With Deep Roots, Foliage Thrives
September 24, 2021
Dakota State University is hosting an International Art and Design Virtual Conference
In partnership with the Association of Chinese Artists in American Academia, Dakota State University’s Digital Arts and Design program are hosting a one-day virtual conference “With Deep Roots, Foliage Thrives” the forum of Across the Divide International Art and Design Education on September 30.
The conference is open to DSU students and the larger community with the goal of promoting a dialogue about the exchanging and sharing of different ideas, according to Associate Professor Joe Ren. “I want to provide our public audiences with an opportunity to examine the diversity and creativity found in the contemporary Chinese art and design world.”
Scholars from around the U.S. and China will give presentations. They include Professor Yu Ji, Professor at California State University Long Beach; Xun Chi, Associate Professor at Laguna College of Design; Weimin Zhang, Professor at San Francisco State University; Linxia Jiang, Professor at SUNY Buffalo State; Lampo Leong, Distinguished Professor at the University of Macau, SAR of China; Nan Liu, Professor at Florida A&M University; Xiaohong Zhang, Professor at the University of Wisconsin.
The keynote speaker in design is Yong Xiao from Central Academy of Fine Arts in China and the keynote speaker in art history is Kuiyi Shen from the University of California, San Diego. The special guest artist for the virtual exhibition is Xu Bing.
The conference includes a keynote presentation, lectures, workshops, and an exhibition. Those interested in the fields of fine art, art history, graphic design, photography, environment design, data art, and film are all invited to participate. An online art exhibition in a virtual gallery will also be available on September 30.
Ren is excited for Digital Arts and Design majors to attend. “The conference will present our students with many different perspectives in the fields of art and design. It will help them see the international potential for their academic and professional goals,” he said.
All lectures, exhibitions, and workshops will be virtual and open to the public. Classrooms in Beadle Hall will be available for group viewing.
Additionally, a special pre-conference public reception and artist talk will be held at The BrickHouse on September 29 at 7 p.m., sponsored by the Madison Area Arts Council.
Ren received a grant to help support the event from the South Dakota Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.