We are delighted to announce the recipient of the inaugural Asymmetry Curatorial Residency, a brand-new initiative that supports a mid-career curator to conduct independent research and project development in London. In collaboration with Delfina Foundation and following an invite-only selection process that took place earlier this year, Beijing-based curator and researcher Li Jia has been selected as our incoming Curator-in-Residence. Li Jia will begin her three-month residency in September which will culminate in a research presentation at Asymmetry HQ in winter 2024.

During her residency, Li Jia will conduct research on the complex social, cultural, and ethnic formations of indigenous communities in China, juxtaposed with contemporary issues such as migration, urbanisation, and environmental crises. She aims to utilise resources from institutions, libraries and collections across London to further the development of her research. Additionally, she will explore artistic practices, collectives, and communities that have shaped diasporic identities in London, to form a comparative understanding of how indigenous identities and cultures are preserved, reinterpreted, and expressed across contexts.

This initiative marks our first residency conceptualised after identifying the need to create a focused opportunity that offers sustainable parameters for a curator based in Mainland of China to conduct independent research in another cultural context without having to integrate into foreign institutional structures.

The Curator-in-Residence will join Delfina Foundation’s renowned residency programme, receiving additional mentoring and peer-to-peer exchange with other practitioners.

ABOUT LI JIA

Li Jia is a Beijing-based curator and researcher interested in the multiple and hybrid practices of socially engaged art across Asia. Her interests extend to artistic activism and its impact on social movements, as well as contemporary Chinese art. Her current research focuses on the often-overlooked histories within East Asian Hauntology.

Li Jia has curated over sixty individual programmes and group exhibitions, including: Walking Guidance (Long March Space, Beijing, 2023), Zhang Xiaogang: Mayflies (Long Museum, Shanghai, 2023), A Geography of Resistance (Taikang Space, Beijing, 2019), Genders Engender (Taikang Space, Beijing, 2018), and Precariousness (Hyundai Art Studio, Beijing, 2018), among others. She was awarded the Hyundai Blue Prize (Creativity) for achievement in curatorial practice in 2017, and the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) Individual Grant in 2021. She was the inaugural curatorial fellow supported by De Ying Foundation from 2022 to 2023.

ABOUT THE ASYMMETRY CURATORIAL RESIDENCY

The Asymmetry Curatorial Residency is a brand-new initiative that supports independent curatorial research. Geared towards a mid-career curator based in Mainland of China, it is a three-month fully funded residency in London, hosted by Asymmetry and in collaboration with Delfina Foundation.

Tapping into the extensive membership, mentorship, partnership, and peer network of Asymmetry, as well as the vibrant cohort and alumni community of Delfina’s residency programme, the Curator-in-Residence will have the chance to initiate self-driven independent research, including visits to institutions, archives, and artist studios. The exposure to the institutional landscape in London will create unique opportunities for dialogue and exchange with fellow curators, artists, and cultural producers, and further expand the recipient’s experience for personal growth and professional development. The Curatorial Residency will culminate in a project outcome presented at Asymmetry HQ.

This residency marks an evolution of the collaboration between Asymmetry and Delfina Foundation, which to date has produced multiple successful fellowships including three Curatorial Fellows in partnership with Whitechapel Gallery, and two Curatorial Writing Fellows and the current Curatorial Research Fellow in partnership with Chisenhale Gallery. During their placements, our Fellows have curated and assist-curated institutional exhibitions such as ‘Anna Mendelssohn: Speak, Poetess’ (2023-2024), ‘Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940-70’ (2023), and ‘Galleries in the Groove: Three Visionary Dealers, 1960s-80s’ (2021-2022), and produced project outcomes such as multi-part programme series ‘Polyphonic Bodies’ (2022) and publication project ‘KUA 跨’ (2022).

The Asymmetry Curatorial Residency expands our core initiatives in placements and partnerships with leading UK institutions and beyond, alongside the Curatorial Research Fellowship at Chisenhale Gallery, the PhD Scholarship for the ‘Advanced Practices’ programme at Goldsmiths, University of London, the Postdoctoral Fellowship at The Courtauld Institute of Art, and the support of the Curator and Adjunct Curator posts at Tate Modern.

ABOUT DELFINA FOUNDATION

Founded in 2007, Delfina Foundation hosts artists and creative practitioners from around the world in its home in central London: providing essential space and support for experimentation, research, and development; facilitating vital networks and dialogue across the art world and society; presenting new artists, art, and ideas to local and global audiences; and nurturing long-standing global communities of artists and creative practitioners.

Partner:
Delfina Foundation, London