiu Zhijie in organizing over twenty ‘Pavilions’ across Shanghai. Tang Xiaolin (PhD, 2010) participated in editorial work.

Qiu Zhijie initiated the ‘Zhongshan Park Project’, with Yuan Wenshan (MA, 2011) and Tan Bin as assistant curators. By the end of 2013, the project had completed exhibitions and discussions in various locations, including Shanghai, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Danshui, Huadong, and Kinmen.

ICAST initiated the ‘Capital: Film Action workshop, hosting three sessions: Temporary Set—The Recurrence of History’ ，’Our “Capital” World’, and ‘The Symptoms of Capitalism’. The workshops were co-hosted by Gao Shiming and Lu Jie, with participation from Wu Shanzhuan, Wang Jianwei, Qingsi Yuan, Peter Anders, Rainer Stollmann, Ralph Obermauer, Hu Jieming, MadeIn (Xu Zhen), Guan Yi, Lu Xinghua, Zhao Qianfan, and Huang Jianhong. Key team members included Weng Zhenqi (MA, 2009), Tang Xiaolin (PhD, 2010), Gong Linlin (PhD, 2010), and Min Han (PhD, 2010).

The Inter-Asia School was founded by Johnson Chang, Chen Kuan-Hsing, and Gao Shiming. They invited Wang Hui, Ashis Nandy, Xu Jiang, and Partha Chatterjee to act as advisors, and established nine offices in Hangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Hsinchu, Hong Kong, Singapore-Malaysia, Okinawa, Tokyo, and Seoul. The school brought together dozens of scholars, thinkers, and artists from across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, as well as from Japan, South Korea, South-east Asia, and India to collaborate on research, teaching, conferences, exhibitions, performances, translations, and publications. Tang Xiaolin (PhD, 2010), Zhang Jing (MA, 2010), and Yuan Anqi (MA, 2012, PhD, 2016) were members of the Hangzhou office.

During the founding of the Inter-Asia School, ‘World in Transition, Imagination in Flux: Asian Circle of Thought 2012 Shanghai Summit’ was organized as part of the Ninth Shanghai Biennale. The forum invited six distinguished Asian thinkers—Wang Hui, Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Partha Chatterjee, Murakami Kiyoaki, Itagaki Yuzo, and Ashis Nandy—to deliver keynote speeches and engage in a week-long dialogue with over forty scholars and thinkers from across Asia.

Zheng Bo and Gao Shiming organized ‘Publics & Beyond’ in Shanghai, inviting Chen Chieh-Jen, Sun Ge, Mou Sen, Li Dawei, Ravi Sundaram, Wu Wenguang, and other scholars and artists from literature, art, anthropology, and media studies to discuss art and community.

Gao Shiming published the monograph ‘The Book of Action—On Curatorial Writing’ (Jincheng Press), with contained summaries of both the theory and practice of several curatorial projects led by him at ICAST, including ‘Edge of the Earth’, ‘Techniques of the Visible’, ‘Yellow Box’, ‘Farewell to Post-Colonialism’, ‘Rehearsal’, ‘Ho Chi Minh Trail’, and ‘Western Heavens’.

In 2013, the Chinese journal ‘New Art: Journal of China Academy of Art’, which ranks first among Chinese social sciences CSSCI journals, changed from being a bimonthly to a monthly publication. Each year, three issues (February, June, October) were dedicated to ‘New Media,’ with Gao Shiming as chief editor and ICAST faculty and students handling editorial work

Zhang Songren and Li Xu initiated the ‘Objects and Rituals: Aesthetic and Ethical Reflections’ seminar series at ICAST.

The book ‘Passage to History: 20 Years of La Biennale di Venezia and Chinese Contemporary Art’, compiled by Wang Yang (MA, 2008), was published by China Youth Publishing Group. Gao Shiming launched the ‘Contemporary Philosophy Research Series’ at ICAST, fostering close academic exchanges with leading international thinkers. In May, French philosopher Jacques Rancière presented a lecture titled ‘The Politics of Aesthetics: Equality as Method’, at China Academy of Art.

ICAST and the Goethe-Institut co-hosted the ‘Strategies of Reconciliation: Curatorial Practices’ symposium, featuring keynote speeches by Catherine David, Artistic Director of documenta 10, and scholar Sun Ge.

To commemorate the 85th anniversary of China Academy of Art, the exhibition ‘八五·85 —Dedicated to the 85th Anniversary of China Academy of Art’ was held, with Xu Jiang serving as academic director, Gao Shiming as chief curator, and Gao Shiqiang as chief director of video production. A curatorial team led by ICAST members Weng Zhenqi (MA, 2009) and Tang Xiaolin (PhD, 2010), and with participation from over a hundred faculty and students, created 85 short films themed around the artistic lives of 85 alumni from 1985. The exhibition opened at China Academy of Art Museum and a corresponding catalog was published by China Academy of Art Press. In November, the exhibition ’’85 and an Art Academy’ toured Beijing.

