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Upcoming Exhibitions
Sifting Time...
2 April - 20 May, 2012
Bringing together contemporary art from Australia and China
Come and experience contemporary artistic interpretations which bridge China and Australia. The exhibition features the work of prominent artists Liu Zhuoquan, Huang Xu, Guan Wei, Anne Graham, Tony Scott and Geoff Hogg.
Through painting, photography and installation each practitioner plays with ideas of cultural transformation and tradition. Through their diverse artistic practices, they reflect on ways that culture is either preserved or discarded, remodeled in contemporary guise or forgotten with the passing of time.
Sifting Time... is an exhibition of contemporary art curated by Damian Smith and is part of the 'Art in Chinatown' program of exhibitions developed in partnership with RMIT University.
Curator's Floortalk: Wednesday 11 April 1:00-2:00pm
Bookings: exhibitions@chinesemuseum.com.au
Image: Liu Zhuoquan, Love of Laboratory, 2010
Current Exhibitions
Discovering the Chinese Spring Festival
29 Jan - 18 March 2012
A special exhibition from China
The Spring Festival or Lunar New Year is the largest Chinese celebration in the calendar year.
The onset of spring marks the beginning of a new year according to the Chinese calendar. The Spring Festival is celebrated over 38 days with various celebrations and traditions that seek to bring prosperity, happiness and peace in the coming year.
The Museum will be celebrating the 2012 Festival with a special exhibition from China. Visitors will be able to discover the Festival's rich history, traditions and contemporary practices through images and artefacts.
Sponsored by Calibre Business Integration
Past Exhibitions
Tooth and Nail: Cross Cultural Influences in Contemporary Ceramics
25 Nov 2011 - 15 Jan 2012
Tooth and Nail is a celebration of the cross-cultural pollination that has been occurring between east and west since the 1500s. Eleven artists from Australia, Beijing, Hong Kong and Taiwan present hybrid contemporary ceramics that are a creative exploration of the sharing of the artistic sensibilities and influences of ideas that has occurred throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Tooth and Nail features cutting edge ceramics by Joe Chan Kiu Hong, Sally Cleary, Kris Coad, Andrei Davidoff, Zhou Jie, Tsui Tze Kwan (Josephine), Robyn Phelan, Jane Sawyer, Kevin White, Fiona Wong Lai-ching and Monxi Wu.
This Touring exhibition is curated by Stephen Gallagher (Coordinator, School of Art Galleries, RMIT University)
  
Summer Holiday Activity
Tooth & Nail Exhibition Trail for Kids!
23 Dec 2011 - 15 Jan 2012
Leave your comments about the exhibition and go into a competition draw
Children can win a cuddly 2011 year of the rabbit toy
Adults can win a family membership
Winners drawn 20 Jan 2012
Tooth and Nail: Curator's Floor Talk
1:30pm, 10 January 2012
Join Curator, Stephen Gallagher in the exhibition and discover this fascinating exhibition.
Free with Museum admission
Bookings advised - Call Lisa: (03) 9662 2888
exhibitions@chinesemuseum.com.au
Dale Cox The Yarra River Cargo Project - recent finds
8 October - 13 November 2011
Part of an ongoing sculpture series which documents the artist's 'discovery' of medieval era Chinese 'Junk' in the mud of the Yarra River, Melbourne. Cox's 'discovery' is based on the well-documented idea that China was a formidable and expansionist naval power in the 1400s. The varied objects recovered by the artist force a complete rethink of Australian 'encounter' history. The merging of decorative 'medieval export wares' with sacred icons and Mickey Mouse subverts the history of popular culture. The discovery accentuates the dislocating nature of globalisation. By becoming homogenised, have we become culturally diffused, without ownership of place, context, diversity or, indeed perhaps history itself? This exhibition features unseen 'recent finds'.
