Asian Cultural Council Cai Fellowship
Long-Term Project
Cai Guo-Qiang was a 1995 Asian Cultural Council(ACC) fellowship recipient which gave him the opportunity to move to the United States and engage in cultural exchange while also further cultivating his art-making practices. Since then, Cai Guo-Qiang has continued to be involved in the ACC community as gratitude for and in recognition of the transformative cultural exchange experience he had in 1995. Over the years, he has attended notable programmatic events, donated artworks to support advancement efforts, served as a valued member of the ACC Board of Trustees, and made philanthropic contributions through The Cai Foundation.
In 2012, Cai Foundation established ACC Cai Fellowship Program. Over the course of seven years, from 2012 to 2019, Cai Foundation supported 17 grantees—artists, performance practitioners, curators, and critics—to pursue their grant activities and advance international dialogue. This was intended to echo ACC’s mission—to advance international dialogue, understanding, and mutual respect to create a more harmonious and peaceful world—as well as to make possible for many individuals the lifechanging experience of cultural exchange.
In 2021, Cai Foundation established The Cai Fellowship Endowed Fund at ACC, which has, and will continue to, support artists, scholars and arts professionals in perpetuity. To date, two grantees have been awarded through the considerable support provided by the Cai Fellowship Endowed Fund, and a fellowship will continue to be awarded annually to an applicant selected by ACC. Cai Foundation hopes that this endowed fellowship can create a legacy that will impact artists for years to come and foster lifelong relationships through ACC.
Recipients
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Summary: a six-month grant to observe contemporary art activities and developments in new media in the U.S.
Dai Wei is the Creative Designer of the Virtual Simulation Laboratory at the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA), where he received his B.A. (2006) and M.A. (2010) in design. In 2008, he was part of the design team for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games led by Cai Guo-Qiang (ACC 1995, 2006) and others.
2012 ACC Cai Fellow, Theater
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Summary: a four-month grant to participate in a residency program, conduct research, and observe contemporary trends in visual art in New York.
Lu Yang is a new media artist based in Shanghai. She graduated from the China Academy of Art with a B.A. (2003) and M.A. (2010) in new media, studying under Zhang Peili. Her video and installation works mix vibrant, stimulating visuals and sounds with influences spanning neurology, biology, technology, spirituality, gaming and anime, hip hop, and more and have been featured in solo and group exhibitions and biennales in China and internationally.
2013 ACC Cai Fellow, Visual Art
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Summary: a six-month grant to conduct research and observe contemporary trends in visual art in New York.
Video artist Ma Qiusha graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing with a B.F.A. in new media in 2005. In 2008, she received an M.F.A. in electronic integrated art from Alfred University in New York. Her works are often centered on themes of family, life, death, and complex interpersonal relationships. She has exhibited widely in China, as well as internationally at the Tate Modern (U.K.), the 35th International Film Festival Rotterdam (Netherlands), and at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (U.S.).
2013 ACC Cai Fellow Visual Art
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Summary: a two-week fellowship to collaborate with interdisciplinary artist Jennifer Wen Ma (ACC 2006) on her installation kunqu opera Paradise Interrupted at Performa 2013 in New York.
One of China’s leading lighting designers, Xiao Lihe graduated from the Design Department of the Shanghai Theatre Academy (1987), where she continues to lecture and act as a resource for young artists. Since her first fellowship in 1995, Ms. Xiao has received multiple grants from ACC, including support for her M.F.A. in lighting design from the School of Drama, Yale University (2000-2003). She has since worked on the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, and as a lighting designer for both architectural and theater works around the world.
2013 ACC Cai Fellow, Theater
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Summary: a three-month fellowship to conduct research on filmmaking, attend exhibitions and performances, study animation techniques, and meet other artists.
Lei Lei is a Beijing-based multimedia animation artist working in graphic design, illustration, feature film, short cartoon, graffiti, and music. In 2005, while still an undergraduate, he founded the animation group Raydesign Studio. He received his B.A. and M.A. in animation from Tsinghua University in 2007 and 2009. His work was first presented at the Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism / Architecture in 2007. His 2010 film, “This Is LOVE” was awarded Best Narrative Short at the Ottawa International Animation Festival (2010), and he has since shown works at animation festivals around the world. In 2018, he joined CalArts Experimental Animation Faculty.
