Asia Contemporary Speaker Series
The rise of Asia on the international scene is one of the most compelling stories in contemporary art. Provocative artworks command ever-higher prices as markets expand, and impressive new museums, schools and biennials continue to proliferate. Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Tokyo and Beijing have established themselves as major art-world hubs, competing directly with London and New York. In order to understand this phenomenon and its connection to global movements of economic and political power, the Asia Contemporary Speaker Series will bring five recognized leaders in the field to speak in cities across Canada.
The Asia Contemporary Speaker Series is presented within the joint context of the Canadian Art Foundation’s International Speaker Series and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada’s National Conversation on Asia. Canada’s growing relationship with Asia is about much more than trade and includes art, culture and education as well as human connections. Through this series, individuals, companies and organizations across Canada can join in a broad and inclusive discussion on what Asia means to Canada.
Dr. Vishakha Desai
Dr. Vishakha Desai is Senior Advisor for Global Policy Programs to the Guggenheim Foundation, with an international reputation for introducing contemporary Asian art to the United States through critically acclaimed exhibitions and scholarly catalogues. Prior to September 2012, Dr. Desai was the President and CEO of Asia Society, a leading global organization committed to strengthening partnerships among the people, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States. Dr. Desai is a frequent speaker at national and international forums on a wide variety of subjects that include US-Asia relationships, the cultural roots of Asian economic development, regional connections within the Asia-Pacific region, and the arts and cultures of Asia and Asian America. Before joining Asia Society in 1990, Dr. Desai was a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the head of Public Programs and Academic Affairs. She has also taught at the University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Columbia University and Williams College, and has published and edited several books and articles on traditional and contemporary art.
Jane DeBevoise
Jane DeBevoise is Chair of the Board of Directors of Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong and New York. Before
moving to Hong Kong in 2002, DeBevoise was Deputy Director of the Guggenheim Museum, where she
was responsible for museum operations and exhibitions globally. She joined the museum in 1996 as Project
Director of “China: 5000 Years” (1998), a blockbuster exhibition of traditional and modern Chinese art that
was presented at the Guggenheim museums in New York and Bilbao. Prior to 1996, DeBevoise was Managing
Director at Bankers Trust Company, where she worked for 14 years in New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo and London.
DeBevoise holds a BA from Tufts University, an MA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD from
the University of Hong Kong, all in art history. She was appointed by the Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong
Kong government to the Committee for Museums from 2004 to 2007 and to the Museums Advisory Group for
the development of the West Kowloon Cultural District from 2006 to 2007. She is also a trustee of the Asian
Cultural Council, New York.
Free Admission - No Registration Required.
PHILIP TINARI
Philip Tinari is Director of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), an independent museum in Beijing’s 798 Art District with an annual attendance of more than half a million visitors. He is also Founding Editor of the art magazine LEAP, Contributing Editor to Artforum, and Adjunct Professor in the College of Humanities at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Since joining UCCA in 2012, he has curated exhibitions and projects with artists including Gu Dexin, Yun-Fei Ji, Wang Mai, Kan Xuan and Yung-Ho Chang. He recently co-edited the books The Future Will Be… China Edition (curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist) and Ai Weiwei: Dropping the Urn. Having lived in Beijing for much of the past decade, he has written and lectured widely on contemporary art in China.
MAMI KATAOKA
Mami Kataoka has been the Chief Curator at the Mori Art Museum (MAM) in Tokyo since 2003. At MAM, she has curated the exhibitions “Roppongi Crossing” (2004), “Ozawa Tsuyoshi” (2004), “All About Laughter: Humor in Contemporary Art” (2007), “Ai Weiwei: According to What?” (2009) and “Sensing Nature: Perception of Nature in Japan” (2010). Most recently, she curated “Lee Bul: From Me, Belongs to You Only.” Kataoka is extending her curatorial practice in many international projects: she is the Joint Artistic Director of the ninth Gwangju Biennale (2012) in South Korea, the curator of ”Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past” (2012) at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, and the guest curator of the touring exhibition “Ai Weiwei: According to What?” (2012). From 2007 to 2009, she was the International Curator at the Hayward Gallery in London, where she curated “Laughing in a Foreign Language” (2008) and co-curated “Walking in My Mind” (2009). She was also Chief Curator at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery from 1998 to 2002. Kataoka frequently writes and gives lectures on contemporary art in Asia
ZHENG SHENGTIAN
Zheng Shengtian is a scholar, artist and independent curator. For more than 30 years, he worked at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou as Professor and Chair of the Oil Painting Department. He is the Co-Founder of the Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, the Managing Editor of Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art and a trustee of Vancouver Art Gallery. He has been a member of the Academic Committee for the Shanghai Biennale since 1998 and was a co-curator of the fourth Shanghai Biennale (2004). He has organized numerous exhibitions, including “Shanghai Modern” (2004) at the Villa Stuck in Munich and “Art and China’s Revolution” (2009) at Asia Society Museum in New York. In 2013 and 2014, he reprises his role as Senior Curator of Asia for the Vancouver Biennale. Zheng is a frequent contributor to periodicals and catalogues about contemporary Chinese and Asian art. His artwork has been exhibited in China, the United States and Canada since the 1960s.
THE CANADIAN ART FOUNDATION
The Canadian Art Foundation is the ultimate portal for the exposure of visual arts in Canada. All our eff orts are dedicated to providing a destination for artists and art enthusiasts to connect and be inspired by art, in turn creating greater local, national and global visibility for the extraordinary artistic talent in Canada. Our diverse platforms and outreach include the publishing of Canadian Art and canadianart.ca, as well as the presentation of innovative events and educational programs.
CANADIANART.CA/FOUNDATIONTHE ASIA PACIFIC FOUNDATION OF CANADA
The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is an independent, not-for-profit think-tank on Canada’s relations with Asia. It provides current and comprehensive research, analysis and information on Canada’s trans-Pacific relations, fosters dialogue and connects individuals, businesses and policy makers.
ASIAPACIFIC.CA