‘West Bund 2013: A Biennial of Architecture and Contemporary Art’ opened in Shanghai’s West Bund. Gao Shiming was the artistic curator, with Liu Xiao (MA, 2010), Wang Yan, and Liu Tian (PhD, 2012) as assistant curators. Mou Sen served as the narrator of the opening performance ‘Cloud Theater – Shanghai Odyssey’, with Ma Nan (PhD, 2012) and Liu Tian (PhD, 2012) as chief directors. Guo Xiaoyan and Liu Xiao (MA, 2010) curated the exhibition ‘Resolution Power: A Performative Video’, while Yao Dajun curated ‘RPM: Sound Art China’. These curatorial projects heightened the focus on media history and historical processes, onsite and creative thinking. Min Han (PhD, 2010), Song Zhenxi (MA, 2009), and Liu Yang (MA, 2012) curated ‘Hermit’s Springs: Calligraphy, Landscape Painting and Garden-making’ at Hangzhou West Lake Exposition Museum. Sun Ge taught a series of courses titled ‘What is History?’ at ICAST.

Zhang Songren and Gao Shiming curated ‘Han Art 100: Preferences’, and discussed ‘Three Artworlds’ at an academic forum held at the Hong Kong Arts Centre. The forum invited notable scholars and thinkers such as Johan F. Hartle, Boris Groys, Wang Yuejin, Lu Xinghua, John Rajchman, Qiu Zhijie, Huang Sunquan, Hammad Nasar, Cheng Meibao, Wang Xiaoming, and Bei Dao. Subsequently, the book ‘Three Artworlds: One Hundred Works in Modern Chinese History’ was published. Liu Tian (PhD, 2012), Zhang Yang (PhD, 2013), and Liu Yihong (PhD, 2013) led ICAST students in planning, organizing, and designing the exhibition.

Ma Nan (PhD, 2012) curated ‘Museum Cellar’, later selected for the second CAFAM Biennale ‘Invisible Hand: Curating as Gesture’.

Gao Chu and Zhang Jing (MA, 2010) curated ‘Ten Mile Inn: Rural Northern China (1947-1948) in the Eyes of David Crook’ at China Academy of Art Museum. Lu Ruiyang (MA, 2013) and Wei Shan (MA, 2013) served as assistant curators.

Gao Shiming, Guo Xiaoyan, and Zhang Jianling (MA, 2010) co-curated the opening exhibition ‘Tales from the Taiping Era’, at Red Brick Art Museum. Zhang Jianling (MA, 2010) presented the ‘Potential Literature’ workshop as part of ‘Tales from the Taiping Era’, inviting Jia Qin, Zhu Fa, Evil Bird, and Fen Lei to participate.

The Urban and Rural Art Workshop was established, with Qiu Zhijie as director and Yuan Wenshan (MA, 2011) as academic secretary. From 2014 to 2016, the institute established internship fieldwork bases at the Zhangzhou Urban Memory Center and Zhuji’s Dianqian and Datang. Currently, preparations are underway for ‘My Land and My People: Rural Art Exhibition’.

Wang Yang (MA, 2008) and Zhang Haoxi (MA, 2008) curated ‘Design as Enlightenment-Bauhaus Exhibition at the National Museum of China’, exploring Bauhaus’s impact on ideas, forms, materials, education, production, and everyday life. They also edited the publication ‘Bauhaus: Design as Enlightenment’.

Li Zhenhua launched the ‘Farewell, New Media Art’ workshop at the Intermedia Art Institute, inviting speakers such as Marc Glöde, Oron Catts, Marc Lee, Etoy, Mike Hentz, Xu Wenkai, Long Xinru and Zhou Jiangshan, and Li Zhenhua. The workshop became a required media studies course at ICAST.

Inter-Asia School held ‘Asian Thought Movement Report: 2014 Renjian Thought Forum’ at Gulou West Theater in Beijing. The Simplified Chinese version of ‘Renjian Thought’ journal was launched with Gao Shiming and He Zhaotian as editors-in-chief, and Chen Guangxing, Lu Zhenghui, Sun Ge, Xu Jiang, and Zhang Songren as advisors. Tang Xiaolin (PhD, 2010), Zhang Jing (MA, 2010), and Yuan Anqi (MA, 2012, PhD, 2016) served as editors. ‘Renjian Thought’ is published twice a year and has published eleven issues to date, covering topics including ‘1949 as A Human Event’, ‘Three Parallel Artworlds’, ‘New Democracy as A Human Event’, ‘Report on Asian Thought Movements’, ‘The New Man, Land, and the Nation’, ‘60 Years of Bandung/The Third World’, ‘New and Old, Reason and Time, Circumstances and Situation’, ‘How to be a People, How to be a Nation’, ‘Socialist Transformation as a Human Event’, ‘Third World Thought’, ‘The Fifties as Method’.

Inter-Asia School launched ‘Inter-Asia Biennale Summit’, with Huang Jianhong as convener of the Taipei base ‘Production Art’ and Huang Sunquan as convener of the Shanghai base ‘Till We Have Faces’.

The Open Matter Institute, consisting of Liu Tian (PhD, 2012), Li Shengzhao (MA, 2007), Song Zhenxi (MA, 2009), and Lu Ruiyang (MA, 2013) curated ‘Memorandum for Gaia’, which was selected for the first PSA Emerging Curators Projects.

