https://shali.work Sha Li's Curatorial Practice Wed, 16 Aug 2023 00:34:32 +0000 https://shali.work en https://shali.work/Myc3lium-Network-Work-in-Progress Thu, 15 Sep 2022 11:03:49 +0000 Sha Li's Curatorial Practice https://shali.work/Myc3lium-Network-Work-in-Progress 🌑 Ethereal Garden: Curatorial Research Network&nbsp; ︎ - ongoing <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0b553292732619f468b74be3205f40e56a85903be4dd64153f59ca81173e6728/ethereal-garden-2.png" data-mid="252104277" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0b553292732619f468b74be3205f40e56a85903be4dd64153f59ca81173e6728/ethereal-garden-2.png" /> Ethereal Garden Mission Statement&nbsp; ︎ Creative ecosystem ︎ Networked curatorial model ︎ Collective intelligence Ethereal Garden is a curatorial network inspired by the resilience of mycelium, cultivating connections across disciplines through peer-driven exchange. It brings together contributors from art, technology, sociology, and beyond, creating a distributed space for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and collective learning. Ethereal Garden envisions curation as a living ecosystem in which each contribution becomes a node, connected to others through an evolving network. By cultivating relationships and facilitating the circulation of knowledge, ideas, and perspectives, the project explores how curatorial practice can become a form of cultural infrastructure—one that enables creative ecosystems to emerge, adapt, and sustain themselves. Kindly supported by the Canada Council for the Arts: Digital Greenhouse Strategic Innovation Fund. https://shali.work/Solstice-Star-Gif-t-in-collaboration-with-Lisson-Gallery Thu, 15 Sep 2022 11:30:24 +0000 Sha Li's Curatorial Practice https://shali.work/Solstice-Star-Gif-t-in-collaboration-with-Lisson-Gallery ✨ Solstice Star Gif(t)︎︎︎ March 2023 - ongoing <img width="2400" height="1799" width_o="2400" height_o="1799" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cef5d8e4d5818c83010fc04e238949d4f71805758430284fa24027ebca74a8e0/MIRZ_INSTA_For_A_Dyson_Sphere__Lisson_Gallery__New_York_2022_007.jpg" data-mid="238964759" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/cef5d8e4d5818c83010fc04e238949d4f71805758430284fa24027ebca74a8e0/MIRZ_INSTA_For_A_Dyson_Sphere__Lisson_Gallery__New_York_2022_007.jpg" /> <img width="1320" height="990" width_o="1320" height_o="990" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/50bc49e4e9b2bf3c86c2f3d59dfa1a983d417f36047cdaddc1a623d7ff4c44cb/haroon.jpg" data-mid="238964720" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/50bc49e4e9b2bf3c86c2f3d59dfa1a983d417f36047cdaddc1a623d7ff4c44cb/haroon.jpg" /> <img width="2400" height="1799" width_o="2400" height_o="1799" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cef5d8e4d5818c83010fc04e238949d4f71805758430284fa24027ebca74a8e0/MIRZ_INSTA_For_A_Dyson_Sphere__Lisson_Gallery__New_York_2022_007.jpg" data-mid="238964759" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/cef5d8e4d5818c83010fc04e238949d4f71805758430284fa24027ebca74a8e0/MIRZ_INSTA_For_A_Dyson_Sphere__Lisson_Gallery__New_York_2022_007.jpg" /> Haroon Mirza, Solstice Star, installation view, Lisson Gallery. ︎Physical x digital evolving art ︎ Communal ritual ︎ Collective resonance Solstice Star Gif(t) is a hybrid model of physical installation and digital artwork infused with the healing frequency of 111 Hz. Blending Daoist philosophy with collective participation, the project embodies a curatorial healing journey, guiding audiences into resonance across spiritual, technological, and artistic frequencies to foster collective balance. Distributed as part of the exhibition ||| at Lisson Gallery, Solstice Star is a gif(t) created by Haroon Mirza and initiated by Sha Li. In the physical space, it appears as a vinyl QR code on the wall; upon scanning, an augmented 3D sculpture is activated. Recontextualized on the blockchain, the work