12 June 2014
In the afternoon of 11 June, the press conference for the 20th International Conference on Performance Studies (PSi 20) was held at the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA), Mr Lou Wei, Chairman of STA, Mr Sun Huizhu, Professor of Performance Studies, Mr Zhang Shengquan, Director of Publicity Office, Mr Shen Liang, Party Secretary of Theatrical Literature Department and Mr Peng Yongwen, Associate Dean of Theatrical Literature Department were present at the press conference and joined by journalists from over a dozen media organizations.
From 4 to 8n July 2014, STA will host Psi 20 with whose theme is “Pioneer, Tradition and Community”. Several hundred scholars, experts and artists in the areas of art, sociology, anthropology, education and management from home and abroad including the Director-General of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) under UNESCO will come to the conference during which 400 theses will be presented. Famous universities from outside the Mainland China to be represented at the conference include: Yale University, Stanford University, Brown University and Duke University from the US; University of London and Roehampton University from UK; Free University of Berlin from Germany; Trinity College Dublin of Ireland; University of Zurich from Switzerland; Melbourne University from Australia; National Taiwan University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Apart from the presentation of theses, there will be over 50 workshops and seminars and over 10 performances of performing arts. These activities and arrangements will provide an in-depth observation of the current trends and cutting-edge developments of the practice and studies in international theatre and performance studies.
Performance studies was originated in the New York University (NYU) in 1979. In 1995, NYU hosted the first conference on performance studies. In 1997, the Performance Studies international (PSi) was established. It was in 1999 the STA team led by Prof Sun Huizhu embarked on the journey of performance studies with a close integration with the actual situations of China, establishing it as a discipline to cultivate talents at the bachelor, master and doctorate levels. STA’s studies base on the mission of the discipline which is to “not only interpret the world, but also transform the world”, and enjoys the reputation as the “Chinese school” of performance studies. In 2013, the studies and practice of the STA team was listed by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission for support under its Postgraduate Student Cross-Discipline Creative Talent Incubation Program. The Shanghai Teaching and Research Base for Comprehensive Art Education, which is underpinned by this discipline of STA, has also been established. PSi 20 will drive the further development of performance studies. It is believed that the research and practice in performance studies in China will make an important contribution to the further enhancement of the performance studies globally.
Press conference in progress
STA Chairman Lou Wei speaking at press conference