China Academy of Art hosted the China-US Museum Directors Forum. The forum included 12 internationally renowned museum directors, such as Glenn David Lowry from Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Lawrence Robert Rinder from Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Kimerly Rorschach from Seattle Art Museum, Peggy Loar from the Asia Society Museum, Jay Xu from the Museum of Asian Art San Francisco, Connie Wolf from Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, and Neal David Benezra from San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, along with over ten domestic top-tier museum directors, scholars and artists from home and abroad. A total of more than 40 participants attended, with keynote speeches by Wang Jianwei, Qiu Zhijie, Pan Gongkai, and Shi Hui.

‘10th Shanghai Biennale: Social Factory’ opened at the Power Station of Art in Shanghai, with Anselm Franke serving as the chief curator, and Liu Xiao (MA, 2010) with Freya Chou and Cosmin Costinas serving as co-curators.

Gao Shiming launched the ‘Social Thought Series’ of courses at ICAST, inviting He Zhaotian to deliver the lectures ‘The Key Lies in the Sunshine: Revolution,Post-Revolution, Enlightenment, Post-Enlightenment and the Avant-Garde Art in Contemporary Mainland China’ and ‘When China Begins to Enter the World….’ Throughout 2014 and 2015, Gao Shiming continued to teach writing courses at ICAST, covering texts such as ‘The Zero Degree of Writing’, ‘The Mirror and the Lamp’, ‘Tradition and Individual Talent’, ‘The Function of Criticism’, ‘On the Power of Satanic Poetry’, and ‘The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte’.

Inter-Asia School hosted Inter-Asia Biennial Summit, with Johnson Chang and Hammad Nasar serving as conveners for the Kochi-Muziris section, ‘Circulation of Thought-Practice’ and ‘Formation of the Public’.

Liu Xiao (MA, 2010) and Weng Zhenqi (MA, 2009) curated ‘Won’t Somebody Bring the Light: Chen Chuanxing’s Spiritual History, Part One’ at Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum.

French theorist Bernard Stiegler was invited to be a guest professor at China Academy of Art, where he conducted a series of lectures and workshops titled ‘New Media·New Art’, initiating cutting-edge philosophical discussions with the Chinese art and intellectual communities. This led to the ‘Contemporary Philosophy Research Series Course’ at ICAST.

Johannes Schütz led a five-week Beckett Workshop with students from Düsseldorf and China Academy of Art’s School of Intermedia Art, ICAST participating in the translation of a series of short plays.

On the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference, Inter-Asia School organized the ’60 Years of Bandung/Third World’ forum, hosting various academic events in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Tokyo. The Hangzhou forum featured notable scholars and thinkers such as Samir Amin, Aditya Nigam, Sam Moyo, Mahmood Mamdani, and Junnya Yoshimi.

Liu Xiao (2010, MA) curated ‘Dark Side of the Moon,’ Liu Tian (PhD, 2012) curated ‘Currency and Borders’, and Fei Ting (MA, 2007) curated ‘Field Research on the Wari Beach Orphan School in Yushu, Qinghai’. These three projects featured as special invited projects in the inaugural exhibition ‘The Power of the Public Realm’ at Minsheng Museum of Modern Art, Beiijing.

The Social Network Research Centre was established, with Huang Sunquan as director, Xu Xu and Li Shijie as researchers, and Lu Ruiyang (2013, MA) and Zhang Cheng (2013, MA) as assistant researchers. For a long time since, ‘Social Network Studies’’ has been one of the core topics at ICAST, producing numerous MA’s and doctoral theses, with director Huang Sunquan deeply involved in the teaching at ICAST.

The Chinese Photography Research Centre was also established, with Gao Chu as director and Wei Xiaoyang (2012, MA) as assistant director. Ever since, ‘Image as History, and History as Image’ has been one of the core topics of study at ICAST, producing numerous MA’s and doctoral theses, with director Gao Chu has been deeply involved in teaching at ICAST.

Sun Ge was invited by ICAST’s ‘Social Thought Series’ to conduct a series of lectures titled ‘The Showa Historical Controversy’and also led the ‘History and People’ workshop.

Chen Kuan-hsing was invited by ICAST’s ‘Social Thought Series’ to lead the ‘Introduction to Asia as Method: Toward Deimperialization’ workshop.

ICAST and Long March Projects jointly launched Sheng Project, with Gao Shiming, Tang Xiaolin (PhD, 2010), and Zhang Yang (PhD, 2013) putting forward ‘A Proposal for “Sheng Project.” They led several ICAST students, including Cheng Yi (PhD, 2015) and Yuan Anqi (MA, 2012, PhD, 2016), to develop exhibition rehearsals and publications. The ‘Sheng Project’ curatorial workshops were held three times between 2015 and 2017, with the exhibition ‘Zheng Shengtian: I Was Supposed to Go to Mexico’ opening in 2021 at Long March Space.

