Beijing Conversations
A series of discussion panels conducted at major venues and events in Beijing between 21 and 24 May 2026 involving UNSW Judith Neilson Chair Professor of Contemporary Art, Paul Gladston in conversation with local scholars, artists, curators and writers.
Date
21–24 May 2026
Location
Beijing, China
Format
Panel discussion
About
This webpage presents video recordings of discussion panels conducted at major venues and events in Beijing between 21 and 24 May 2026 involving UNSW Judith Neilson Chair Professor of Contemporary Art, Paul Gladston in conversation with local scholars, artists, curators and writers. The series was organised by the Beijing-based curator and art critic Lin Zi as part of his curatorial project ‘Sixth Ring Odyssey’ intended to promote public engagement with contemporary art within and beyond established institutions and gallery spaces – the reference to Beijing’s sixth, outermost urban ring road indexes sites of artistic and curatorial activity literally and metaphorically on the 'edge' of the city and its official government supported culture. Each panel addressed questions regarding the localised transcultural circumstances of contemporary artistic and curatorial thinking/practice in mainland China. Consistent across the discussions are sometimes stark differences between Gladston and his Sinophone interlocutors in their critical understanding of contemporary art and culture. While Gladston remains sceptical about the capacity of art to impact directly on mainstream society in light of resonances between non-/rationalist poststructuralist and classical Chinese thought/practice, others make robust dialectical arguments toward the continuing social usefulness of art – albeit with a largely unspoken acceptance of dominant political discourses in mainland China which continue to stymie open criticism of authority; a situation referred to by Lin as ‘Chinese reality.’ Gladston’s position tends toward the critically disjunctive, and those of Chinese participants aspirations in the direction of harmonious relationships between art and society commensurate not only with locally current socio-political conditions but also China’s long-standing – Daoist/Buddhist – syncretic neo-Confucian cultural traditions. Discussions were spontaneous and unscripted with some conducted in closed session to avoid unwelcome attention from officialdom. Together they give valuable insights into a culturally specific artworld often poorly understood or glossed over outside China.
-
Lin Zi is an independent critic, curator, and Co-founder of YounGo Cutlure and Art Agency. He is dedicated to fostering international art exchanges, improving the ecology of localized art scenes and integrating psychoanalytic discourse into curatorial and critical practices. In 2017, Lin earned a Master of Arts with honors degree in Art Criticism and Writing from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York, USA. He also holds dual bachelor’s degrees in history and psychology from Acadia University in Canada. Since 2017, he has curated over 80 exhibitions and art events globally. Between 2016 and 2020, Lin organized 15 exhibitions in New York including ‘When Black Swallows Red’ at La Mama Galleria, showcasing emerging New York-based artists (2019). More recently he curated ‘ArtParking’ in the Capital Free Trade Cultural Zone, the ‘Facade 798 Gallery Tour Exhibition’ in Beijing’s 798 Art District and the group exhibition ‘Those Men Came from the Moon’ in association with the ShanghArt Gallery, Shanghai’ (all 2024) in addition to the public art project ‘Artists Without Resumes’ at the Rice Mill Art District, Hangzhou (2025). He also organized and curated the public art festival ‘Rock-Paper-Scissors Art Carnival’ at DHGE and Art Flow Art District, Shanghai (2025). Lin’s practice as a curator and critic bridges interdisciplinary methodologies, global perspectives and experimental public engagement, redefining contemporary art’s role in cultural and social discourse.
Programme & Recordings
Rethinking Displays: Curatorial Dilemmas of Informal Artist Settlements in the Context of ‘World Art’
Date: 21 May
Location: The Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing
Speakers: Prof. Wang Chunchen (CAFA), Prof. Paul Gladston (UNSW), Prof. Liu Libin (CAFA), Prof. Zhao Yan (CAFA), Gao Gao (CAFA), Lin Zi (Curator and Independent Critic)
Mirror in Water — The Sixth Ring Odyssey: An Alternative Art Ecology’s Absorption and Escape
Date: 22 May
Location: ‘Land Trace’: Beijing Dangdai (contemporary) Art Fair 2026, National Agricultural Exhibition Center, Beijing
Speakers: Prof. Paul Gladston (UNSW), Dr. Peng Wei (CAFA), Liu Huijian (Beijing Yuan Guo Culture & Art Studio), Qin Shan (RET睿意德), Deng Ting (Independent Curator and Artist), Lin Zi (Curator and Independent Critic)
In-/Visible Spectrums: Contemporary Video Art from the Sinosphere - a presentation to graduate students
Date: 23 May
Location: School of Arts, Peking University
Speaker: Prof. Paul Gladston
This presentation – which included discussion of the JNCCA led exhibition ‘In-/Visible Spectrums: Contemporary Video Art from the Sinosphere’ at the SOAS Gallery, University of London - was not part of the Sixth Ring Odyssey project but organised separately by Peking University.
No recording was made.
Contemporary Art Encounters Chinese Society in the Field: The Transformation of Contemporary Art within Land Art Festivals as Part of Art‑led Rural Reconstruction
Date: 23 May
Location: FutureLand Art Center
Speakers: Prof. Paul Gladston (UNSW), Xie Chenliang (Researcher and International Volunteer), Ren Yue (Writer, Researcher, Curator and Senior Art Editor), Geng Kun (Youth Art 100), Lin Zi (Curator and Independent Critic)
From Museum Roundtable to Studio Living Room: The Dialogic Field of the 'Sixth Ring Odyssey’ and Gladston’s Polylogical Practice
Date: 23 May
Location: Spring-Time Contemporary Art Research Center
Speakers: Prof. Paul Gladston (UNSW), Prof. Wu Xiaohai (CAFA), Prof. Liu Rui (CNAA), Lin Zi (Curator and Independent Critic)
From Zapatistas to the Sixth Ring: How Artist Self‑Governing Collectives Challenge the Monolithic Discourse of the Gallery System
Date: 24 May
Location: FutureLand Art Center
Speakers: Prof. Paul Gladston (UNSW), Wang Jiang (Independent Curator and Art Critic), Jia Zheng (Artist), Yao Ana (Artand), Lin Zi (Curator and Independent Critic)
Event Photos