extends into digital space, where anyone can own the GIF version as an NFT. This enables the artist to track ownership, remain creatively engaged, and continuously evolve the work within an expanding network, while allowing collectors to become active participants in its unfolding. Embedding Solstice Star with the healing frequency of 111 Hz, a central element of the exhibition, aims to inspire audiences to attune to their own frequency. Token holders may later contribute their frequency back into the work, transforming it into a co-created piece of collective resonance. Led by Haroon Mirza and Sha Li, in collaboration with Greg Hilty (curatorial director and partner, Lisson Gallery), George Cunliffe (creative technologist), and colleagues at Lisson Gallery and Verse. https://shali.work/Burn-art-x-the-Sotheby-s Wed, 16 Aug 2023 00:34:32 +0000 Sha Li's Curatorial Practice https://shali.work/Burn-art-x-the-Sotheby-s 🌒&nbsp;Burn.art︎︎︎&nbsp; May 2021 - ongoing <img width="1400" height="1400" width_o="1400" height_o="1400" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ff6cae0dc325ef6f89473c3d1d88da4c3860657a4c7e3b54311a21bc6ce5d556/pak.png" data-mid="188048749" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ff6cae0dc325ef6f89473c3d1d88da4c3860657a4c7e3b54311a21bc6ce5d556/pak.png" /> Pak, The Fungible Collection, part of the burn.art ecosystem in collaboration with the sotheby’s.&nbsp; ︎ Alternative value system︎ Social currency︎ Participatory economy [burn.art] introduced an experimental “burn” mechanism using NFTs to explore alternative systems of value for digital art. Collectors of Pak’s NFTs, including works from The Fungible Collection launched by Sotheby’s, could permanently remove their works from circulation in exchange for “Ash,” a social currency created by the artist. The mechanism transformed destruction into a new form of value, asking: What holds greater worth—art or money? Ash subsequently functioned as a digital currency for knowledge exchange and cross-sector collaboration, creating an experimental ecosystem in which value was generated through participation, circulation, and collective exchange. The curatorial framework examined how technological systems might redistribute value beyond conventional market transactions, turning destruction into regeneration and ownership into participation. https://shali.work/Sets-and-Scenarios-at-Nottingham-Contemporary Fri, 16 Sep 2022 16:56:24 +0000 Sha Li's Curatorial Practice https://shali.work/Sets-and-Scenarios-at-Nottingham-Contemporary 🌔 Sets and Scenarios︎︎︎ June 2020 <img width="2560" height="1600" width_o="2560" height_o="1600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/44c7ed14b353f9bb2fac72938c1d9610d50f60bb11deb1d9afe039a3e458d551/8B_Syncrisis_THNC_film-still_2019.png" data-mid="153144243" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/44c7ed14b353f9bb2fac72938c1d9610d50f60bb11deb1d9afe039a3e458d551/8B_Syncrisis_THNC_film-still_2019.png" /> <img width="1050" height="757" width_o="1050" height_o="757" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d5afcdebb54a50ca6f3c0fada1e7439fa27a87e8b0a554b9159f20cc7cdae161/3-Portal_Vu-Tran_Essay-II.jpg" data-mid="153144306" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d5afcdebb54a50ca6f3c0fada1e7439fa27a87e8b0a554b9159f20cc7cdae161/3-Portal_Vu-Tran_Essay-II.jpg" /> <img width="1016" height="573" width_o="1016" height_o="573" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bb01d4ab319362b308d9cb73e904bea969b9571c108819a3b20af6386d005c36/Tropical-Malady_Apichatpong-Weerasethakul_2004_bw.jpg" data-mid="153144214" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bb01d4ab319362b308d9cb73e904bea969b9571c108819a3b20af6386d005c36/Tropical-Malady_Apichatpong-Weerasethakul_2004_bw.jpg" /> <img