Zhang Wei (PhD, 2013) and Yuan Wenshan (MA, 2011) curated ‘Time Disease: Controlled by the Will of Time’, which was selected for the second edition of the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art Young Curators Program. Zhang Wei’s article ‘Kabakov with His Belt Ripped’ won the IAAC International Art Criticism Award. Liu Han (MA, 2008) curated Touring Exhibition, China Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale and the ‘Exhibition of Young Chinese Artists’.

China Academy of Art launched the ‘Advanced Workshop on Curating Media Creation, featuring instructors Gao Shiming, Mou Sen, Yao Dajun, Zhang Lifen, Xu Yuyu, Huang Sunquan, Johnson Chang, Qiu Zhijie, Guan Huaibin, Lu Jie, Lu Xinghua, Gao Shiqiang, Shi Ke, Li Kaisheng, and Zhang Anding. The workshop was paired with Bernard Stiegler’s seminar ‘Art in the Anthropocene Era: Bernard Stiegler at China Academy of Art’, the second ‘Century: Sheng Project’ curatorial workshop, and David Joselit’s workshop titled ‘Exhibition in the Context of Globalization’.

Yuk Hui hosted a lecture and seminar on ‘The Question Of Technology in China’, which later became a Contemporary Philosophy Research course at ICAST.

Jia Qin held a series of lectures titled ‘Interpreting Words: The Audiovisual System of Shuowen Jiezi’ at the School of Intermedia Art. ‘Chinese Classical Thought’ was one of the core themes of ICAST, and ICAST began to integrate the ‘Shuowen Jiezi’ system into exhibition planning.

Inter-Asia School hosted the ‘Inter-Asia Biennial Summit’, with Kim Soyoung serving as the convener for the Gwangju section ‘Inter-Asia and Other Worlds: Insane Connectivities’. In December, Chen Kuan-hsing and Johnson Chang served as conveners for the Shanghai section ‘Learning from South Sudan’.

Gao Shiming curated the opening exhibition Shanshui ‘Manifesta’ at Gongwang Art Museum, centered on the theme ‘Shanshui, Art with a Worldview.’ Zhang Cheng (MA, 2013) was the assistant curator and editor of the publication of the same title. The exhibition featured a series of ‘Shanshui Forum’ lectures by Wang Shu, Gong Pengcheng, Sun Shanchun, Yu Zhenhong, Chen Runhua, and Jia Qin. The magazine ‘Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting’ published a special issue featuring articles taken from these extended lectures.

Liu Tian (PhD, 2012) was a member of the curatorial team, co-curator of the ‘Infra-Curatorial Platforms’, and project director of the ‘Theory Opera’ for the 2016 Shanghai Biennale ‘Why Not Ask Again: Arguments, Counter-arguments, and Stories’, which opened at the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, with Raqs Media Collective serving as chief curators. Liu Tian (PhD, 2012) along with Sabih Ahmed, Chen Yun, and Desi Moreno-Penson formed the curatorial team.

‘The Great Chain of Being—Planet Trilogy’, curated by Gao Shiming, with Mou Sen as chief narrator and Liu Tian as curator, was presented as the final stop at the 2016 Shanghai Biennale.

The Institute of Networked Society held its first annual conference ‘Forces of Reticulation’, initiated by Gao Shiming, Huang Sunquan, and Yuk Hui. Researchers from Europe, America, and Asia, including Matthew Fuller (Director of the Centre for Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London), Japanese researcher Azuma Hiroki, and Geert Lovink, presented research reports and shared practical thoughts on topics such as aesthetics, materiality, algorithms, and ecology. The Institute also published ‘Art in the Anthropocene Era: Bernard Stiegler’s lecture at China Academy of Art’ (translated by Lu Xinghua and Yuk Hui).This became a mandatory course at ICAST.

In collaboration with Inter-Asia School,China Academy of Art established the ‘Institute of Arts and Culture of Asia, Africa, and Latin America’, initiating the ‘Third World Action Plan’, presenting its events in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai.

The Chinese Photography Research Centre, in collaboration with the Zhejiang Photographers Association, presented ‘Lyrical and Epic’ focusing on eight Zhejiang-born photographers of the 1930s and 40s, including Yu Chuangshuo, Gao Fan, Lei Ye, Xu Xiaobing, Luo Bonian, Liu Xucang, Lang Jingshan, and Luo Guangda,. The exhibition was co-curated by Gao Chu and Liu Tian (PhD, 2012), with Wei Xiaoyang (MA, 2012) asexhibition coordinator. ICAST was responsible for case studies and curation.

From March to April, Xu Yuyu conducted a course and workshop titled ‘Gilbert Simondon On Technics’, which became the ‘Contemporary Philosophy Research’ course at ICAST.

He Zhaotian was invited by ICAST’s ‘Social Thought Series’’ to conduct a series of courses titled ‘The Cultural Unconscious of Contemporary China: Taking Yu Hua, Fang Lijun, and Jia Zhangke as Examples’.

Bernard Stiegler was invited to China Academy of Art to present ‘Lecture on Art and Education in the 21st Century: Art’, ‘Organogenesis and Transhumanism’, as well as a series of courses titled ‘Entropy and Work’，which became the ‘Contemporary Philosophy Research Series’ at ICAST.