Revisiting Survival and Celebration
This exhibition, curated by Morag Loh and Christine Ramsey, was developed 25 years ago and yet many of the issues in it continue to have relevance today. It celebrates the contribution of women to Australia's Chinese history from the 1850s through to 1985. It was also a call to unite against, what felt to many at the time as, a 'resurgence of the attitudes of White Australia'. The symposium which accompanied it when first displayed was probably the first symposium or conference on Chinese-Australian history and heritage. Its rehanging offers an opportunity to reflect on the place of China in Australia's history over last 25 years. A selection of the original exhibition will be on display.
Members of the Chinn Family at the Chinese Progressive Association Ball 1920s
Chinese Artists Society Annual Members' Exhibition
Featuring traditional Chinese paintngs and calligraphy, oil paintings and photography, the exhibition features works by over 40 artists.
Exhibition Opening: 2 pm, 25th September
Opening Hours: 10 am to 4pm, 26th September to 1st October
10 am to 12 noon, 2nd October
Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival Display
Who are Hou Yi and Chang Er? What happened to the ten suns in the sky?
Why are mooncakes so special? What does the salted duck yolk symbolise?
Find out in the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival display in the Museum's temporary exhibition gallery
On until 20 September 2011
Indigo: The Blue & White Embroidery of Sichuan
Indigo - The Blue & White Embroidery of Sichuan presents a glimpse of Chinese life over one hundred years ago through an exhibition of rare cotton embroideries and other precious artefacts from China. The embroideries were completed by young peasant women who lived in the remote mountain regions of Sichuan province. The embroideries and objects were collected by George and Robina Arnott-Rogers who were missionaries in China between 1895 and 1914. George was born in Bacchus March in Victoria and Robina was born in England. The couple met in China, fell in love, and were married within a year.
Lovers of Chinese culture will feast on this magnificent exhibition and the great love story that brought the Collection into being.
  
Hands-on Embroidery Workshops
10am, Saturday 2 July, Saturday 9 July, Saturday 20 August
(dependent on numbers)
Learn one of the embroidery techniques featured in the textiles - er mien te - the stitch with two faces.
Sessions 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Group size 12 - 15 people.
Basic sewing experience an asset.
Workshop fee of $35 covers materials, a small kit to complete at home, Museum entry and Chinese tea. Enquiries/Bookings: 03 9662 2888 or marketing@chinesemuseum.com.au
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Images courtesy of Ballarat Gold Museum
Past Exhibitions
DANG Yu: International Tour of Chinese Painting & Calligraphy
5 - 12 June 2011
The exhibition features works by the internationally renowned calligrapher, DANG Yu. Mr DANG was born in Henan Province in China and is the Executive Director of the Chinese Modern Calligraphy Art Society and President of the Baiyun Mountain Academy of Calligraphy in Guangzhou.
Also featured are works by GANG Yu who has over 50 years experience as a calligrapher and has developed a variety of styles, including the unique ‘Unusual Cursive’ concept. He has received wide acclaim for his blend of modern calligraphy and painting.
GATEWAY: Context, translation, place, displacement
19 April - 23 May 2011
The title of this contemporary art exhibition draws its inspiration from the gateways of Chinatown, a symbol and entry point of Chinatowns internationally.
These gateways traditionally represent a point of connection between different cultures and announces the presence of the Chinese community and their longstanding contribution to other societies. The gateways further represent a demarcation of physical territory within the city, territory that cannot be so clearly defined culturally.
Each of the artists featured in this exhibition have experienced the influence of Chinese culture from multiple perspectives and have interpreted these personal experience through visual representations.
The 13 exhibiting artists are Cameron Robbins, Clare Leporati, Greg Szopa, Claire Tracey, Joanna Buckley, Maggie McCormack, Shao Xiong Chia, Tammy Wong, Geoff Hogg, Ceri Hann, Junian Clavijo, Wei Tianyu and Angela Zhang.
For more info:
http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=q036v007zh8q
http://gateway-melbourne-2011.webs.com/
Image: Clare Leporati & Greg Szopa, Context at Play |
