“Art and Regional Revitalization: From Mainland to Island”
2024 International Academic Conference
Date: November 2-7, 2024
Place: Shaoguan & Guangzhou, China
Conference Theme: Art and Regional Revitalization: From Mainland to Island
Hosted by: Co-hosted by the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, the Shixing County Committee, and the Shixing County Government, the event was supported by the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts Urban-Rural Art Construction Research Institute, local government entities, and organized in collaboration with the International Small Island Cultural Research Initiative (SICRI) and Hokkaido University’s Center for Advanced Tourism Studies (CATS).
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On November 2, experts, practitioners, and scholars from around the world gathered at the Zhouqian Art Commune in Shixing County, northern Guangdong, China, for the 2024 “Art and Regional Revitalization: From Mainland to Island” International Academic Conference. Co-hosted by the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, the Shixing County Committee, and the Shixing County Government, the event was supported by the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts Urban-Rural Art Construction Research Institute, local government entities, and organized in collaboration with the International Small Island Cultural Research Initiative (SICRI) and Hokkaido University’s Center for Advanced Tourism Studies (CATS).
Conference Overview
Held from November 2 to 3, the conference featured four main forums: The Art Islands, Artistic Rural Construction, Regional Revitalization, and Creative Rurality. Seventeen scholars from around the world presented their latest research and theories on land-island revitalization, focusing on the roles of art in regional revitalization and the connections between “rural and island” as well as “rural, art, and cultural tourism” between local and global contexts.
Theme 1: The Art Island
On the morning of November 2, the “Art Islands” forum was chaired and translated by Qu Meng, Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Advanced Tourism Research Center at Hokkaido University.
Joseph M. Cheer, Vice Dean of the School of Social Sciences at Western Sydney University, delivered a presentation titled “On intersections between the production and revival of traditional artefacts and tourism and attendant implications,” summarizing his long-term observations in environments where tourism and visitor economics are prominent (islands and rural areas), focusing on how visitors’ attention is drawn to local arts and cultural combinations. Associate Professor Pan Lv of the Department of Chinese History and Culture at Hong Kong Polytechnic University presented “Liquid Borderland: Islandness in Films on Hainan Island (1950-1989),” discussing the film production related to Hainan Island and its positioning within the surrounding natural, cultural, and political environment. Professor Henry Johnson from the University of Otago in New Zealand presented “Arts, Heritage and Industrial Islands: The Case of Cockatoo Island,” exploring the dynamic changes in the heritage created by Kangaroo Island and how it has become a space for exhibitions, installations, and cultural displays in the contemporary art world. In his presentation titled “Art Island Revitalization in Japan – from Socially Engaged Art to Socially Embedded Co-creation,” Qu Meng discussed how immigrants, particularly those with strong networks within and outside the community, play diverse roles in business and community activities on island communities.
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Theme 2: Artistic Rural Construction
On the afternoon of November 2, the “Art in Rural Development” forum was chaired and translated by Associate Professor Chen Lin from the School of Geography and Sciences at South China Normal University. Qu Yan, Professor and Director of the Institute for Urban-Rural Art Construction at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, presented “"Land-Island" and "Residence-Travel" : The Cultural Reverberation in the Construction of China's rural Art ,” proposing a framework for rural construction that bridges “land to island,” aiming to demonstrate an open, reversible, and flexible approach to break the spatial isolation inherent in modernist rural representations. Professor Wu Bihu, Director of the Tourism Research and Planning Center at Peking University’s School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, delivered a keynote titled “Travel Writing and Place Perception on Islands,” providing a cultural sedimentation approach for acquiring local knowledge from island writing, which contributes to enhancing the competitiveness of island tourism through improved tourist experiences. Associate Professor Weng Fen from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts gave a presentation titled “Home Ecology in the Island Countryside" in Art in Place Practice,” discussing his personal experiences in reconstructing islanders’ “homeland consciousness” through art practice that reimagines the “land-island/ island-land” relationship. Associate Professor Lin Dan from Jinan University presented “Fostering Rural Creativity through Cooperative Governance: A Case Study in Qingtian Village, China,” analyzing the social network structure of artist-led cooperative governance and its role in rural revitalization. Assistant Researcher Lan Juanjuan from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts examined “Lan Juanjuan Assistant Researcher, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts Artistic Research in Regional Societies: An Example of Qu Yan's Artistic Rural Construction Trilogy,” describing the differences between northern and southern villages and understanding the localized and sustainable development of art-based rural construction through Qu Yan’s three projects.