ICAST organized ‘Latento: Considering the Potential of the Contemporary Moment’ workshop, initiated by Gao Shiming and Guan Huaibin, with Raqs Media Collective (India) and Liu Tian (PhD, 2012) serving as conveners. The workshop featured special guests Berno Odo Polzer (Austria), Lara Khaldi (Jordan), Prasad Shetty (India), Rakhee Balaram (USA), Sabih Ahmed (India), Santhosh Sadanandan (India), and Zhao Deli.

Taiwanese interdisciplinary thinker and Institute of Networked Society ‘Institute of Networked Society’ researcher Li Shijie conducted a series of courses on ‘Technical Objects From the Perspective of Man-Machine Culture and Computation’, which became a required course of ‘Networked Society Studies ‘at ICAST.

Brian Kuan Wood, editor of E-Flux magazine, held an ‘E-Flux Editor/Writer Sharing Session’ at China Academy of Art.

Open Matter Institute, initiated by Liu Tian (PhD, 2012) and Li Shengzhao (MA, 2007), launched the ‘Da-Da Manifesto’campaign, participating in the closing forum of ‘DADA100’ in Zurich.

The Institute of Networked Society held ‘The second Annual Conference of Networked Society: Another Walk with Lefebvre: Critique of Urbanism and Everyday Life in the Algorithmic Age’. The academic committee consisted of Gao Shiming, Guan Huaibin, Huang Sunquan, and Lu Xinghua. The conference aimed to rediscover Lefebvre’s work through the lens of contemporary urban and algorithmic transformations, reimagining urban spaces and everyday life. Scholars from Europe, America, and Asia were invited to share research on four key themes: Marxist philosophy and critical methodology, contemporary (digital) everyday life, urban imagination and new geography, and global algorithmic production. This was a required course on the topic of ‘Networked Society Studies at ICAST.

Xu Jiang and Gao Shiming initiated ‘Tribute 2018-Future Media/Art Manifesto’ a joint art project between China Academy of Art and Strasbourg in France. Ma Nan (PhD, 2012) and Wang Yan (PhD, 2013) served as deputy curators, the creative team consisting of over fifty students from the School of Intermedia Art led by Guan Huaibin, Yao Dajun, Gao Shiqiang, and Mou Sen. ICAST also participated in the research. The project encompassed four parts: ‘Shanshui: A Cosmotechnics, Century: A Proposal’, ‘Fengmian: A Kind of History’, and ‘Traversing Objects: A Journey’. Yao Yuandongfang (PhD, 2019) was responsible for the ‘Century Fengmian: Returning to Strasbourg’ section. As part of the ‘Century: A Proposal’ unit, contemporary theorists, artists, and curators such as Samir Amin, Gao Shiming, Chen Chieh-jen, Johnson Chang, Daniel Buren, Geert Lovink, Xu Yuyu, Jean-Luc Nancy, Siegfried Zielinski, Anselm Franke, Bernard Stiegler, and Uwe Fleckner were invited to deliver keynote speeches, distilling significant historical moments of the 20th century, to propose ideas for the 21st century.

The Inter-Asia School held the Inter-Asia Biennial Summit, with Sun Ge and Aditya Nigam serving as conveners for the Kochi-Muziris section on ‘Circulation of Ideas and Practices and Making of Publics’.

Cuauhtémoc Medina, curator of the 12th Shanghai Biennale, visited China Academy of Art to present the lecture ‘An Aesthetics Beyond Aesthetics? The Quest and the Narratives of Research in the Experience of MUAC Museum in Mexico City’.

The School of Intermedia Art at China Academy of Art hosted a series of advanced Spring seminars. Bernard Stiegler delivered a series of lectures titled ‘Social Sculpture, Cybernetics, Smart Cities’. Yuk Hui presented a series of lectures on ‘Cybernetics, Philosophy, and Technology’ and Daniel Ross, Stiegler’s primary English translator, conducted a course ‘Individuation in the Anthropocene: How to Write Oneself?’

In May, Zhiming Wang, Associate Researcher at the Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, presented a course titled ‘Thought in the Third World’.

Johnson Chang, Gao Shiming, and Ye Fang taught the ‘Elegant Gathering in the Garden’. course at ICAST.

Poet and critic Wang Wei presented the course ‘The Second Prometheus’ at ICAST.

China Academy of Art presented ‘Will to Faith’ at the Saatchi Gallery in London, curated by Wang Yan with Lin Canwen (MA, 2017, PhD, 2020) as executive curator.

China Academy of Art launched the ‘Wild Grass Project’, initiating a ‘Close Reading of Wild Grass’, inviting Sun Ge, Jiang Ruoshui, Xue Yi, and Lu Xinghua as lead readers. On May 4th, 2019, the academy held the exhibition ‘Wild Grass: A Tribute to the Centennial of the May Fourth New Culture Movement’ at China Academy of Art Museum, with Tang Xiaolin (PhD, 2010) and Min Han (PhD, 2010) as executive curators.

