The Sino-German Exhibitionary Complex: Constructing Contemporary Chinese Architecture in Transnational Communication

Spring 2022 Grant Recipient

Graduate Student

Dijia Chen (Architecture)

This project investigates the construct of contemporary Chinese architecture in exhibitionary representations under hegemonic transnational cultural exchange by looking into a series of German exhibitions on contemporary Chinese architects from 2001 onwards. Primarily investigating four German exhibitions on contemporary Chinese architecture in Berlin, Duesseldorf, Dresden, and Frankfurt from 2001 to 2009, this two-month trip traces the evolution of the discursive construct, representational mechanism, and power relations in the increasingly deepened and multi-directional transnational communications between Chinese and German cultural institutions through archival material collection, in-person interviews, on-site spatial investigation and voluntary curatorial assistance.