Under the theme of "When Arts Become Magical", the inaugural ARTRA Global Talk invites renowned creators from the fields of visual arts, dance, theater and other stage arts, as well as directors of famous domestic and international festivals and exhibitions, and senior arts practitioners to engage in a dialogue. The guests will be divided into two groups, focusing on the collision and fusion of visual arts and stage arts, sharing their experiences and views, and stimulating in-depth discussions and artistic inspiration on the topics of artistic creation and innovative project operation in an interdisciplinary and multi-media context.

The Global Talk has invited renowned curator and Professor JIANG Jiehong of Birmingham City University to be the moderator. In his topic planning, he pointed out that the Dialogue will try to re-examine how art can reshape the past and bring new inspirations for the present and the future, how to translate the local spirit into an international expression, as well as how to promote the development of the creativity, sustainability, and mobility of the city's culture.

Moderator: JIANG Jiehong

Professor JIANG Jiehong is Head of Research at School of Art, Director of the Centre for Chinese Visual Arts, Birmingham City University, and Principal Editor of the Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art (Intellect), and he serves as Panel Member for the Humanities and Arts, the Hong Kong Research Grants Council since 2018. Jiang has been Lead Curator for many international exhibitions including the Guangzhou Triennial: the Unseen (2012), the Asia Triennial Manchester: Harmonious Society (2014), the First Thailand Biennale: Edge of the Wonderland (Krabi, 2018-19) and This Is Shanghai (a partner exhibition of the 10th Liverpool Biennial, 2018).

Session 1: Artistic Creation Platform

Guests for the Talk

XIE Xin 

Founder and artistic director of XIEXIN DANCE THEATER, National first-class performer in China, the Founder of the Vanguard Body International Workshop and dance clothing brand VANGUARD BODY. The guest choreographer of Hessische Staatsballet and Balletboyz. A special commission by Mr. Wayne McGregor, she created When I am facing U to the Dance College in La Biennale di Venezia 2023. Xie Xin is the first female Chinese choreographer commissioned by the Paris Opera.

As a dancer, she worked in Guangdong Modern Dance Company, Shanghai Jin Xing Dance Theatre, Beijing Tao Dance Theatre and Beijing Dance/LDTX. In 2014, she founded XIEXIN DANCE THEATER and started her career as an independent choreographer and artistic director of the company that bears her name. Her choreography includes From IN, T.I.M.E, Unknown, Obsessive. Jorma UOTINEN, the Artistic Director of the Kuopio Dance Festival in Finland, commented: “In Xie Xin's work, I have found the future I haven’t found in the development of European modern dance. Her works have extremely sensitive uniqueness and specificity”.

HUANG Fangling

Currently lives and works in Shanghai. Actress and director of Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre. As a conceptual artist, she is active in a number of disciplines including contemporary art, theatre and film. Using her body as a trained instrument, she is dedicated to blending live performance, theatre, sound, image, installation and other elements together, to break traditional ways of seeing artworks. In the name of a.f.art theatre, her recent projects include “Struggle”(HK Art Basel [Film], 2018), solo exhibition “Weightless”(Don Gallery, 2018),  “Selected Gaze” (“Theory Opera” at the 11th Shanghai Biennale “Why Not Ask Again,” Power Station of Art, Shanghai, 2017), “…In Between” (ZKR – Centre for Art and Public Space Schloss Biesdorf and Löwenpalais, Berlin, 2017),“Sensory Tour” (Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai, 2016), “The Maids in the Enclave” (MoCA Pavilion, Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, 2015), etc.

Sven Sören Beyer

Sven Sören Beyer is an acclaimed director, media artist, and the artistic director and founder of Phase 7 Performing Arts, an influential art collective based in Berlin. After gaining experience in German theatres and opera houses, he established phase7 in 1999. His artistic pursuits revolve around cross-media aesthetics, technological innovation, and the seamless fusion of performing arts and media arts. He has engaged in fruitful collaborations with esteemed partners, one notable example being his work with the China Shanghai International Arts Festival. In the memorable opening performance of the Shanghai (Jiading) Interactive Theatre Festival in 2016, Beyer expertly directed a mesmerizing German drone electronic music concert titled "Whispers."

HU Jieming

One of the pioneering artists of digital media and video installations in China today. HU has a penchant for other disciplines and tends to mix unrelated fields. His artistic creation stops at the alternations of time, space, history and memory, using numerous media, whether photography, video or digital interactive technology, to continuously raise his views and questions. Important exhibitions in recent years include: Symphony of All the Changes The 7th Guangzhou Triennial ( Guangdong Museum of Art Guangzhou China 2022)；City on the Edge: Art and Shanghai at the Turn of the Millennium（UCCA Edge Shanghai China 2021）；The Return of Guests” Selections from the PSA Collection ( Power Station of Art Shanghai China 2019) etc.

Session 2：Festival and Exhibition Operations Platform

Guests for the talk

Elaine Anne Bedell

Producer and director, with 25 years of executive experience in the media industry, was appointed Chief Executive of Southbank Arts Centre in May 2017, the first female Chief Executive in the 66-year history of the largest arts centre in Europe. Bedell has been responsible for executive producing some of the most popular original British entertainment and comedy productions, including Dancing Miracle, The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. She was previously Director of Entertainment at the BBC, Director of Entertainment and Comedy at Independent Television (ITV) and Executive Director of the Edinburgh International Television Festival between 2011 and 2014.

Christl Baurl

Director of the Ars Electronica Festival, is a researcher with an interdisciplinary background in art history, cultural management and natural sciences. Her research areas include topics such as video art, new media technologies, computer art, biotechnology and interactive art, and she works at the interface between art and science. In recent years she has curated, produced and organised major exhibitions and performances, research, residencies and publication projects.

Jeff Khan

Currently the Creative Director of Asia TOPA: Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts at Arts Centre Melbourne, Jeff works at the intersection of performance, dance, visual art and sound. Previously, Jeff was Artistic Director & CEO at Performance Space, Sydney (2011-2022) where he curated and oversaw the annual Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art, as well as a year-round program of artist development, residencies, and international exchange. Jeff’s curatorial work is focused on the Asia Pacific. He has previously held positions and Guest Curatorships at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. He has participated on juries and assessment panels for the Taishin Art Award (Taiwan); the Australia Council for the Arts and many more.

CHEN Anda

The Deputy general manager of Shanghai West Bund Development (Group) Co., LTD., and the Executive director of West Bund Art Museum.

Since 2012, he has participated in the preparation of the West Bund "Art Museum Avenue" plan and has successively introduced important cultural institutions such as the Long Museum, Tank Shanghai, and Star Museum to settle on the West Bund, initially forming the largest cultural and art gathering area in Asia. At the same time, the West Bund culture and art season system has been established to promote the continuation of important cultural projects such as the West Bund Art and Design Fair and the five-year exhibition cooperation project between the West Bund Museum and the Pompidou Center, so as to provide sustainable momentum for the brand building of the West Bund Art and the urban renewal of the West Bund.