The Institute of Networked Society held their third annual conference ‘Intelligent Urban Fabric’, discussing topics such as ‘Governance for Common’, ‘Smart Citizen’, ‘Intelligent Organs’, and ‘Reconstructuring Geo-Politics’. The conference featured domestic and international experts, including Wang Jian, Seb Chan, and Kanfu Wakabayashi, and hosted workshops on the Internet of Things (DOWSE/ SWAPI). This became a required course of Networked Society Studies at ICAST.

Chen Chieh-Jen conducted a video workshop ‘Potential Movement Formed by the Echoes, Residual Images, and Residual Bodies within the ‘Technology of Total Manipulation’ at School of Intermedia Art, co-ordinated by ICAST.

Yuk Hui offered the course ‘Reading Kant’s Critique of Judgment’ at ICAST.

The School of Intermedia Art at China Academy of Art organized the ‘Spring 2019 Advanced Seminar: Technology and Phenomenology’. Bernard Stiegler delivered a series of lectures on ‘Crisis and Openness’, while Yuk Hui presented ‘Art and Cosmic Technology’. These became the ‘Contemporary Philosophy Research Serie’ at ICAST.

China Academy of Art launched the inaugural ‘Zhijiang International Youth Art Festival’ under the theme ‘Veni, Vidi, We Young’ , focusing on the core concepts of ‘Games, Science Fiction, and Community.’ More than 300 young artists, designers, writers, and scholars participated, further elevating the graduate exhibition week initiated by China Academy of Art in 2010. The event, organized by ICAST, featured over 50 art projects spanning five major sections: exhibitions, performances, workshops, fora, and markets, along with a comprehensive focus on drama, unfolding from May 25 to June 30 2019.

China Academy of Art initiated the symposium ‘After Postmodernism: 40 Years After the Postmodern Condition’, convened by Yuk Hui. The symposium featured keynote speeches by Yuk Hui, Bernard Stiegler, Sarah Wilson, Philippe Parreno, Li Yang, Ashley Woodward, and Azuma Hiroki. This became part of the ‘Contemporary Philosophy Research Series’at ICAST.

Networked Society Research Institute hosted the fourth annual Networked Society Conference ‘Netizens 21: Beyond Individual Accounts’, focusing on topics such as ‘Spiritual Life in Networked Society,’ ‘Political Economy Criticism of Social Media,’ ‘Media Archaeology,’ and ‘Platform Capitalism.’ The event featured discussions and debates with scholars like Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi, Lv Xinyu, and Tomohiro Hamano, along with a ‘Young Scholars Forum’.’ That was a required course on the topic of ‘Networked Society Studies at ICAST.

ICAST launched the inaugural ‘Inter-World-View’, inviting young groups from around the world to participate. Fifteen diverse groups were selected to ‘visit the world’ and engage in extensive exchanges through activities, exhibitions, debates, and daily life events over ten days, aiming to establish a collaborative network for future cooperation.

Poet and critic Wang Wei offered a year-long series of courses ‘On the Poetic Spirit’ at ICAST.

Chen Min (PhD, 2018) and collaborator Zhang Yehong won the Hyundai Blue Prize 2019 for Young Curators with their project ‘Play Societies: Wolves, Lynx, and Ants’. They held an award-winning exhibition under the same theme in June 2020.

From March to June, Li Xu, a PhD candidate in philosophy at the Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences, offered the series course ‘Interpreting Nicomachean Ethics’ at ICAST，which was a required course on the topic of ‘Classical Thought in China and the West’.

In April, scholar and publisher Wang Yuwei delivered a series of lectures titled ‘The Trust Revolution in the Information Age: From Bitcoin to NFT’ at ICAST.

From July to September, Wang Lin, a researcher at the Visual Research Institute, conducted a series of lectures on ‘Records of the Grand Historian’ at ICAST, which became a required course on the topic of ‘Classical Thought in China and the West’.

Luo Xiaoran (PhD in Classical Studies from the University of Washington), led a reading session on Plato’s ‘Crito’ at ICAST, which was a required course on the topic of ‘Classical Thought in China and the West’.

The Networked Society Research Institute convened the fifth annual Networked Society Conference themed ‘Practice of the Wisdom Web’, focusing on topics such as ‘Mesh Networks’, ‘Radical Markets’, ‘Internet Archives’, ‘DWeb’, and ‘Cyptoists’. The conference featured presentations by Vitalik Buterin, Pavol Luptak, and Danny O’Brien, along with a ‘Mesh Network Workshop’ and ‘Young Scholars Forum’. This was a required course of ‘Networked Society Studies’ at ICAST.

From September to December, Chen Mingzhu, a researcher at the Cultural Institute of Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences, conducted a series of lectures ‘Aristotle’s Poetics’ at ICAST, which was a required course on the topic of ‘Classical Thought in China and the West’.

Yu Jiantuo, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Development Research Foundation, conducted a series of lectures titled ‘Reading The Waste Land’ at China Academy of Art, which was a required course on the topic of ‘Classical Thought in China and the West’.

School of Intermedia Art hosted ‘Near Future: Possible Life—2020 Intermedia Art Festival’ in Ningbo. Curators include Gao Shiqiang, Mou Sen, Yao Dajun, with Wang Yan (PhD, 2013) and Li Ding (PhD, 2017) serving as executive curators.