width="3600" height="2943" width_o="3600" height_o="2943" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dfb87794a24e8653bf8e79e631c155825a2cfcf8f4bee08c9750602c100f8629/4A_Man-With-A-Movie-Camera_Dziga-Vertov_1929.jpg" data-mid="153144292" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/dfb87794a24e8653bf8e79e631c155825a2cfcf8f4bee08c9750602c100f8629/4A_Man-With-A-Movie-Camera_Dziga-Vertov_1929.jpg" /> <img width="1000" height="559" width_o="1000" height_o="559" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/692a109701712d949cdd7e6e7c5660fe6445dc03f086deed011f2ed4c9d56032/3A_Pierrot-Le-Fou_Jean-Luc-Godard_1965.jpg" data-mid="153144301" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/692a109701712d949cdd7e6e7c5660fe6445dc03f086deed011f2ed4c9d56032/3A_Pierrot-Le-Fou_Jean-Luc-Godard_1965.jpg" /> <img width="6121" height="4897" width_o="6121" height_o="4897" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5d7ad8dce4030c405062e4fc528af90acab5bf78522cd64023ee0efc776d9901/6-Portal_Jacobo-Zambrano-Rangel_Essay-IV_BW.jpg" data-mid="153144269" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5d7ad8dce4030c405062e4fc528af90acab5bf78522cd64023ee0efc776d9901/6-Portal_Jacobo-Zambrano-Rangel_Essay-IV_BW.jpg" /> <img width="6121" height="4897" width_o="6121" height_o="4897" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c082c3a2e86e3385d5b816df7d1a30e87e40dc714372b95db167c0dce0fd057e/6-Portal_Jacobo-Zambrano-Rangel_Essay-IV.jpg" data-mid="153144274" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c082c3a2e86e3385d5b816df7d1a30e87e40dc714372b95db167c0dce0fd057e/6-Portal_Jacobo-Zambrano-Rangel_Essay-IV.jpg" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5f3eb970c38fdfed06209aa09c936778c7e8200eea1e0c316b303be1f423899e/5-Portal_Simon-Starling_Essay-III.png" data-mid="153144283" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5f3eb970c38fdfed06209aa09c936778c7e8200eea1e0c316b303be1f423899e/5-Portal_Simon-Starling_Essay-III.png" /> <img width="3528" height="2598" width_o="3528" height_o="2598" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d4bc972c75a983d2af2ed4862b5c5991a71f0a8375f0bb4fa35a243cf3b5deec/6A_Ping-Pong-Diplomacy_Richard-Nixon-Archive_1971.jpg" data-mid="153144263" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d4bc972c75a983d2af2ed4862b5c5991a71f0a8375f0bb4fa35a243cf3b5deec/6A_Ping-Pong-Diplomacy_Richard-Nixon-Archive_1971.jpg" /> <img width="1900" height="1898" width_o="1900" height_o="1898" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/881f401a89fef0d7f4098e5645896d145afd68a9b049095405d988cd5de93686/Neptune_NASA_Possible-Blend-with-Hospital.jpg" data-mid="153144231" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/881f401a89fef0d7f4098e5645896d145afd68a9b049095405d988cd5de93686/Neptune_NASA_Possible-Blend-with-Hospital.jpg" /> <img width="2560" height="1600" width_o="2560" height_o="1600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d2f8c0e7e76d39de662b21dce7f9b7a044f7c89587490f886043f35edd1ad480/7B_The-In_Extinguishable-Fire_THNC_film-still_2019.png" data-mid="153144251" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d2f8c0e7e76d39de662b21dce7f9b7a044f7c89587490f886043f35edd1ad480/7B_The-In_Extinguishable-Fire_THNC_film-still_2019.png" /> <img width="2560" height="1440" width_o="2560" height_o="1440" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/00b7d9041ca3eaaa785ae572ab66e132c2d61ce7e7d4064db62a3e22cbdf6215/Nguyen-Chi_1.jpg" data-mid="153144226" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/00b7d9041ca3eaaa785ae572ab66e132c2d61ce7e7d4064db62a3e22cbdf6215/Nguyen-Chi_1.jpg" /> <img width="4256" height="2832" width_o="4256" height_o="2832" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/83710e143af6f325334bde76a147b5e407460a410cea63c472b1e105dd762f33/DSC_6438.jpg" data-mid="153144239" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/83710e143af6f325334bde76a147b5e407460a410cea63c472b1e105dd762f33/DSC_6438.jpg" /> <img