2014 ACC Cai Fellow, Visual Art
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Summary: a three-month grant to participate in a residency program and observe contemporary trends in visual art in New York.
Zhang Qing is a video artist based in Shanghai. Mr. Zhang obtained a B.A. in engineering from the Changzhou Institute of Technology in 1999. His artistic practice began with experimentation in photography, performance art, and installation art in the early 2000s, which led to his nomination for an award from the Chinese Contemporary Art Association (2004). Since 2006, his focus has centered on the creation of work that examines human behavior in social and political contexts through the use of surveillance systems.
2013 ACC Cai Fellow, Film, Video, & Photography
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Summary: a six-month fellowship to observe contemporary art activities and meet other artists in the U.S.
Song Ta received his B.F.A. from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art in 2010. His practice spans photography, video, installation, painting, and performance. Like that of many of his peers, his work reveals concerns about the power structure in China and its many effects, conveyed through a mask of subtle, black humor. Issues of hierarchy, bureaucracy, the relationship between public and private, and grey areas of social structure are prevalent, in accord with the stance of younger generations in China who are often savvy about sociopolitical conditions, yet find themselves unable to produce change or operate within it in a meaningful way. Mr. Song’s flair for pinpointing and highlighting salient peculiarities within China’s social values and political system complements his sensitivity to the undercurrents operating in his immediate environment. His work has been exhibited world-wide.
2015 ACC Cai Fellow, Visual Art
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Summary: a three-month fellowship to observe current developments in performance art, theater, and dance, and to conduct exchange with peers in the U.S. Mr. Wang received further support to supplement his grant (totaling $20,000).
Wang Sishun graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts with an M.F.A. in sculpture in 2008. Creating sculptures and site-specific, immersive installations, Mr. Wang transforms and recontextualizes physical elements—such as water, fire, concrete, and flowers—with the objective of deconstructing preconceived notions attached to these materials within the Chinese cultural context. Mr. Wang is a representative figure among the new generation of conceptual artists based in Beijing, and has exhibited widely in prominent group and solo exhibitions in China and abroad.
2015 ACC Cai Fellow, Visual Art
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Summary: a six-month fellowship to observe current developments in performance art, theater, and dance, and to conduct exchange with peers in the U.S.
Wu Yandan is a Shanghai-based independent dancer, choreographer, and performance artist who graduated from the pioneering modern dance program founded by Yang Meiqi (ACC 2002) at the Beijing Dance Academy. In 2007, Ms. Wu established her own dance project, brand nu Dance, which seeks to shift what she perceives as a common, outdated preoccupation with Chinese-ness and national culture, towards the more honest expression of the human body. Through brand nu Dance, Ms. Wu has established a platform for cultural exchange in her field and has been commissioned to choreograph works for a number of cross- cultural initiatives.
2015 ACC Cai Fellow, Dance
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Summary: a six-month fellowship to observe contemporary art activities and meet other curators and artists.
Li Jie is Curator for Exhibitions and Director of the International Residency Program at A4 Contemporary Arts Center, a non-profit organization in Chengdu whose mission is to develop local appreciation for culture and art and enhance international cultural and artistic exchange. Mr. Li received his undergraduate degree in 2005 from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in Chongqing, and his M.A. from Sichuan University’s Art College in 2009. From 2007 to 2010, he served as Curator of the Art Museum of Sichuan University. In addition to his work at A4, Mr. Li is an independent curator and a practicing artist.
2016 ACC Cai Fellow, Visual Art
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Summary: a three-month fellowship to research the Vietnam War in the U.S., contributing towards a transnational art project.
Xu Zhe is a conceptual artist based in Shanghai. He graduated from the School of Fine Art of Aix-en-Provence in 2006. Inventive and process-based, his works utilize a variety of media including installation and performance to expose, respond to, and reflect on issues and absurdities in his urban surroundings. His works have been shown at OCAT Contemporary Art Museum, The Times Museum, Shanghai Exhibition Center, and more.
2016 ACC Cai Fellow, Visual Art
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Summary: a six-month fellowship to observe contemporary art activities, explore the state of arts criticism, and meet artists and curators in the U.S.
Wu Jianru is an art critic and an independent curator. Born and raised in Guangzhou, Ms. Wu received her B.A. and M.A. in art history from the Guangzhou Academy of Art. After graduating in 2010, Ms. Wu served as a contributor to ARTFORUM International, and in 2012 was appointed Senior Editor at Leap Magazine. As a curator, she ran an alternative art space in Beijing, where she presented research-oriented art projects.