Fan Li, Assistant Professor at the School of Humanities, Tongji University, delivered a lecture series ‘Introduction to the Nicomachean Ethics’ at ICAST, which was a required course on the topic of ‘Classical Thought in China and the West’.

The inaugural ‘Endless Mountains—An Exhibition of Art and the Tang Poetry Road’ opened at Zhejiang Exhibition Hall. ICAST served as the curatorial team, with nearly twenty professional teams from China Academy of Art participating, including those in poetry, calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, intermedia art, film, television, illustration, design, handicrafts, and environmental art. The exhibition, which follows different routes each year, traces the ‘Tang Poetry Road’ and explores broad yet intricate, sublime yet everyday cultural and artistic creation. The Tang Poetry Road has had five editions, extending from Zhejiang (2020-2022) to the Western Regions (2023) and Japan (2023-2024).

China Academy of Art, in collaboration with the Research Network for Philosophy and Technology jointly launched the annual memorial lecture for Bernard Stiegler (April 1, 1952 – August 5, 2020), with Yuk Hui delivering a keynote speech ‘The Esotericist Stiegler’, which was the Contemporary Philosophy Research Series Course for ICAST.

Lu Jie, founder of Long March Projects and Long March Space, joined China Academy of Art as a professor and became the full-time director of the Institute of Contemporary Art and Social Thoughts (ICAST).

From September to December, Pi Li, Senior Curator at M+ Museum of Visual Culture, Hong Kong, Joined the teaching team of ICAST, offering a series course ‘History of Chinese Contemporary Art (Exhibition History) ‘.

The ICAST Reflects series was launched, inviting frontline curators, art critics, and professional scholars to host special lectures, presenting the topics, practices, and reflections of current theoretical practitioners. Nie Xiaoyi, a PhD candidate at the RCA, was invited to present ‘Curatorial Education and Today’s Work’.

Zhang Wenjiang, professor at Tongji University, was invited by Visual China to deliver a lecture ‘First Reading of ‘Hengxian’ at China Academy of Art, which was a required course on the topic of ‘Chinese Classical Thought’.

The Networked Society Research Institute held its sixth annual conference themed ‘Instantly Reciprocal: The Moments for Cooperative Life’, ‘SparkLink, Sharing Art NFTs’, ‘Archverse’, and ‘COOP, A Social Token Brings Us Together’, three group projects of the institute. Special activities included the ‘Meetverse’ live electronic music performance at the Archverse Launching Party，’Meetverse’. That was a required course on the topic of ‘Network Society Study’at ICAST.

Jiang Feiran (PhD, 2019) won the 2021 Jimei × Arles Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving Image for the ‘Unnamed River’ curation project.

ICAST Reflects invited curator, writer, and researcher Dong Bingfeng to the School of Intermedia Art to deliver the lecture ‘We, the Collective: Art and the Collective in East Asian Images’ .

From March to June, the ICAST Contexts and Actions series was launched, outlining the basic framework of ICAST through 14 lectures. These lectures covered topics such as ‘Lu Jie: The Long March 12 Stations’, ‘Johnson Chang: The Display of Heaven, Earth, and Man’ , ‘Johnson Chang: West Heavens’, ‘Gao Shiming: Before “Rehearsal”’, ‘Gao Chu: Literature and Research, Exhibitions and Publishing’, ‘Lu Jie: The Long March Continues’, ‘Gao Shiming: Rehearsal’, ‘Tang Xiaolin: 85·Returning Possibility Back to History’, ‘Tang Xiaolin: A Proposal for ‘Sheng Project’’, ‘Huang Sunquan: Till We Have Faces’, ‘Liu Tian: Three Parallel Artworlds’, ‘Huang Sunquan: The Social and Cultural History of Information Technology’, ‘Lu Ruiyang and Stiegler: Acting Out, How WeBecome Philosophers’, and ‘Lu Ruiyang and Stiegler: Towards Neganthropocene’. These lectures served as the foundational courses for ICAST.

The ICAST Report was officially launched, inviting active artists and creators to give work reports, presenting their practices, issues, and experiences. Chen Jieren was the first to be invited to hold a screening and discussion at the School of Intermedia Art.

ICAST Reports invited performance artist Tong Wenmin to present ‘Encounters in Action’. ICAST Reflects invited Chen Heng, a PhD candidate in Literary Studies at Ghent University to present ‘The Temptation of Using Ancient Metaphors to Explain Contemporary Events’, and Zhong Gang, founder and editor-in-chief of ‘ARTDBL,’ to present ‘Soft Illusion: The Media Practices of ARTDBL’.

