Report on London Workshop 18th October 2017, Michael Hitchcock
The workshop opened at 14.00 with Chinese drumming and dancing provided by performers from the Confucius Institute for the Performing Arts. This was followed by welcome speeches from Annie Guo (Director of Confucius Institute and Co-Director for the Asia Centre) and Gerald Lidstone (Director of Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship).
The workshop was opened at 14.20 by Jiang Jiehong (Birmingham City University) with an introduction to the project. The first speaker was Oliver Moore (Groningen University) who provided an analysis of the artistry of craftwork in Shanxi Province. He also explored how the sage, Mozi, (ca. 468 – ca. 391 BC) had been interpreted over time in relation to craft production, though little was known of the details of his life. He also flagged up his research on the history of Chinese photography.
He was followed Ouyang Ningming who gave us a background of his work in sculpting and modeling and is views on the future prospects for Chinese crafts. He explained that Chinese today lived in a fast moving and disposable way of life in which crafts were not centrally placed and the need to enthuse younger generations and to find ways of conserving knowledge. Hui Man Chan provided a very precise translation.
After a refreshment break, Michael Hitchcock (Goldsmiths) talked about some of the theoretical debates in Sociology and Anthropology on authenticity within the context of tourism and related this discussion to the situation in Shanxi. He also considered issues relating to creativity and economic viability in relation to craft production.
The last speaker was Jiang Jiehong who provided an overview of his experience in curating contemporary Chinese art and what might be usefully applied in the context of crafts in Shanxi. His talk was followed by a long discussion which covered a variety of topics but coalesced around the link between contemporary art and traditional crafts. There were noteworthy interventions from Kelly Meng, Mike Featherstone and Tomoko Tamari from Goldsmiths, and Luise Guest from White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney, as well as Nan Nan of the New Century Art Foundation.
After the closure of the workshop, the group was taken on a guided tour of Goldsmiths College visiting, in particular, heritage buildings such as Deptford Town Hall.