Shehuo: Zhang Xiao’s Photography of Rural China

Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

用中文阅读

Special Event: Exhibition Preview and Conversation

Free and Open to the Public | Event full: This event is now full and we are no longer accepting registrations.

Zhang Xiao, 2018 Robert Gardner Fellow in Photography, Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Harvard University

In conversation with Ou Ning, Artist, Curator, Writer

Contemporary photographer Zhang Xiao explores the impact of rapid economic change and urbanization on Chinese rural landscapes and traditions. In this conversation with artist and scholar Ou Ning, Zhang will share his aesthetic approach to documenting Shehuo (社火, Community Fire), a cultural festival held in Northern China that commemorates the Chinese Lunar New Year. From 2007 to 2019, Zhang photographed the dynamic performances and parades that are part of Shehuo, capturing their beauty and intricacy, while also noting how China’s economic and technological growth has influenced this ancient celebration. The images will be featured in the exhibition Shehuo: Community Fire 社火 opening Saturday, May 13 at the Peabody Museum.

Learn more about the exhibition in this photo essay.

Presented in Mandarin with English translation.

A reception and exhibition preview will follow in the galleries of the Peabody Museum. Free parking at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

Presented by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology and Harvard Museums of Science & Culture in collaboration with the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University

This event is part of ArtsThursdays, a university-wide initiative supported by Harvard University Committee on the Arts (HUCA).

artsthursdays logo.
Logo for Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University

About the Speakers

Zhang Xiao. Born in 1981 in Yantai city, Shandong province, China, Zhang currently lives and works in Chengdu, Sichuan province. He graduated from the Department of Architecture and Design at Yantai University in 2005, and began his career with the Chongqing Morning Post as a photojournalist. Zhang has won numerous awards including the Three Shadows Photography Award in 2010 for They; the second Hou Dengke Documentary Photography Award in 2009, the Photography Talent Award (France) in 2010, and the Prix HSBC pour la Photographie in 2011 for Coastline. His publications include Coastline, (Actes Sud, 2011; Jia zazhi Press, 2012); They (Éditions Bessard, 2014); Shanxi (Little Man Press, 2013); and A Hometown (Jiazazhi Press, 2021).

Ou Ning is the director of the documentaries San Yuan Li (2003) and Meishi Street (2006); chief curator of the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (2009); jury member of the 8th Benesse Prize at the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009); member of the Asian Art Council at the Guggenheim Museum (2011); founding chief editor of the literary journal Chutzpah! (2010–2014); founder of the Bishan Project (2011–2016); a visiting professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (2016–2017); and a senior research fellow of the Center for Arts, Design and Social Research in Boston (2019–2022). His most recent book is Utopia in Practice: Bishan Project and Rural Reconstruction (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).

About the Robert Gardner Fellowship in Photography

Two red lion performers in costume, Huozhuang Village, Henan Province. Photo © Zhang Xiao

《社火:张晓摄影中的中国乡村》

特别活动:展览预告和对谈

5月11日星期四,晚上6:00-8:30
麻省剑桥市牛津街24号,Geological 讲堂 (Geological Lecture Hall)

免费对公众开放 | 活动(报名)已满:这个活动现在已满,我们不再接收注册报名了。

张晓,2018年哈佛大学皮博迪考古和民族学博物馆罗伯特·加德纳摄影奖学金的获得者

与艺术家、策展人和作家欧宁的对谈 in conversation with Ou Ning

当代摄影师张晓在他的作品中探索经济巨变和城市化对中国乡土景观和传统的影响。在他和学者欧宁的对话中,张晓将分享他记录社火(一种庆祝中国农历新年的文化节日)的美学方法。从2007年到2019年,张晓致力于对于社火的动态表演和游行的拍摄,捕捉了它们的美和复杂性,同时也关注中国经济和技术发展对于这个古老庆典的重塑。这些图片的部分节选将在皮博迪博物馆的《社火》 展览中展出,于5月13日星期六开幕

普通话对谈,提供英文翻译

酒会和展览预告将在皮博迪博物馆的展厅内举行。52 Oxford Street停车场提供免费停车服务

与费正清中国研究中心合作呈现

该活动是哈佛大学艺术委员会 (HUCA)支持的全校性活动艺术星期四(ArtsThursdays) 的一部分。

关于对谈嘉宾

张晓。1981年出生于中国山东省烟台 市,目前在中国四川省成都市生活和工作。2005年毕业于烟台大学建筑设计系,最初在《重庆晨报》担任新闻摄影记者。张晓曾凭着《他们》系列获得三影堂摄影奖大奖(2010年);凭借《海岸线》系列获得第二届候登科摄影奖(2009年)、法国才华摄影奖(2010年),以及法国汇丰银行摄影奖(2011年)。张晓出版过的书籍包括《海岸线》(Actes Sud,2011年; Jia zazhi Press,2012年)、《他们》((Éditions Bessard,2014年)、《陕西》((Little Man Press, 2013年),以及《一个故乡》(Jia zazhi Press,2021年)

欧宁是两部纪录片——《三元里》(2003年)和《煤市街》(2006年)的导演 ,深圳香港城市建筑双城双年展总策展人(2009年),第八届倍乐生大奖评委(2009年,第53届威尼斯双年展),古根海姆美术馆亚洲艺术委员会成员(2011年),《天南》文学双月刊创办人和主编(2011–2014年),碧山计划创始人(2011–2016年),哥伦比亚大学建筑、规划与保护研究生院客座教授 (2016–2017年),波士顿艺术、设计与社会研究中心高级研究员(2019至2022年)。现生活工作于纽约,最新的著作是《实践乌托邦》(英文版,2020年)

双人舞狮表演者的细节, 河南省霍庄村
2018

图片版权:© 张晓

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