The ‘Book in Action’ series was published, consisting of four volumes: ‘Post-Bandung’, ‘Sensing the Field，Returning Possibility to History’ and ‘Future Media’. The series systematically outlines several strands of curation at China Academy of Art. It was edited by Gao Shiming, and published by ICAST

‘Being Theoria: the 4th Hangzhou Triennial of Fiber Art’ opened at Zhejiang Art Museum. Shi Hui served as the artistic director, with Liu Tian (PhD,2012, ICAST teacher) as chief curator. Liu Yihong (PhD, 2013, Deputy Dean of the School of Visual Communication, China Academy of Art) and Wang Hongzhe, among others, served as co-curators. Xi Tianhao (MA, 2020) and Duan Xin (MA, 2020) took part in the curation and production. The special project ‘Pure Reason’ opened in September at Hangzhou Museum, curated by Liu Yian and Liu Yihong. The launch project ‘Nine Lectures on Fibers—From Fiber Clusters to Norm Fields’ invited Jia Qin to interpret the 258 characters of the‘system’ section of the Shuowen Jiezi. This initiative also began in September.

ICAST Reports invited artist Li Weiyi to present ‘Inside Practice’.

Fudan University jointly organized an exhibition history and contemporary curatorial practice forum with China Academy of Art, titled ‘Exhibition Practices Since Globalization and Its Contemporary Predicaments’. Lu Jie and Liu Lian (PhD, 2012, ICAST teacher) participated as hosts and reviewers, while Jiang Feiran (PhD, 2019), Liu Beining (PhD, 2020), Xi Tianhao (MA, 2020), Tan Sin Thiau (MA, 2021), Jin Bowen (MA, 2022), and Mei Cuo (MA, 2022) presented thematic speeches.

ICAST Reflects invited curator and writer Shen Boliang to present ‘The Postcolonial Constellation Perspective and Today’s Curatorial Practice: Starting from the 15th Sharjah Biennale’.

Curator and co-editor of Heichi Magazine, Zian Chen, presented a writing course at ICAST, focusing on several applicable models of writing and editing, practicing writing in different contexts of the contemporary art industry.

‘ICAST Reports’ invited Chen Tong, founder of Borges Bookstore and Video Bureau, to speak on ‘Boundless Art, Limited Possibilities’.

‘ICAST Reflects’ invited He Zhaotian, researcher at the Literary Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and researcher at ICAST, to speak on ‘Dialectics of the Theory of The Four Occupations and The Theory of Class’.

Wang Hongzhe, researcher at the School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing University, and ICAST, presented a writing course covering issues and methods of personal history, family history, and contemporary history.

‘ICAST Reflects’ invited Zheng Huihua, founder and curator of Cube Space in Taiwan, to present ‘The Future of Artistic Practice, and “Future” Artistic Practice’. They also invited Lu Mingjun, young researcher at the School of Philosophy, Fudan University, to present ‘October and Its ‘Legacy’: Art Criticism after the New Avant-Garde’ and Li Na, (PhD) and researcher at the Literature Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, to present ‘Renjian Thought Review: “Humanities” as a form of knowledge work: Rereading the “Tang Yingshen Case”’.

School of Intermedia Art launched ‘Proposal to Leonardo da Vinci – Shanghai Science and Art Exhibition and the 7th International Intermedia Art Festival’, inviting outstanding artists to become ‘contemporaries’ of Da Vinci, jointly pondering the epochal propositions of today’s art and technology. Divided into five major exhibitions and two international academic forums: ‘Panel 21: Proposal to Leonardo da Vinci – Renaissance Man for the 21st Century’ and the ‘8th Network Society Annual Conference: Counter-Culture? Resetting the (Im)Possibilities of Technology’. Additionally, ‘AIathon: Art-ificial Intelligence Hackathon’ and the20th Anniversary of Sonic Media Art Festival performance were presented. Lin Canwen (MA, 2017, PhD, 2020), Liu Beining (PhD, 2020), Zhang Nuoxin (MA, 2021), and Yuan Mengru (MA, 2021) participated in the exhibition production. These two fora were compulsory courses of ICAST, focusing on the themes of ‘Media Studies’ and ‘Networked Society’.

China Academy of Art celebrated its 95th anniversary, with the theme ‘Draw from the Sources, Venture with the Greats,’ hosting more than ten artistic and academic events. The core academic event, ‘Inter(World)View 2023: Mutual Learning of Civilizations,’ viewed human civilization beyond the limitations of time and space. Led by twelve interdisciplinary teams made up of faculty and students from China Academy of Art, they embarked on journeys to various parts of the world, including the Dinosaur Tomb in Lufeng, the Amazon Jungle, Silicon Valley in San Francisco, the Icelandic Caldera, Leonardo da Vinci’s Residence in Milan, the Workers’ Club in Moscow, Petroglyphs of Dalmatia, Yangjialing of Yan’an, Katsura Rikyu Shrine of Japan, and other core sites. They explored the history of civilization, the anthropological implications of art, and organized the conference ‘Film Action: Reports from the World and the Starplex’ exhibition, sharing and exchanging insights and experiences gained from their global travels. Liu Tian (PhD, 2012, ICAST teacher) served as one of the chief planners and speakers. ICAST students Liu Chengzhen (MA, 2022) and Jiang Huailiying (MA, 2023) led in the production of two special documentaries, ‘The Unity of Specialized Knowledge——Seeking the Axial Age and Center of the World’s End——Seeking the Lost Continent’.