Curating China: Two Blockbuster British Exhibitions (MM x MCI talk series)
Schedule
Tue Mar 10 2026 at 12:30 pm to 02:00 pm
UTC+00:00Location
Manchester Museum | Manchester, EN
About this Event
About the event:
Venue: Museum top floor classroom
Free lunch provided.
What are the impacts of blockbuster exhibitions about Chinese history?
This talk will focus on two case studies of blockbuster exhibitions: Ming 50 years that changed China; and China’s Hidden Century. These both grew out of major UKRI AHRC funded projects that were highly collaborative in their nature. The talk will examine the different circumstances in which they were conceived and presented. Intense debates surround the representation of knowledge about China in Britain. What are the politics of curation and what impact have these projects had? Using these two exhibitions, which were curated 10 years apart, as case studies, the speaker explores their construction and legacies. The talk will prompt discussion about the role of a curator and how narratives dominated by text can be challenged by the evidence of material and visual culture.
About the speaker
Jessica Harrison-Hall read Chinese and Fine Art at the University of Edinburgh and received her PhD from the University of East Anglia. She is Keeper of Asia and Curator of the Sir Percival David Foundation at the British Museum. She has led two major research projects funded by the UK Research and Innovation Arts and Humanities Research Council: one on early Ming courts, with Professor Craig Clunas and Dr Yu-ping Luk; and the other on cultural creativity in19th century China, with Professor Julia Lovell and Wenyuan Xin. These projects have brought together extensive networks of scholars and resulted in blockbuster exhibitions: Ming 50 years that changed China; and China’s Hidden Century. She has also authored, co-authored and edited many books on Ming and Qing material culture.
Photography
The organisers will be taking photos during this event. If you prefer not to be included in any photos, kindly inform the organisers before the event starts.
Joint event presented by Manchester China Institute
promotes excellence in China studies at the University of Manchester. MCI hosts in-person talks, workshops, and roundtables, and well as webinars with a global reach. Our public events are free and open to all. The University of Manchester is committed to academic independence and the freedom of speech. The views speakers present are entirely their own, and do not represent those of the University of Manchester or the Manchester China Institute and its directors.
Where is it happening?
Manchester Museum, Oxford Road, Manchester, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00
