Interview by Ruihan Zhu
Original Publication at China Life: 专访策展人张芷蘅：在纽约与北京、虚拟与现实之间，反思异同、建立对话
When “art” and “curating” are placed among people from different countries and regions, as well as different generations, how do their meanings and logic change? When a young person chooses to curate exhibitions independently, what abilities do they need? This interview invites post-95s independent curator Zhiheng Ashely Zhang to share her personal experiences and insights, from her initial acquaintance with art to making a career out of it.
Since officially starting her career as a curator in Beijing in 2020, and beginning her career as an independent curator in New York in 2023, Zhiheng Ashely Zhang has successfully realized several exhibition projects. These projects cover a wide range of content, including a rethinking of new media art, the relationship between women and wearable items, and the exploration of emerging art styles. Her work spans cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, and New York. In these diverse practices, we can see her broad interest in art, open vision, and ability to build networks and adapt flexibly in different environments.
For Zhiheng Ashely Zhang, helping audiences from different backgrounds to have a better understanding of arts via curation, and sparking discussions among viewers is always one of her primary concerns. At the same time, she is also committed to establishing dialogues between seemingly distant artworks in new ways, hoping to create more experimental and avant-garde exhibitions from both theoretical and practical levels.
Besides curating, Zhiheng Ashely Zhang is also engaged in art writing, teaching, and research. These form a complementary relationship, constantly bringing new inspiration to her curatorial concepts and practices. Perhaps one way to work independently of any institution is to first make oneself a self-sufficient, cyclically operating system.
Q: What initially led you to choose a career in art and curating?
A: Like many others, my exploration of art began in childhood interest classes. At that time, I lived in Germany with my parents. I was fortunate to be introduced to art in an entertaining and educational way, rather than focusing on a specific category. I still remember the classroom experiences of drumming, singing, dancing, and painting on stones, which established a wonderful and natural intimacy between art and me. After returning to China, I continued learning in painting and calligraphy classes. The teachers at that time gave me great confidence, allowing me to continue exploring art.
However, after entering Tsinghua University High School, I realized that the subject requirements in China, which emphasize drawing and modeling abilities, differed from the art I wanted to learn. After discussing it with my parents, we agreed that my academic performance could provide more options. So, I temporarily stopped fine arts training in my sophomore year of high school. This change led me to discover art history, a discipline at the intersection of art and humanities, and I eventually successfully entered the Central Academy of Fine Arts to study.
Later, through internships in different fields such as art education, galleries, auction houses, and museums during my undergraduate years, I gradually realized my enthusiasm for curating. Compared to other career directions, I believe curating is the professional branch closest to art and the public. I am passionate about creating cultural content and look forward to conveying more worthy aesthetics and topics worth discussing to the public through curating, thereby driving cultural vitality.
(Zhiheng Ashely Zhang (rightmost) working with former CAFAM director Zhang Zikang (current ENNOVA ART Museum director) (leftmost))
Q: What motivates you to continue working in this direction?
A: Out of practical concerns, I didn’t firmly decide to pursue curating until I graduated from undergraduate school. Curatorial opportunities are limited, and I worried that this choice might lead to an unstable life. Moreover, the year I graduated coincided with the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many exhibition projects to halt, making me pessimistic about the prospects of working in the curatorial industry.
However, things turned around after the pandemic eased. I was fortunate to be invited as the executive curator for the NFT exhibition “Virtual Niche- Have You Ever Seen Memes in the Mirror” at Beijing UCCA Lab. This was my first large-scale exhibition as an executive curator, and its new media nature, involving extensive screen use and tight preparation time, allowed me to accumulate a lot of valuable experience. I was also lucky to meet prestigious female curator, Professor Victoria Lu and Phoenix Art co-founder and editor-in-chief Xiao Ge at the exhibition opening, whose feedback encouraged me greatly. After that, I studied under Professor Lu at the University of Barcelona. Her inspiring energy has always influenced me, and her encouragement and guidance have made me more determined to work hard in curating and art history research.
(“Virtual Niche- Have You Ever Seen Memes in the Mirror” exhibition site group photo from right to left: new media artist and visiting professor at Renmin University of China Xue Lei, curator Zhiheng Ashely Zhang, scholar Victoria Lu, Phoenix Art co-founder and editor-in-chief Xiao Ge, and FILM FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL CEO Michael Lim)
Q: How do your curatorial concepts generally form? Once the initial idea appears, how do you deepen it?