2016, 2017 ACC Cai Fellow, Visual Art
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Summary: a six-month fellowship to research contemporary art criticism and interview art writers and artists in the U.S.
Dr. Lu Mingjun is a leading art critic, researcher, and curator in China. He received his M.F.A. from the Art College of Sichuan University and his Ph.D. in history at the School of History and Culture, Sichuan University, where he currently serves as a professor. In 2015, he received the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Greater China Research Grant, and in 2016, the Yishu Award for Writing on Contemporary Chinese Art. In the same year, he was invited to participate in the Guggenheim-led research initiative and symposium, Art and China after 1989: New Perspectives.
2017 ACC Cai Fellow, Arts Criticism
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Summary: a six-month fellowship in the U.S. to engage with artists and communities and to research immigration history and diasporic writers.
Yang Yuanyuan works with photography, video, performance, and text, creating artist books and photo installations that employ both fact and fiction to produce narratives pertaining to memory, history, and time. She received her B.A. in photography (honors) from the University of Arts London in 2013. In 2014, she was shortlisted for the Bloomberg New Contemporaries exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art, London. She was nominated for Best Photobook at Fotobookfestival (2015) and received second prize at the Gucang Dummy Award, Martin Parr Edition (2016).
2017 ACC Cai Fellow, Visual Art
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Summary: a six-month fellowship to observe the artistic practices and management structures of theater companies and presenting organizations in the U.S.
Tong Shanshan obtained her B.A. and M.A. degrees in Chinese opera and theater directing from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, where she is employed as a lecturer. She has pursued additional training as producer, theater management professional, and director in Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Hong Kong.
2018 ACC Cai Fellow, Arts Administration
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Summary: a six-month Fellowship in New York to research group exhibitions and meet with curators and artists.
Yao Mengxi is a curator and art critic with a participation-oriented and project-based practice. She is co- founder of Radical Space (2014) in Shanghai and the recipient of international awards for art criticism from Shanghai 21st Century Minsheng Art Museum and the Royal College of Art. She was chosen to participate in Power Station of Art’s Emerging Curators’ Project and is a regular contributor to Artforum China, Artworld, Ran Dian, and LEAP.
2018 ACC Cai Fellow, Curation
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Summary: a six-month fellowship to explore trends in contemporary arts and to continue ongoing investigations into the geography and historical narratives of different locations.
Yu Ji is a visual artist and co-founder of am Art Space. She received her M.A. in sculpture from the College of Art of Shanghai University (2011). Based in Shanghai and Vienna, she has exhibited works at Tensta Konsthall (Stockholm), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), CAFA Museum (Beijing), Yuz Museum Shanghai, and Times Museum Guangzhou. Ms. Yu was nominated for HUGO BOSS ASIA PRIZE 2017 and has participated in the 11th Gwangju Biennale and the 11th Shanghai Biennale, both in 2016.
2019 ACC Cai Fellow, Visual Art
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Summary: Individual Fellowship to conduct comparative research on traditional mouth harp repertory in Asia.
Damin Wu is a consultant at Quanzhou Canghai Cultural Creativity Co., Ltd.
2020 Cai Fellowship Endowed Fund, Ethnomusicology
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Summary: To be inspired and inspire other artists and collectives in New York whose practice is centered on communities, focusing on the exploration of art activism and social practice art in a new context.
Salma Jamal Moushum co-runs Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts in Thakurgaon, Bangladesh. Her work is deeply rooted in exploring the intersections of art and community life, coupled with a critical examination of how microhistory weaves into broader social and cultural dynamics. In her role as the Research and Planning Director of Gidree Bawlee, Salma has been instrumental in conceiving and implementing a multitude of projects that have not only created a sustainable impact on the local community but have also gained international recognition for the foundation. Notable projects she has spearheaded include 'Bhumi,' 'Lost Shadows,' 'Elhakar Katha,' and 'In a New Light', each highlighting the collaborative approach of the collective. Her practice is defined by collaboration and she strives to create a balance of influence in the artistic process. She is an ARThink Southasia fellow of 2018-19 and SIF Arts for Good fellow of 2018.
2024 Cai Fellowship Endowed Fund, Visual Art