Call for Papers | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, Volume 21 Issue 1

Reconfiguring the World: The Art of Greater China and its Diasporas

This special issue of the ‘Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art’ seeks papers that examine the art of the Greater China region encompassing mainland China, Macao, Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as that of diasporic artists working in different contexts around the world. Greater China is understood as an active cultural space defined by historical, multi-directional flows of people and ideas rather than territorial boundaries, and the Chinese diaspora connects China to all parts of the world. By recovering forgotten or marginalised histories of artworks, artists’ lives, art networks, and exhibitions, it is possible to consider alternatives to monolithic national narratives and reconfigure the field of “Chinese” art history in more complex and connected ways.

Papers may focus on art and visual culture produced by artists from any cultural background working in the specific context of Greater China, or the work of exiles, expatriates, and members of the diasporic community more generally (including curators and art historians). Writers are encouraged to rethink the frameworks that have informed the writing of art histories, notably the conceptualisation and periodisation of art’s history, pedagogical assumptions, and the notion of linear progress informed by political events emanating from dominant sources of power. What are the limitations of and gaps in the current art historical record? What are the discrepancies and interventions not acknowledged? How do extant histories of Chinese art intersect with world art history? What is the contribution of art produced in Greater China and its diasporas to modern and contemporary international art? To what extent can new or reconsidered case studies of art produced in Greater China and its diasporas point to alternative ways to think about the mobility of artists, ideas, and artworks and the writing of art history today?

The editors seek Expressions of Interest by 9:00pm (AEST) 31 March 2020.

Email your Expression of Interest to ANZJA’s administrator Jeremy Eaton at eaton@unimelb.edu.au and include the title of your proposed paper and an abstract of no more than 350 words. Editors will then select a short list of papers and invite authors to submit full papers by 10 July 2020.

The invited articles must be between 5,000 and 7,000 words (including endnotes) and should be suitable for a scholarly peer-reviewed journal. See the ANZJA submission guidelines for further details.

Image: I-Chen KUO, ‘33.5 degrees N, 33.3 degrees E’, from the series ‘Survivor’, 2007, digital print. Courtesy of the artist.