Curatorial
Practice
Sha Li is a curator and educator at the intersection of emerging technologies and contemporary art. With a background in both curation and art, she excels at forging meaningful and compassionate connections with artists, researchers, and fellow curators.
Li critically examines cultural hierarchies and social network algorithms, rooting both feminist and cyber-feminist perspectives in her curatorial approaches. Her work aims to foster equality, collaboration, and mutual growth.
Sha Li's curatorial practice centers on both institutional and grassroots support systems that are horizontal and collaborative, emphasizing inclusivity and diversity. These systems challenge conventions and systemic oppression through art-making, creativity, and innovation, exploring the evolving roles of spaces and infrastructures.
By embracing emerging technologies, she seamlessly integrates care, community-led initiatives, and decentralized design methodologies into her projects. Her curatorial strategies, marked by a sense of urgency, engage with unique temporal and spatial contexts, delve into liminal spaces, and offer alternative perspectives.
🌖 Teaching and Sharing
Sha Li shared insights on the pandemic's impact on artistic practices during the Frank Davis Memorial Lecture Series "Asian Art after Quarantine," hosted by Dr. Wenny Teo at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, UK.
She also taught "Co-creating Digital Art/Object, NFTs, and the Metaverse" at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, employing collaborative tools like Miro to foster peer learning and collective creative thinking. Student reflections on this process can be viewed [here].
As a guest lecturer for the Digital Direction MA programme at the Royal College of Art in London, UK, Li introduced digital curatorial thinking and provided guidance for the [Final Output Show of 2023], conceptualized as a cyclical creative ecosystem. The students transformed into a self-organized group on Discord, resembling a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Within this dynamic network, they actively collaborated and provided peer-to-peer support, nurturing both artistic and curatorial practices. The exhibition blossomed into a digital garden, showcasing the vast potential of cross-pollinated creativity and making meaningful connections among members.
🌗 Contemporary Art Institutions
Sha Li has collaborated with esteemed art institutions globally, including the Royal College of Art in London, UK; Lisson Gallery in London, UK; the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, UK; Art021 in Shanghai, China; the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China; and Nottingham Contemporary in Nottingham, UK. Her curatorial practice has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and Arts Council England.
🌘 Academic Background
Sha Li holds a Master of Arts degree in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art in London, UK, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film and Integrated Media from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada.
Li critically examines cultural hierarchies and social network algorithms, rooting both feminist and cyber-feminist perspectives in her curatorial approaches. Her work aims to foster equality, collaboration, and mutual growth.
🌓 Curatorial Practice and Methodology
Sha Li's curatorial practice centers on both institutional and grassroots support systems that are horizontal and collaborative, emphasizing inclusivity and diversity. These systems challenge conventions and systemic oppression through art-making, creativity, and innovation, exploring the evolving roles of spaces and infrastructures.
By embracing emerging technologies, she seamlessly integrates care, community-led initiatives, and decentralized design methodologies into her projects. Her curatorial strategies, marked by a sense of urgency, engage with unique temporal and spatial contexts, delve into liminal spaces, and offer alternative perspectives.
🌖 Teaching and Sharing
Sha Li shared insights on the pandemic's impact on artistic practices during the Frank Davis Memorial Lecture Series "Asian Art after Quarantine," hosted by Dr. Wenny Teo at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, UK.
She also taught "Co-creating Digital Art/Object, NFTs, and the Metaverse" at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, employing collaborative tools like Miro to foster peer learning and collective creative thinking. Student reflections on this process can be viewed [here].
As a guest lecturer for the Digital Direction MA programme at the Royal College of Art in London, UK, Li introduced digital curatorial thinking and provided guidance for the [Final Output Show of 2023], conceptualized as a cyclical creative ecosystem. The students transformed into a self-organized group on Discord, resembling a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Within this dynamic network, they actively collaborated and provided peer-to-peer support, nurturing both artistic and curatorial practices. The exhibition blossomed into a digital garden, showcasing the vast potential of cross-pollinated creativity and making meaningful connections among members.
🌗 Contemporary Art Institutions
Sha Li has collaborated with esteemed art institutions globally, including the Royal College of Art in London, UK; Lisson Gallery in London, UK; the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, UK; Art021 in Shanghai, China; the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China; and Nottingham Contemporary in Nottingham, UK. Her curatorial practice has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and Arts Council England.
🌘 Academic Background
Sha Li holds a Master of Arts degree in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art in London, UK, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film and Integrated Media from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada.
🌕 Collaboration
Sha Li is deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with and exhibit the works of many talented artists, curators, and researchers, including:
- Aaron Ratajczyk
- Adam Christensen
- Andrew Thomas Huang
- Angela Blanc
- April Lin and Jasmine Lin
- Ayesha Tan Jones
- Bette Gordon
- Camille Baker
- Cang Xin
- Cerith Wyn Evans
- Charlotte dos Santos
- Chen Peifang
- Chen Qiang
- Chen Xi
- Chen Wencun
- CHOOC LY
- Christine Sun Kim
- Cui Yu
- Deng Jianjin
- Deborah Stratman
- Dong Mo
- Eva Gold
- Fang He
- Feng Zhixuan
- Gaia Fugazza
- Ge Yulu
- Greg Hilty
- Han Bo
- Haroon Mirza
- He Gong
- He Xiangyu
- Jade Barget
- James Richards and Steve Reinke
- Jesse Ash
- Ji Xuefeng
- Jin Haofan
- Jin Jinjin
- Jin Jinghong
- Juan Po
- Jade Barget
- Ken McMullen
- Ke Ming
- Lena Dobrowolska
- Li Danni
- Li Fei
- Li Huiyi
- LI YILEI
- Li JiKai
- Li Jingxiong
- Li Liao
- Li Zhongwei
- Li Zi
- Lindsey Wiercioch
- Liu Xinyi
- Lu Shan
- Luigi Galimberti
- Luo Kai
- Luxi Liu
- Ma Jun
- Mary Helena Clark
- Matt Kane
- Pak
- Panos Fourtoulakis
- Popo Fan
- Pu Yingwei
- Ren Lili
- Sarah Zucker
- Shahryar Nashat
- Shen Boliang
- Sidsel Meineche Hansen
- Sin單 Wai慧 Kin乾 (formerly Victoria Sin)
- Sophie Dupont
- Tan Tian
- Tan Tan
- Thuy-Han Nguyen-Chi
- Tom Simmons
- Wang Haiyang
- Wang Zhiyi
- Wen Jing
- Wenny Teo
- Whiskey Chow
- Yang Fan
- Yang Fei
- Yi-Ning Lin
- Yu Tongzhou
- Yuan Han
- Zhang Chi
- Zhang Jing
- Zhu Xu
- Zi Jie