Art project to explore themes of exile and refuge

A new exhibition and panel discussion focussing on Wuhan born artist Chris Zhongtian Yuan and a series of experimental  films by Chinese artists will mark the relaunch of Reading International, an organisation led by artists from Reading School of Art aimed at engaging the community in local and global issues through art.

Chris Zhongtian Yuan’s exhibition Home is Where the Music Is will mark the occasion at its opening on 8 June at 571 Oxford Road Gallery, blending architecture, sound and video to explore memory and resistance through the human psyche across time and space.

Chris Zhongtian Yuan is an artist and filmmaker, whose work explores ideas of absence, memory, home and music. His recent films have been shown at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Aesthetica Film Festival, Videoex Zurich and B3 Biennial of the Moving Image Frankfurt.

To accompany the exhibition, a film screening will be held at Reading Biscuit Factory on 26 June, with short films by Cici Wu, Hsu Che-Yu, Hao Jingban and Chris Zhongtian Yuan. The artists will look at ideas of resistance through imagination, reenactment and improvisation.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A panel and discussion with Chris Zhongtian Yuan, Paris-based curator Qu Chang, Reading-based curator Charles Wong and Reading International Director, Susanne Clausen.

Professor Clausen, from the University of Reading School of Art and Director of Reading International, said: “We’re thrilled to be relaunching Reading International after a three-year break.

Building connections between artists, communities and our partner organisations is incredibly important for promoting contemporary art in Reading.”

Reading International is a contemporary visual arts organisation promoting and commissioning exhibitions, performances, film screenings, workshops and talks in Reading. Artists and curators are given a platform to make new work in response to the unique social and historical context of Reading and wider Berkshire.

Home is Where the Music Is runs from 9 June to 2 July.

Book your free ticket for the film screening and Q&A here.

This project is funded by the British Council’s UK-China Connections through Culture (CTC) Grants.