In 1991, the Chinese Art Seminar/Workshop convened at the San Diego State University, which marked the first occasion where Chinese artists were brought together in North America to exchange ideas and create new works. This historic event has provided valuable records for this significant moment in the development of Chinese contemporary art. What has changed since that time? How have the issues and concerns of a group of young artists been challenged and verified over the last two decades? What symbolic meanings can be learned from the lives of the individual artists who have been working under such drastically changing domestic and international social circumstances?
A reunion of the participants from the 1991 event will be held at the Xi’an Art Museum on July 10th, 2011. Drawing inspiration from the previous seminar, the 2011 reunion will review current social and cultural transitions in China and discuss issues concerning personal artistic experience and national fate. By revisiting the structure and discussion of the past conference, our goal is to examine the current state of Chinese contemporary art through broader social and cultural contexts in hopes of initiating a new chapter in Chinese contemporary art development.
In concurrence with the conference, the Xi’an Art Museum will host an exhibition of documentation from the 1991 Seminar/Workshop and of the art works that were created in different periods by the participating artists. This presentation will provide significant visual references for the current discussion. The exhibition will open at 3 pm, on July 9th, 2011.
Date: July 10th, 2011
Location: Xi’an Art Museum
1991年的圣地亚哥 “中国艺术创作研讨会”（The First Chinese Art Seminar／Workshop），是在北美第一次举行的中国艺术创作和讨论的集会。不仅为当时海内外的中国艺术家提供了一个相互交流、专心创作的平台；也为中国当代艺术发展史上的这一关键时刻留下了珍贵的记录，具有不寻常的意义。当初一群青年艺术家在异国他乡所关注、讨论的问题，在经历了整整二十年之后，如何在中国当代艺术发展的足迹中得到检验和印证？艺术家个人的人生历程，在国内外社会沧海桑田的变化中，又具有着怎样的象征意义？
这次我们邀请当年参与活动的艺术家和学者重聚一堂，在目前中国社会转型期的大环境下，对1991年会议涉及的问题，从具体到宏观、从个人经历到民族命运等进行一次再讨论。艺术家历来是社会中最敏感和活跃的一群。在东西文化交汇碰撞的时代背景下，他们亲身的体验过程，折射了艺术家们对文化独特的审视角度，以及自觉自省的力量。我们希望藉由这次活动，将中国当代代艺术放到更宽泛的社会学环境中进行研究，回顾过去，继往开来。
在研讨会的同时，将举办一次展览会，内容包括1991年活动的文献资料。参加活动艺术家当年或近年的作品。展览会在7月9日下午开幕。
时间：2011年7月10日
地点：西安美术馆
Curators: Shengtian Zheng, Chao Yang, Yifan Wang
策划团队：郑胜天，杨超，王一凡
Artists and scholars | 参加艺术家和学者（按姓氏字母）：
陈丹青 Mr. Chen, Danqing
杜柏贞 Ms. DeBevoise, Jane
韩辛 Mr. Han, Xin
黄雅莉 Ms. Huang, Yali
李默 Mr. Li, Mo
刘小东 Mr. Liu, Xiaodong
阮杰 Mr. Ruan, Jie
孙人 Mr. Sun, Ren
盛姗姗 Ms. Sheng, Shanshan
唐庆年 Mr. Tang, qingnian
杨千 Mr. Yang, Qian
翁子健 Mr. Yung, Anthony
王冬龄 Mr. Wang, Dongling
张建君 Mr. Zhang, Jianjun
徐冰 Mr. Xu, Bing
Organizer: Xi’an Art Museum, Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art
主办：西安美术馆，Yishu当代中国艺术学刊（典藏中文版）
Image (top): Symposium in San Diego, 1991
Image (middle): Exibition in San Diego, 1991