width="2832" height="4256" width_o="2832" height_o="4256" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c2c5c58e7dde0ab2be9d8541e59552d46a3b5b96c6b97d0bb3a9e1d67ba2fff4/DSC_6477.jpg" data-mid="153144234" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c2c5c58e7dde0ab2be9d8541e59552d46a3b5b96c6b97d0bb3a9e1d67ba2fff4/DSC_6477.jpg" /> Thuy-Han Nguyen-Chi, SETS AND SCENARIOS ACT II, Image List: Actions to Relate to Oneself and The World, 2020. ︎ Embodiment ︎ New Modes of Encounter︎ Online Public Programme In recent years, media technologies have fundamentally transformed how we encounter, circulate, and experience moving images. As we become increasingly immersed in cycles of image production and consumption, images actively reshape our perceptions, subjectivities, and embodied experiences. At the same time, the boundaries between physical and digital, private and public, and individual and collective experience are becoming increasingly fluid. Sets and Scenarios explored this cultural condition by examining how mediated images reshape our encounters with art, space, and one another. The program blurred Nottingham Contemporary’s public and private spaces through sculptural installations, sound, video, and live performance, inviting audiences to move through shifting atmospheric environments. It approached the encounter between artwork, viewer, space, and others as an ephemeral and contingent form of collective experience. Reimagined digitally during the pandemic lockdown, the project extended this inquiry into online space, exploring how cultural experiences might be sustained and transformed as the conditions of collective encounter shift. https://shali.work/Post-from-the-First-Lockdown-in-collaboration-with-the-Courtauld Thu, 15 Sep 2022 11:03:49 +0000 Sha Li's Curatorial Practice https://shali.work/Post-from-the-First-Lockdown-in-collaboration-with-the-Courtauld 🌗&nbsp;Post from the First Lockdown&nbsp;封城来信︎︎︎&nbsp; Feb 7th, 2020 to March 31st, 2020 <img width="3622" height="2584" width_o="3622" height_o="2584" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1faf4dc434f84198ec10574777d49e2c5a2d3898285fce22b7d60e1e964b256e/Copy-of-The-Great-Plague.jpg" data-mid="153036711" border="0" data-scale="98" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1faf4dc434f84198ec10574777d49e2c5a2d3898285fce22b7d60e1e964b256e/Copy-of-The-Great-Plague.jpg" />Lu Shan,&nbsp;The Great Plague 2020, screenshot from the unfinished video animation&nbsp; ︎ Collective Memory︎ Emotional Resonance︎ Digital Archive Post from the First Lockdown is an archive of artists' responses to the initial outbreak of Covid-19 in the Hubei region, spanning from the 7th of February to the end of March 2020. Led by Gaia Fugazza, Luigi Galimberti, and Sha Li, the project&nbsp;served as a self-organized community blog post with the intention of igniting further discussions among the public and fostering community solidarity. Its main objective was to establish direct contact with artists in China who were creating art while under quarantine. We sought to listen to their voices in order to gain a better understanding of a story that had been narrated in numerous contradictory ways by various countries' media, with each accusing the other of cover-ups and propaganda. Given that the artists personally witnessed the Covid-19 epidemic at a time when its origins and unprecedented impact on society were still unknown, this series of works has been organized chronologically in retrospect. Through the act of listening and recording lived experiences, curation becomes a practice of care, transforming individual trauma into shared memory and offering emotional grounding for the community. In collaboration with the MA programme at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK, led by Dr. Wenny Teo, the project invited her cohort to respond to each participating artist. In the following year, the project hosted an online public event at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK, featuring updated artists' responses