Chinese artist and activist to host lecture and discussion

On Thursday 16 November our School of Museum Studies will welcome the eminent artist, Ou Ning, to discuss his project exploring the imbalances between cities and the countryside in China.

The Bishan Project (2010-2016) started out from wanting to address those imbalances between cities and the countryside that had manifested grim realities such as the deterioration of agricultural industries, rural villages, and farm labourer empowerment, and were the direct result of excessive urbanisation.

The Bishan Project aimed to combat the encroachments of globalisation and neoliberalism by using art and culture as the first point of entry, ultimately hoping to influence politics and economics in rural areas.

Ou Ning is an artist, filmmaker, curator, editor and activist from China, renowned for his urban research and contributions to the rural reconstruction movement. His films San Yuan Li (2003) and Meishi Street (2006) document the displacement of traditional communities through urban regeneration. Ning’s work in rural reconstruction is centred in a small village in Anhui Province where he founded the Bishan Commune and School of Tillers.

‘Bishan Project: Rural Reconstruction and Practical Utopia’ place on Thursday 16 November from 7pm-8.30pm at the School of Museum Studies, 19 University Road, LE1 7RF. Book your place here.