Theme 3: Regional Revitalization
On the morning of November 3, the “Regional Revitalization” forum was chaired and translated by Associate Professor Chen Lin.
Associate Professor Chen Lin presented “From passive return to active value creation: Research on the migration mechanism of the 'urban returnees' group” focusing on the migration dynamics in Maoming City, Guangdong Province, and analyzing the factors that drive rural migration. Michael Just, a Visiting Researcher at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, delivered “"Acting that they may evolve" : Spatio-Plurality, Diverse Intelligences and Regeneration in the Rural Ecosystems of Guangdong Province,” discussing the space and world models emerging from super-modern traditions outside the unifying force of modernization. Professor Sun Jiuxia from Sun Yat-sen University presented “The Beauty of Indigeneity and Indigenous Modernity: A Case Study of a Tibetan Community,” exploring the local beauty and the relationship between local beauty and modernity in the case of Xiawu Village in Tibet. Professor Chen Rongxin, Director of the Contemporary Art Research Center at Huaqiao University, presented “Homeland of Mountain and Sea—Locality, Belief and Social Theater,” responding to the era’s exploration of how art contributes to rural revitalization and how better relationships with nature and land can be established.
Theme 4: Creative Rurality
On the afternoon of November 3, the “Creative Countryside” forum was chaired and translated by Qu Meng. Nancy Duxbury, Senior Researcher at the Center for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, presented “Place-based innovation of cultural and creative work in non-urban areas: The IN SITU project,” discussing the social, cultural, and institutional innovations in non-urban areas and how local participants’ actions have driven these innovations. Solena Prince, Associate Professor at Nynäshamn University in Sweden, delivered “Tourist landscapes in times of transition: remembering the past and looking in the future,” presenting three landscape stories closely related to tourism, which demonstrate how tourism shapes rural landscapes and the potential future of the industry. Simona Zollet, Assistant Professor at Hiroshima University in Japan, presented “Holistic strategies for rural revitalization and sustainable rural futures: the organic district approach,” outlining the characteristics of organic agricultural regions and their connections with rural socio-economic activities. Adam Gridthoy, Professor of Foreign Languages at South China University of Technology, presented “Art, heritage, and negotitions of island indigeneity,” exploring how art contributes to the revitalization of indigenous island communities in Greenland.
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Conference Evening Celebration
On the evening of November 3, after the two-day international conference, attendees enjoyed the “Millennial Ancient Charm · Small Town Style” cultural performance at the historic stage in Zhouqian Village. Villagers from Zhouqian and nearby areas gathered under a large banyan tree, eagerly anticipating the event. As the evening unfolded with songs, Yao ethnic customs, fire-breathing acts, and interactive games, both locals and international guests joined in enthusiastically, creating a lively atmosphere. Many guests received prizes and blessings, while the villagers’ warmth and hospitality left a lasting impression on the scholars, highlighting the simple yet vibrant spirit of northern Guangdong’s mountain villages.
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Conference Excursion Day 1 - Fortress Village and Organic Tea Farm
On November 4, conference participants toured fortress towers in Taiping Town, Shixing County, including Yongcheng Baoguang Tower, Shenbei Village, Chang’an Tower, and Longwei Village, exploring the cultural legacy of these Hakka structures. Experts admired the towers’ grandeur and resilience, and Professor Wu Bihu from Peking University suggested transforming the towers into tourist sites. Associate Professor Qu Meng of Hokkaido University proposed enhancing promotional methods to attract international visitors, support preservation efforts. In the afternoon, participants visited the Chebaling Tea Garden, learning about organic tea cultivation and enjoying a tea ceremony. Nestled in serene mountains with pure air, the tea garden offered scholars a peaceful, nature-filled retreat.
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Conference Excursion Day 2 - Zen Temple Visit
On November 5, scholars visited the historic Nanhua Zen Temple, a site of both Chinese heritage and international Zen studies. They explored the evolution of Buddhist culture and Chinese architecture, with foreign scholars admiring the preservation of Zen traditions and the diversity of Chinese culture. The visit concluded with a vegetarian meal and souvenir shopping.
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Post-Conference Workshops in Guangzhou, hosted by the South China University of Technology
On November 6, some scholars visited the South China University of Technology for a post-conference workshop on island studies. This workshop was hosted by Prof. Adam Grydehøj and Prof. Su Ping. On November 7, they toured landmarks in Guangzhou, marking a successful end to the conference and field visits.