and reflections as part of the Frank Davis Memorial Lecture of 2021. https://shali.work/Queering-Now-at-Rich-Mix Sat, 06 May 2023 03:35:40 +0000 Sha Li's Curatorial Practice https://shali.work/Queering-Now-at-Rich-Mix 🌕&nbsp;Queering Now 酷儿闹︎︎︎ Feb 8th, 2020 &nbsp; <img width="1354" height="888" width_o="1354" height_o="888" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fbc0fa619611d41fea76ad291c3320bd46a00638ceebe8d761110eb01b65a8ee/Screen-Shot-2023-07-11-at-6.55.54-PM.png" data-mid="184817704" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fbc0fa619611d41fea76ad291c3320bd46a00638ceebe8d761110eb01b65a8ee/Screen-Shot-2023-07-11-at-6.55.54-PM.png" /> Queering Now: Double Fikret 双面菲克雷特, single-channel video&nbsp;by Wang Haiyang, Image courtesy of the artist, White Space Beijing, and Capsule Shanghai.&nbsp; <img width="2048" height="1365" width_o="2048" height_o="1365" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d61bac3e9a3f9c7504cac1e2ac7d4d6d8029197f44ddaa2cdd754a9f5aa928f2/Steamed-Three-Eggs_novel-reading-by-Victoria_Sin_curated_by_Whiskey-Chow_and_Sha_Li.jpg" data-mid="177882751" border="0" data-scale="97" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d61bac3e9a3f9c7504cac1e2ac7d4d6d8029197f44ddaa2cdd754a9f5aa928f2/Steamed-Three-Eggs_novel-reading-by-Victoria_Sin_curated_by_Whiskey-Chow_and_Sha_Li.jpg" /> Queering Now: Steamed Three Eggs, novel reading by Sin單 Wai慧 Kin乾 (Victoria Sin), Image courtesy of the artist and Greg Goodale&nbsp; <img width="2048" height="1454" width_o="2048" height_o="1454" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/85bf2b3d884f3e7903fd98f7f036ea6e509c769d4f21da9b3dd54db1990a94ae/Queering-Now_Ya-Ya-Bones_The_Parasites_of_Pangu_curated_by_Whiskey-Chow_and_Sha-Li.jpeg" data-mid="177837845" border="0" data-scale="97" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/85bf2b3d884f3e7903fd98f7f036ea6e509c769d4f21da9b3dd54db1990a94ae/Queering-Now_Ya-Ya-Bones_The_Parasites_of_Pangu_curated_by_Whiskey-Chow_and_Sha-Li.jpeg" /> Queering Now: The Parasites of Pangu, opera performed by Ayesha Tan Jones. Image courtesy of the artist and Greg Goodale&nbsp; ︎ Live experiences ︎ Diaspora︎ Collective healing Queering Now was a film and performance programme that amplified marginalized diaspora Chinese queer artists collectively for the first time in London. Co-curated by Whiskey Chow and Sha Li, the event unfolded across three floors of Rich Mix, transforming the venue into a multi-sensory landscape of moving images, live art, dystopian opera, speculative fiction, and queer dance. Described by Dr. Hongwei Bao, queer Asian scholar and author of Queer China (Routledge, 2020), as “jam-packed with bold, avant-garde, and dazzling artwork and performances,” Queering Now became a constellation of visual, sonic, and embodied expressions of queerness. From Wang Haiyang’s surreal stop-motion animations to Sin單 Wai慧 Kin乾’s speculative readings, from Ayesha Tan Jones’ dystopian opera Parasites of Pangu to a post-midnight queer dance party, the programme dissolved boundaries between genres, media, and social spaces.The curatorial philosophy behind Queering Now, drawing on queer theory, imagines queerness not as a fixed identity but as a mode of becoming — nonlinear, anticipatory, and resistant to capitalist notions of productivity. Healing emerges in the suspension of normative time and expectation: in the creation of collective rituals of visibility, in the forging of kinships across diaspora, and in the reconfiguration of space as a site of fluid belonging. As a curatorial act, it cultivates healing through the joy of shared excess, the affirmation of multiplicity, and the possibility of inhabiting time otherwise. Queering Now&nbsp;was kindly supported by Arts Council England, Live Art UK, and the CAN Festival. https://shali.work/Footer Thu, 15 Sep 2022 11:03:50 +0000 Sha Li's Curatorial Practice https://shali.work/Footer © Sha Li 2025