[Commlist] CFP: China’s Cultural Diplomacy and Nation Branding

*China’s Cultural Diplomacy and Nation Branding*

**

The 15^th Annual Conference of Centre for Chinese Visual Arts, 
Birmingham City University, in partnership with De Montfort University, UK

Dates: 1 & 2 December 2022

Venue: School of Art, Birmingham City University (to be confirmed)

Deadline for abstracts: 28 March 2022, 5 pm GMT

This two-day conference will bring together researchers and 
creativeprofessionals to assess the political nexus between Chinese 
contemporary arts, diplomacy and nation branding. It focuses on the 
mobilization of creative expressions for the state’s wider agendas to 
boost recognition and legitimacy, as well as projecting the country’s 
global image and status abroad. This approach positions creative outputs 
at the intersection of aesthetics, statecraft, nation branding and state 
reputation management.

Our starting point is China’s own self-representation: how the country 
wishes to appear and become legible on the global stage and how it 
portrays itself as an international power. As part of such image-making 
drives in recent decades, the realm of culture has been instrumentalized 
for national identity construction projects while serving, 
simultaneously, as one of the engines of the country’s growing cultural 
and creative industries. Often examined as a form of soft power, these 
cultural expressions disseminate so-called Chinese values, ideals and 
ideologies that jointly orchestrate the country’s international image 
and credibility.

We welcome papers that address all fields of contemporary arts – 
including art, design, performance art, film and others. How have they 
been embroiled in this process of perception governance and image 
control? How have they acted as cultural capital to enhance diplomatic 
relations, recalibrate China’s nation brand, shape statecraft, or enable 
people-to-people exchanges? How have these roles been redefined in view 
of China’s relationship with the world during and after the pandemic?

Possible perspectives for proposals include, but are not limited to:

  * The growth of contemporary art biennials and Chinese museums along
    the routes of the country’s Belt and Road Initiative
  * How the arts impact the diplomatic process of the country’s economic
    developments in Africa
  * China-themed exhibits and national pavilions (at the Venice Biennale
    and the Venice Architecture Biennale, for example)
  * The role of the arts in Chinese nation branding and soft power
  * The mobilization of Chinese contemporary arts, state art collections
    and performances at embassies, global summits, diplomatic gatherings
    and official visits
  * Curatorial and museum practices, including loan programmes, to
    bolster bilateral relations and media image
  * Analyses of the government’s cultural policy overseeing arts
    exhibits in the international realm
  * (Non-)state-sponsored artists exchange programs, travel schemes and
    residencies
  * China’s international art and cultural exchanges during and after
    the Covid-19 pandemic

Guidelines/Timeline for Proposals:

Please submit one document, either Word or PDF, containing 1) an 
abstract of up to 300 words; 2) a 100-word biography, contact 
information and any institutional affiliation by 28 March 2022 to Dr 
Jenifer Chao, (jenifer.chao2 /at/ dmu.ac.uk) <mailto:(jenifer.chao2 /at/ dmu.ac.uk)>or 
(ccva /at/ bcu.ac.uk) <mailto:(ccva /at/ bcu.ac.uk)>with a subject titled ‘15^th CCVA 
Annual Conference’. Any questions should also be directed to Dr Chao at 
the first email address. Conference presentations should not run more 
than 20 minutes. Successful proposals for conference contributions will 
be notified no later than 8 April 2022. Invited full papers should be 
submitted by 31 March 2023, for the special double edition 10.2&3 of the 
/Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art/, to be published in the autumn 2023.

Should the situation allow, the conference will take place in person.

This conference is funded by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research 
Council (AHRC) as a part of our research and networking project ‘Art 
Diplomacy and Nation Branding: The Visual Politics of Reinventing 
China’.  For more information about the project, please visit our 
website: https://china-art-nationbranding.org/ 
<https://china-art-nationbranding.org/>


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