Dr Zheng Bo is an artist and writer specializing in socially engaged art. He has worked with a wide range of communities, including the Queer Cultural Center in Beijing and Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong. His work Family History Textbook received a Prize of Excellence from the 2005 Hong Kong Art Biennial; Karibu Islands received a Juror’s Prize from the Singapore Art Museum in 2008. His recent art projects include Sing for Her, a participatory installation created with Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong, and Plants Living in Shanghai, a found botanical garden and an open online course created together with ecologists and humanities scholars in Shanghai.
His essays on Chinese socially engaged art have been published in multiple journals and books. He is a member of the editorial board of Journal of Chinese Contemporary Art. He received an Early Career Award from Hong Kong Research Grants Council in 2014 and a Professional Development Award from City University of Hong Kong in 2015. Currently he is building an online database and a MOOC, both on Chinese socially engaged art. He also supervises doctoral students working on Chinese contemporary art.
He holds a PhD in Visual and Cultural Studies from the University of Rochester, and is an affiliated member of the Institute of Contemporary Art and Social Thoughts at the China Academy of Art.
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Dive into the fascinating realm of socially engaged art in modern-day China, where a new generation of artists is using their craft to address pressing societal challenges. This free online course will introduce you to compelling projects that showcase how art can be a powerful tool for change.