Qiu Ting (Professor & Dean, Central Academy of Fine Arts School of Chinese Painting)

Qiu Ting (b. 1971, Guangdong) received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in Chinese Painting from the China Academy of Art between 1992 and 2000, and obtained his Ph.D. from the Academy of Arts & Design at Tsinghua University in 2004, where he studied under renowned artist Zhang Ding. Since 2004, he has been teaching at the School of Chinese Painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), of which he is also Dean. At CAFA, he holds additional roles as a Tier-II Professor, a doctoral supervisor, and a postdoctoral co-supervisor.. He also serves as a doctoral supervisor at the Chinese National Academy of Arts, and as a Distinguished Professor and doctoral supervisor at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, Shanghai University.

Qiu Ting has long been committed to the exploration of the language of Chinese painting and to theoretical research in the field. His work emphasizes comparative studies across artistic disciplines, particularly seeking an open boundary for tradition through dialogue with different cultures in the exploration of ink art.

Zheng Yan (Professor at the School of Arts, Peking University)

He graduated from the Department of History at Shandong University and the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He previously worked at the Shandong Provincial Museum and the Central Academy of Fine Arts. His publications include A Study of Mural Tombs of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, From Archaeology to Art History, The Mask of the Dead: A Study of Han–Tang Funerary Art, and The Iron Kasaya: Destruction and Rebirth in Art History.

Michael Cherney (Artist)

Michael Cherney (b. 1969, New York) received his undergraduate degree in Chinese language and history at the State University of New York at Binghamton and arrived in Beijing for graduate language study at Beijing Language and Culture University in 1991. More than three decades later, he continues to reside in Beijing and travels extensively across China. His major solo exhibitions include: "The Heart-Mind Learns From the Eyes" (Three Shadows Photography Art Center / +3 Gallery, Beijing, 2018); "Among Stone and Mist: Chinese Landscape Photography by Michael Cherney" (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, 2014); "Reframing" (798 Photo Gallery, Beijing, 2006). He has taken part in numerous group exhibitions, including: "Nature's Pure Harmony" (Minsheng Museum of Modern Art, Beijing, 2025); "Go with the Flow: Reimaginations of the River" (Fotografiska Image Art Center, Shanghai, 2024); "The First Jinan International Biennale" (Shandong Art Museum, Jinan, 2020); "Beyond Ink" (China Art Museum, Shanghai, 2018); "Streams and Mountains without End: Landscape Traditions of China" (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2018); "Landscape Duets: The Collaborative Works of Arnold Chang and Michael Cherney" (Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, 2015); "The Art of the Chinese Album" (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2014); "Journeys: Mapping the Earth and mind in Chinese art" (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2007). His works have been included in the permanent collections of numerous institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Museum of Art, Getty Research Institute, Harvard University Art Museums, Hong Kong University Museum and Art Gallery, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Princeton University Art Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, among others. In addition, he has lectured at various institutions, including Northwestern University, the Seattle Art Museum, National Taiwan Normal University, the University of Toronto, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts, among others.

Zou Jiashu (UCCA Assistant Curator)

Zou Jiashu joined UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in 2021 and currently serves as Project Supervisor and Assistant Curator. Based in Beijing, she graduated from the University of Cambridge, University of the Arts London, and Freie Universität Berlin, holding a BA in History of Art and dual MA degrees in Digital Humanities and Curating. Her research interests focus on the history of early photography in China and the global artistic practices of post-war Asian diasporic artists. Exhibitions she has co-curated include: “Memory and Imagination: UCCA at Fifteen” (UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2022). “Crosstalk” (GWBJ, Beijing, 2022); and “John Latham: Now Forget Everything You Ever Knew” (Flat Time House, London, 2020). Exhibitions for which she was oversaw project planning and implementation include: “Pipilotti Rist: Your Palm is My Universe“ (UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2025); “Matisse by Matisse” (UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2023); and “Modern Time: Masterpieces from the Collection of Museum Berggruen / Nationalgalerie Berlin” (UCCA Edge, Shanghai, 2023).