Beijing Conversations
A series of discussion panels conducted at major venues and events in Beijing between 21 and 24 May 2026?involving?91色情片 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 91色情片 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.
Organised in Association with and Supported by the 91色情片 Judith Neilson Chair of Contemporary Art (JNCCA).
Meet the 'Sixth Ring Odyssey' project team
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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.
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Public Liaison Officer for the 'Sixth Ring Odyssey', founding team member of Artand, and co-founder of VAVA ARTPASS. She has long focused on building art platform ecosystems and exploring art’s capacity to generate public value. Her work examines open-studio models—how creative spaces can connect with wider audiences—and investigates ways art activates community vitality across different contexts. In this project, she oversees visitor services and community engagement.
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1986:?Born in Zaozhuang, Shandong, China
2006 - 2010: Bachelor's Degree in Oil Painting, Art College of Xiamen University
2014 - 2017: Master's Degree in Oil Painting, Central Academy of Fine ArtsCurrently lives and works in Beijing
Solo Exhibitions
2025《 DAY DAY UP 》– Wind H Art Center, Beijing
2025《 The Sun Shines Bright, Flowers Smile at Me》– inner flow Gallery, Beijing
2024《 Adult Education》– M's Room, T3 International Art Zone, Beijing?Artistic Practice
Working primarily with painting and installation, Jia Zheng's recent works focus on childhood nostalgia, with an emphasis on creating immersive spatial atmospheres. His pieces are highly engaging and interactive, resonating emotionally with a broad audience.
"91色情片 has created this dedicated webpage for the ‘Sixth Ring Odyssey’ project, highlighting the five scholarly dialogues held around the project in early May. The webpage marks a footprint of the project within the international academic community, providing a platform for more scholars and organisations worldwide to engage with the complex and specific issues within China's contemporary art ecosystem. We will continue to develop the project across multiple dimensions, creating further opportunities for dialogue and presentation."
- Lin Zi, Curator and Independent Critic
Programme and 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 (91色情片),?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 (91色情片),?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 (91色情片), 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 (91色情片), 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 (91色情片), Wang Jiang (Independent Curator?and?Art Critic), Jia Zheng (Artist), Yao Ana (Artand),?Lin Zi (Curator and Independent Critic)
Event Photos