A: I don’t like to attribute overly profound theories and terms to curatorial concepts, especially those outside the art profession. On one hand, simply describing a profound term from another discipline with a few sentences in a curatorial concept may lack rigor; on the other hand, these theories often have tenuous connections with the artist’s work. Such obscure curatorial concepts not only fail to help the audience understand the exhibition but also make the audience more “respectfully distant” from art, thus defeating the purpose of curating. Good curating should help artworks be better understood by audiences from different backgrounds. Therefore, finding an organic balance between curatorial concepts and artists’ specific creations is crucial. I don’t have a fixed workflow but determine my methods based on the specific circumstances and needs of each exhibition. However, regardless of the type of exhibition, I always focus on communication with the artist, refining the exhibition’s concepts and framework from their specific works and ideas, repeatedly deliberating and deepening the themes.
Q: Curating is often compared to different types of practices like writing and art creation. What do you think is unique about the practice of curating?
A: Firstly, I believe exhibitions and books are different. Exhibitions are presented through visual experiences, often accompanied by text, but visual information is the primary focus, which is very different from writing, where text is the main information carrier. The works in an exhibition are like the evidence supporting arguments in an academic paper. If the audience cannot feel any connection between the works after entering an exhibition and cannot understand the preface’s meaning, then the exhibition is a failure.
At the same time, an ideal exhibition serves all audiences, especially in non-profit institutions like museums. I hope that when the public enters my exhibition, they can resonate emotionally, have intellectual collisions, and gain aesthetic inspiration. This feedback can come from the exhibits or from the thoughts formed about the exhibition’s themes and concepts.
Moreover, I agree with the view of American art historian and critic Rosalyn Deutsche that “All arts are political.” Even without explicitly stating the meaning of the works and exhibitions in words, their conceptual leanings can still be perceived by the audience through aspects like content forms and choice of creative media.
Q: What is your ideal curating?
A: I hope my exhibitions can receive audience feedback and interaction, so my ideal curating is like holding a movement, sparking discussions and leading thought trends. For example, the “Salon des Refusés” in 1863, although initially a humorous rebellion, ultimately contributed to the rise of Impressionism partly because it broke the existing forms of art and exhibition; the “Stars Art Exhibition” held in the garden on the east side of the National Art Museum of China in 1979 is another excellent example, opening a new chapter for Chinese contemporary art; another example is the 1989 “Magiciens de la Terre” curated by Jean-Hubert Martin, which broke the limitations of Eurocentrism, showcasing artists from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and other regions alongside those from Europe and America for the first truly global group exhibition.
The contemporary exhibition model we are familiar with today has been formed through the continuous breakthroughs of our predecessors in existing forms of art and exhibition. It is these repeated breakthroughs that have continually brought contemporary art to the forefront of culture. I hope to make breakthroughs in both theoretical and practical levels, creating more experimental and avant-garde exhibitions.
Q: What was the first exhibition you curated in New York, and which exhibition are you most satisfied with so far? How were they realized?
A: The 2023 exhibition “Attention! Please Scan!” was my first curatorial practice in New York, an experimental attempt to connect virtual and physical art spaces using QR codes. The topics discussed include diaspora in the post-colonial era, female perspectives, labor and crises in new capitalism, the explosive growth of technology, and the growing desire for a revolution in human survival.
The idea for this exhibition emerged during the pandemic when I was still in Beijing. To reduce unnecessary contact for public health safety, everything suddenly moved online. This made me wonder: which parts of the art field cannot be online? And which parts are more suitable for online presentation? Online exhibitions can indeed compensate for some limitations of physical conditions, such as eliminating geographical separations, magnifying image details, and allowing the audience to watch narrative and time-consuming video artworks at their own pace. However, no matter how technology develops, physical exhibition spaces remain important. Exhibition spaces are not only places to display works but also serve social functions, creating opportunities for people to communicate. When people engage in discussions in the exhibition space, the public education purpose of the exhibition is also achieved.
Based on this, I invited nine artists and two artist groups to participate in the exhibition, each of their works discussing a different social issue. In terms of presentation, I digitized the works and presented them as QR codes in the physical exhibition space, placing 2-3 questions related to the work beside each QR code to stimulate more thinking from the viewers.
This exhibition took more than two years from the initial idea to the final realization. Although I see many areas for improvement, I still consider it my most satisfying practice so far. Especially when many unfamiliar viewers came to the exhibition site, they shared their thoughts on the works with me. Some even praised it as the most thought-provoking exhibition they had ever seen, leading them to a different realm of thinking, which deeply moved me.
(Curator Zhiheng Ashely Zhang (far left) explains to viewers at the New York exhibition “Attention! Please Scan!”)
Q: Besides curating, what other fields do you practice in? How do they relate to your curatorial practice?
