# Transplantation · Origins of Artist Residencies in China: Another Pathway to Contemporary Chinese Art — Hu Chao 胡超

Source: https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/chapters/transplantation/

## English

[Selected curatorial projects](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/) / [“Borrowing the Shell”](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/) / Transplantation

[Exhibition](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/)[Curatorial note](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/curatorial-note/)[Foreword](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/foreword/)[Residency history](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/residency-history/)[Selected works](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/works/)[Installation views](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/gallery/)[Press & media](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/media/)[Visit & contact](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/visit/)[Catalogue PDF ↓](https://www.huchaocurator.com/downloads/shell-exhibition/catalogue-origins-of-artist-residencies-in-china.pdf)

01 / Transplantation

# Transplantation

1990s–early 2000s: the residency model enters China

[01 Transplantation](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/chapters/transplantation/?lang=en)[02 Grafting](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/chapters/grafting/?lang=en)[03 Mycelium](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/chapters/mycelium/?lang=en)

Three historical stages

Exhibition wall text: Hu Chao

[Full exhibition foreword ↗](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/foreword/?lang=en)

Bringing the residency mechanism into China was an act of transplantation.

Chinese artists began going abroad, and foreign artists began arriving in China, in the 1980s — but the exchange was personal and scattered. There were visits and sojourns, but no one had yet organized support for artists to stay and make work.

The shift to organized exchange began with Australia. In 1989 the Australia Council initiated an artist residency program; in 1991 it was transferred to Asialink, Australia's national centre for Asia engagement based at the University of Melbourne. Asialink organized two-way artist residency exchanges across Asia, establishing artistic links with China in the process. Later, the Chinese-Australian artist Lindy Lee arrived in Beijing as Asialink’s first resident artist in China. For the first time, a structured, two-way international artist residency system was operating in China. Also in 1991, Brian Wallace opened Red Gate Gallery in the corner tower of Beijing's Dongbianmen city wall. An Australian who had first come to China in 1984, he had already organized exhibitions for young Chinese artists at the Ancient Observatory and elsewhere. Through the 1990s he assisted, informally and unpaid, the artists Asialink sent to Beijing — finding them housing and studios, and leading them into the city's art circles. These efforts provided nearly all the support available to international artists in Beijing at the time. And the channel ran both ways: in the same years, Chinese artists, funded through Asialink, took up residencies in Australia.

A decade of informal support had laid the groundwork. The mechanism had arrived; the soil was waiting. At a time when going abroad and meeting fellow artists from other countries were rare, an organized residency program that artists could apply to was a precious opportunity.

The Australian artist Jayne Dyer first came to Beijing in 1994 for a Red Gate Gallery exhibition — an experience that led her to apply for and be accepted into Asialink’s residency program. She subsequently returned to Beijing through Asialink’s residency program and went on to live and work in the city from 2007 to 2014. Her years of living and working in Beijing informed her installations, photography and sculpture; The Butterfly Effect translates that experience into artistic language.

[

Image: Jayne Dyer, The Library of Forgetting (Installation Detail), 2008. Photograph, 30 × 20 cm.

](https://www.huchaocurator.com/assets/shell-exhibition/jayne-dyer-library-of-forgetting.webp)

Jayne Dyer, The Library of Forgetting (Installation Detail), 2008. Photograph, 30 × 20 cm. Courtesy of Red Gate Gallery.

[Continue to selected works ↗](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/works/?lang=en)

## Image use & credits

Images may be reproduced free of charge for editorial coverage of the exhibition, provided the specified credits are retained.

Artwork images: Courtesy of Red Gate Gallery.

Installation photographs (excluding opening views): Photo: Zhang Guozhong. Courtesy of Hu Chao.

Artwork copyright remains with the respective artists and rights holders. Copyright in the installation photographs (excluding opening views) belongs to Hu Chao. Opening-view credits are listed separately; please contact Hu Chao for reproduction enquiries.

[Bilingual image captions CSV ↓](https://www.huchaocurator.com/downloads/shell-exhibition/image-captions.csv)

GALLERY & RELATED CHANNELS

This project archive brings together Hu Chao’s curatorial research, the exhibition foreword, works and installation views. See the gallery’s channels for its announcements and visitor updates.

