24.7.11

Haus Der Kunst - on the occasion of ai weiwei


on the occasion of ai weiwei:
art, dissidence and resistance
panel discussion in english
27 jul 11 / wed 7 p.m.
western countries are demanding a transparent trial according to constitutional standards for the artist ai weiwei and other artists, authors and dissidents who are still imprisoned. the chinese foreign ministry, for its part insists on the sovereignty of china’s judicial system. can the gap between such contradictory positions be bridged? the panel at the haus der kunst will be discussing the case of ai weiwei – not as an isolated phenomenon, however, but rather as part of the geopolitical developments of the past few years. this, however, raises the question of the credibility of the western-oriented, international art system: on the one hand it demands universal freedom of opinion, and supports dissident artists through petitions, protests and calls for their release. on the other hand, has it not engaged in some complicity with autocratic systems? isn't tacit tolerance of the ruling, despotic elite in the country implicit in events like the sharjah biennial.
the Chinese artist ai weiwei, whose exhibition "so sorry" was shown by the haus der kunst in 2009/10, was arrested on 3 april 2011. chinese authorities alleged "economic crimes" as the reason for his arrest, but no evidence has been offered to date to support the charge. ever since his release on 22 june, the artist has been under house arrest, is prohibited from using the internet and from giving long interviews, and may not leave Beijing for a year.

with hou hanru (san francisco art institute), gao minglu (university of pittsburgh), shi ming (deutsche welle tv), flora sapio (Centre for Advanced Studies on Contemporary China, Turin) and ulrich wilmes (senior curator at the haus der kunst)
moderation: okwui enwezor (director of the haus der kunst as of 10/2011)


hou hanru studied art history in beijing. today he is a professor at the san francisco art institute. in 2007 he curated the 10th international Istanbul biennial and has published in flash art international and art monthly.

gao minglu studied art history in beijing and Cambridge. in 1998 he curated the first comprehensive exhibition of contemporary Chinese art in the usa ("inside/out: new Chinese art”). he teaches history of art and architecture at the university of pittsburgh.

shi ming studied german and law in beijing, worked for many years as a journalist with radio china and has been with the chinese service of radio deutsche welle since 2002.

Flora Sapio received her PhD in Chinese Studies in 2004. She worked at the Centre for East and South East Asian Studies at Lund University, Sweden, and is now a research fellow at the Centre for Advanced Studies on Contemporary China, Turin, and a visiting professor at the Julius-Maximilian University in Würzburg, Germany. Her main research interests are, a.o., criminal justice, administrative detention and extra-judicial violence. She is one of the founding members of the European China Law Studies Association.

ulrich wilmes began his career in 1988 as head of exhibitions at the portikus in Frankfurt/main. after holding a variety of posts, notably at the lenbachhaus in Munich and the museum ludwig in cologne, he became senior curator at the haus der kunst in 2008.

okwui enwezor was the artistic director of numerous large-scale exhibitions, notably the documenta 11 in kassel (1998–2002). throughout his career, he has worked hard to shift the international art business away from its fixation on the euro-american context. at the present time, he is the artistic director of meeting points 6, a project for performance and the visual arts in eight cities (Beirut, amman, Damascus, cairo, tunis, tangiers, brussels and berlin). on october 1, 2011, he will become the new director of the haus der kunst.

On the occasion of Ai Weiwei:
 Art, dissidence and resistance







Haus der Kunst



Ai Weiwei at Haus der Kunst, 2009.
Photo by Joerg Koopmann.



On the occasion of Ai Weiwei:


Art, dissidence and resistance

Panel discussion in English

Wednesday, 27 July 2011, 7 p.m.



Haus der Kunst
Prinzregentenstrasse 1
D-80538 Munich
T +49 (0)89 21127-113
F +49 (0)89 21127-157
mail@hausderkunst.de

Opening hours
Mon–Sun 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
Thu 10 a.m.–10 p.m.

www.hausderkunst.de

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With Flora Sapio, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg,
Hou Hanru, San Francisco Art Institute,
Gao Minglu, University of Pittsburgh,
Shi Ming, Deutsche Welle TV, and
Ulrich Wilmes, Chief curator Haus der Kunst
Moderation: Okwui Enwezor, designated Director Haus der Kunst

While China's ministry of foreign affairs complains, that foreign news reports lack respect for the sovereignty of the Chinese judiciary, western countries want trials to meet the requirements of constitutional standards. Is it possible to build a bridge that overcomes such different positions? The panel will discuss the Ai Weiwei case as part of a comprehensive geopolitical development. Is the western art system, with its demand for universal freedom of speech, its international protests, calls on politicians and petitions asking for the release of defiant artists, a credible system? Did it not enter into a complicity with autocratic political systems years ago? And do events, such as the Sharjah Biennale, signify our silent tolerance of despotic rulers? Ai Weiwei was released on June 22, 2011. But even so, the time might have come to rethink our political and diplomatic channels of communication.

Flora Sapio is Assistant Professor at the University Würzburg. Her focus is on Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, Human Rights, and Philosophy of Law.

Hou Hanru studied art history in Beijing. He teaches at the San Francisco Art Institute, curated the 10th International Istanbul Biennial in 2007 and publishes articles in art magazines, including Flash Art International and Art Monthly.

Gao Minglu studied art history in Beijing and Cambridge. In 1998 he curated the first comprehensive exhibition of contemporary art in North America ("Inside/Out: New Chinese Art"), and he is a professor for art and architectural history at the University of Pittsburgh.

Shi Ming studied law, and German literature and language in Beijing. He initially worked as a journalist for Radio China International and since 2002 he has been on the China editorial staff at Deutsche Welle.

Information and reservation (until 22 July) at T. +49 89 21127-113, events@hausderkunst.de

Kindly supported by
Kulturreferat der Landeshauptstadt München
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, and
Museum Villa Stuck


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