A: I have also been working in writing and education. In the field of writing, I continuously provide commentary articles for some art media and gallery institutions. I always believe that writing is an essential skill for curators, as it also allows us to learn from and summarize the experiences of other curators. No exhibition practice can be perfect; it always deserves serious criticism. The existence of art criticism can help the curatorial industry develop better. In terms of teaching, I interned at the private art education institution “Tosee Art Education” during my undergraduate years and also taught students in vocational schools how to use professional design software. Additionally, I teach curatorial courses for different institutions every year. In New York, I also teach Chinese culture to some Chinese-American and mixed-race children. In my view, the significance of classroom teaching lies not only in knowledge transmission but also in finding the appropriate way to communicate with students of different ages and backgrounds. Through teaching, I can continuously digest and understand knowledge, summarizing myself. For me, writing, teaching, and curating are complementary. Through narrating and communicating with different people, I can understand the exhibitions they hope to see, thereby refining my exhibition concepts.
Q: After studying and working in the United States for three years, what new insights have you gained about the art world?
A: I think the focus and mode of art education differ between the United States and China. American art education places more emphasis on conceptual training, while China focuses more on basic artistic skills. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages for the development of artists. According to my observations, some students who have received Chinese art education might become overly obsessed with techniques, creating well-made but shallow works before finding their true concerns. In contrast, in the United States, teachers encourage brainstorming and discussions in class, which are not limited to pure art. This makes it easy for students to focus on social and political issues and transform them into artworks. This de-emphasis on techniques also allows artists without professional art training to succeed in the American system, creating from concepts using ready-made objects or performances. However, they might struggle with execution at some point, leading to simple and unsatisfactory expressions. Artists might benefit from studying under both models for a self-breakthrough in the short term.
Additionally, there are differences between the two countries in the operation and environment of non-profit art institutions. In the U.S., non-profit art institutions have dedicated boards for fundraising. Under the 501C3 legal provision, corporate donations to non-profits can receive tax deductions, increasing the potential for more financial support.
Q: In New York, have you discovered any Chinese individuals doing interesting work in the art and curatorial industry? Can you share your experiences of discovering each other and reaching cooperation?
A: The Accent Sister, an interesting institution I have collaborated with, leans more towards literature than visual art. They have done many creative things in publishing, and promoting Chinese literature in the U.S. Their space includes a gallery and a bookstore. Last year, I collaborated with them on a wearable art exhibition, “But to Bestow Meaning Upon Flowers.” To resonate with Accent Sister’s literary nature, I particularly referenced Beauvoir’s explanation of the special significance of clothing for women in “The Second Sex” as the starting point, and the scene where Mrs. Dalloway buys flowers for herself in Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” as the echo, focusing on wearable art as a medium of self-expression rather than a passive reflection of social expectations and status.
Additionally, I am currently following an institution called Tutu Gallery, opened by April Z in her Brooklyn apartment. Unlike most galleries in Manhattan, Tutu Gallery does not primarily aim for artwork sales. It is more like building a community, focusing on supporting emerging, especially non-American, artists and curators. Tutu Gallery prefers light and pleasant artworks over grand ones. The ongoing exhibition “Gentle Mist,” curated by Sha Luo and Seung-Jun Lee, features many ingenious works. In Tutu Gallery, places like fireplaces, gardens, and kitchens are all art venues. As a curator from China, I felt an unprecedented intimacy here, which traditional white-box spaces cannot achieve.
Q: Can you talk about your next project and your expectations for the future?
A: I am currently seeking opportunities to collaborate with some non-profit or charitable institutions. I hope to slow down and give each exhibition more preparation time. Meanwhile, I also hope to establish deeper collaborative relationships with some institutions. In the future, I hope to participate in curating exhibitions similar to the Setouchi Triennale, using art to bring more practical changes and benefits to people’s lives. Currently, I am negotiating with the non-profit art residency institution Residency Unlimited in New York. This year, I will participate as a curator in their residency program, curating exhibitions for their resident artists.
(Written by Zhu Ruihan)
About Zhiheng Ashely Zhang:
Zhiheng Ashely Zhang, curator and writer. Graduated from New York University, the University of Barcelona, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Currently based in New York and Beijing. She has worked as a curator and executive curator in exhibitions in New York, Beijing, Shanghai, and Tokyo.
About Zhu Ruihan:
Zhu Ruihan, a writer and exhibition worker living in Beijing. Graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, currently working at the Jin Shangyi Art Foundation in Beijing, responsible for the planning and execution of exhibition projects. Her articles have been published in ArtReview, Divergent Criticism, artnet, Art-Ba-Ba, Fake Magazine, Phoenix Art, and other magazines and media platforms.