[Red Gate Gallery exhibition link](http://redgategallery.com/exhibitions/origins-of-artist-residencies-in-china/)[Red Gate Gallery · exhibition archive](https://redgategallery.com/category/exhibitions/past-exhibition/)[WeChat exhibition announcement](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/nj66l7sie7GpGiTNcvHg0A)[Red Gate Gallery · WeChat post](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/VgR8BZMSK3L5910GM1ctQA)[Red Gate Gallery · opening review](https://redgategallery.com/news/opening-review-origins-of-artist-residencies-in-china/)[Red Gate Gallery website](https://redgategallery.com/)

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## 中文

[主要策展](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/) / [《借壳》](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/) / 移植

[展览详情](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/)[策展人语](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/curatorial-note/)[展览前言](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/foreword/)[驻留历史](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/residency-history/)[精选作品](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/works/)[展览现场](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/gallery/)[媒体资料](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/media/)[参观与联系](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/visit/)[图册 PDF ↓](https://www.huchaocurator.com/downloads/shell-exhibition/catalogue-origins-of-artist-residencies-in-china.pdf)

01 / Transplantation

# 移植

1990年代至2000年代初：艺术驻留机制进入中国。

[01 移植](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/chapters/transplantation/?lang=zh)[02 嫁接](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/chapters/grafting/?lang=zh)[03 菌丝网络](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/chapters/mycelium/?lang=zh)

三条历史路径

展览墙面文字：胡超

[完整展览前言 ↗](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/foreword/?lang=zh)

艺术驻留机制进入中国，是一个“移植”的过程。 中国艺术家走出国门，外国艺术家零星来华，都始于20世纪80年代。但那时的交流是个人的、零散的——有出访，有旅居，没有人把“住下来创作”这件事组织起来。

系统性的变化，从澳大利亚开始。1989年，澳大利亚艺术理事会（Australia Council）发起艺术家驻留计划；1991年，项目移交 Asialink 管理。Asialink 是澳大利亚国家层面的亚洲交流机构，设于墨尔本大学。它与亚洲多个国家开展双向艺术家驻留，也由此与中国建立了艺术联系。随后，Asialink 派往中国的首位澳大利亚艺术家琳迪·李（Lindy Lee）到达北京——成体系的双向国际驻留机制第一次在中国落地。

同样在1991年，布朗·华莱士（Brian Wallace）在北京东便门城墙角楼创立红门画廊。这位1984年就来到中国的澳大利亚人，在创办画廊之前，已在北京古观象台等地为年轻的中国艺术家组织过展览。整个1990年代，他以个人身份义务协助 Asialink 来华的艺术家——帮他们找房子、找工作室，带他们走进北京的艺术圈。这些帮助却是当时国际艺术家在北京所能得到的几乎全部支持。而通道是双向的：同一时期，中国艺术家也经 Asialink 赴澳大利亚驻留。

十年接应，蓄势待发。驻留机制已经传入中国，本土驻留项目也开始萌芽。

在出国是稀罕事、见到外国同行也是稀罕事的年代，一个有组织、可申请的驻留名额，对艺术家格外珍贵。

澳大利亚艺术家 Jayne Dyer 1994年首次来北京参加红门画廊的展览，当即决定申请 Asialink 的驻留计划。此后，她通过 Asialink 驻留计划再次来到北京，并于2007年至2014年间在北京生活和工作。长期的在地经验进入她的装置、摄影与雕塑创作——装置作品《蝴蝶效应》（The Butterfly Effect），正是这段经验转化成的艺术语言。

[

Image: Jayne Dyer，《The Library of Forgetting（装置局部）》，2008年。摄影，30 × 20 cm。

](https://www.huchaocurator.com/assets/shell-exhibition/jayne-dyer-library-of-forgetting.webp)

Jayne Dyer，《The Library of Forgetting（装置局部）》，2008年。摄影，30 × 20 cm。 图片由红门画廊提供。

[继续观看作品 ↗](https://www.huchaocurator.com/exhibitions/borrowing-the-shell/works/?lang=zh)

## 图片使用与署名

图片可免费用于本展览的新闻与编辑报道，使用时须保留指定署名。

作品图片由红门画廊提供。

展厅照片（不含开幕现场）：张国钟 摄影，胡超 提供。

作品版权归各艺术家及相关权利人所有。展厅照片（不含开幕现场）版权归胡超所有。开幕现场图片另列署名，转载事宜请联系胡超。

[中英文图片图注 CSV ↓](https://www.huchaocurator.com/downloads/shell-exhibition/image-captions.csv)

画廊与相关发布

这里汇集胡超的策展研究、展览前言、作品与现场资料。画廊的展讯与参观安排，也可通过以下官方渠道查看。

[红门画廊展览链接](http://redgategallery.com/exhibitions/origins-of-artist-residencies-in-china/)[红门画廊 · 展览档案](https://redgategallery.com/category/exhibitions/past-exhibition/)[微信展览发布](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/nj66l7sie7GpGiTNcvHg0A)[红门画廊 · 微信推文](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/VgR8BZMSK3L5910GM1ctQA)[红门画廊 · 开幕回顾](https://redgategallery.com/news/opening-review-origins-of-artist-residencies-in-china/)[红门画廊官网](https://redgategallery.com/)

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