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Tate Britain Talk

Show and Share Nation Building Between Heaven and Earth

7 October 2023 at 11.00–15.00
black and white archive image showing people standing in a line holding different placards in chinese and english

Spread from 'Commemorative album of the 26th World Table Tennis Championships' (1961)

  • Programme
  • About Show and Share
  • Accessibility

Join Adjunct Curators, Asia-Pacific Hera Chan and Alvin Li in a discussion about a series of Chinese photobooks publications

This event coincides with a new display of Chinese photobooks on view at Tate Modern. Hear about these publications as well as a larger selection temporarily on view at the Library and Archive Reading Rooms at Tate Britain.

In 1949, years of devastating armed conflicts between the Chinese Communists and the government of the Republic of China ended with Communist control of Mainland China. Mao Zedong, the Communist Party leader, declared the founding of the People's Republic of China. In the following decades, China sought to strengthen international relations with other countries. Mao and his government wanted to construct a new national identity and an image of China in a period and project called New China. To aid this, they replaced private publishing houses with government-sanctioned bookmaking. These official publishers made books documenting images of religious expeditions and large-scale sports competitions. The photographers names and identities were not recorded, as these publications were intended to be the voice of the new nation, not any individual. The photobooks were distributed nationally and internationally, with captions in Arabic, English, Indonesian and Russian.

Adjunct Curators, Asia-Pacific Hera Chan and Alvin Li, and Tate Library staff will present a temporary display of Chinese photobooks drawn from the Martin Parr Collection at Tate. This Collection comprises over 12,000 photobooks from around the world, including nearly 700 from China, dating from 1900 to the present.

12.00 Hera Chan and Alvin Li in conversation
13.00 Tour of the Martin Parr Collection with Tate Library staff
14.00 Tour of the Martin Parr Collection with Tate Library staff

Show and Share invites visitors to explore highlights from the Library and Archive collections. Previous highlights have included letters, sketchbooks, artists’ books, zines, catalogues, ephemera, photographs, and other special collections.

Each display is curated to a specific theme or collection and includes a guided talk from the Library and Archive team, as well as occasional guest talks and performances. Show and Share displays provide a unique viewing and handling experience highlighting art and ideas found in the Library and Archive collections.

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Tate Britain

Reading Rooms

Millbank
London SW1P 4RG
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Date & Time

7 October 2023 at 11.00–15.00

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