Exhibition by the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (State Academy of Baden-Württemberg) and Heidelberg University (University Museum)

About the exhibition:

-Further information on the artists and works

The exhibition is taking place as part of the Year of Science 2024 – Freedom, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and as part of the series “PERSPEKTIVE: FREIHEIT” organized by the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities. The Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (State Academy of Baden-Württemberg), under the direction of Academy Member Prof. Dr. Barbara Mittler, is hosting a series of events titled “From the Will to Freedom—China in a Global Context,” which are also being organized in cooperation with the University of Heidelberg, the Confucius Institute based there, and the KlangForum Heidelberg. 

While all the arts in China have always been inextricably linked to politics and structures of power—particularly calligraphy, which, as a kind of lingua franca

The exhibition presents contemporary works by artists of Chinese origin who draw upon this potential of calligraphy and art. The exhibited works include painting, calligraphy, sculpture, photography, and video. They combine traditional elements—techniques, materials, and aesthetics—with contemporary concepts and media. Dynamic, unorthodox, and humorous, they paint a vivid picture of contemporary art in China and the diaspora.

Martina Köppel-Yang (curator of the exhibition)

Artists in the exhibition:

Chen Tong (b. 1962, lives in Guangzhou)

Huang Rui (b. 1952, lives in Beijing and Paris)

Li Zhengtian (b. 1942, lives in Guangzhou)

Yang Jiechang (b. 1956, lives near Heidelberg and in Paris)

Zheng Guogu (b. 1970, lives in Yangjiang)

Yangjiang Group (Chen Zaiyan (b. 1971) / Sun Qinglin (b. 1974), both living in Yangjiang)

Harald Kröner (b. 1962, lives in Pforzheim)

Notes:

"From the Will to Freedom – China in a Global Context" – China School Academy Outreach Program (PDF) (internal link)

Concerts: “Freedom II – Do you hear the people sing? (internal link): Liberation = Freedom?” on November 23 and 24, 2024, 7 p.m., HebelHalle Heidelberg

In the Athene Magazine 1-2024, which was published in June on the topic of “Freedom,” features a detailed article on the exhibition as well as on the Academy’s other events taking place as part of the Year of Science. 

The Years of Science (external link) are an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (external link) in collaboration with Science in Dialogue (external link). The Union (of the Academies) (external link) and its member academies regularly participate in the Science Years through various engagement formats.

Further information:

• To the opening of the exhibition (external link) in the Joint Center "Worldmaking" newsletter, November 2024
• About the Year of Science 2024 – "Freedom" (external link)
• Additional events organized by the science academies (external link) on the Year of Science “Freedom”