Public Programs A varied series of author readings, panel discussions, performances, lectures, screenings, and symposia are being presented by the Asia Society and P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center to coincide with the exhibition Inside Out: New Chinese Art. These programs focus on the dynamic cultural, political, economic and social changes that are taking place in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan today. Below are highlights of the public programs in development. For more information and reservations, call 212-517-ASIA. We also encourage you to sign up for AsiaSociety.org Digest, a weekly email we send out which alerts subscribers to upcoming events at the Asia Society, both in New York and at our regional centers in Australia, California, Hong Kong, Texas, and Washington DC. 1998 Performances Teahouse Series: September 18, 19; October 2, 3; December 4, 5 This series consists of three intimate concert events that recreate the ambiance of the Chinese teahouse as a cultural gathering place where discussions of philosophy, literature, politics and the arts occur. The juxtapositions of the new and the old, contemporary and traditional, predictable and surprising, are presented by dancers/filmmakers Wen Hui and Wu Wenguang, Beijing; installation artist/theater director Danny Yung, Hong Kong; singer/author Lui Sola, Beijing/New York; composer/performer Jason Hwang, New York; Music From China Ensemble, New York; and others. Empty Tradition/City of Peonies: October 27 - November 1 World premiere of a dance/theater collaboration between Chinese-born/New York-based choreographer Yin Mei, and Indonesian composer Tony Prabowo. This piece references the ancient story of a rebellious peony that would not do what seemed wrong, and the chaos of China's Cultural Revolution. Performers include The New Jakarta Ensemble and martial artist Shi Hengxin. Symposium Pushing Boundaries: New Directions in Chinese Arts: September 18, 19, 20, 1998 This three-day, multi-disciplinary program examines some of the key historical events, global trends, and policy developments over the last decade that are redefining the expressions of, and challenges facing, the visual and performing arts in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China. Through lectures, roundtable discussions and panel presentations, artists, critics and scholars address topics such as the urban spectacle in fostering creativity; crossing media; language and script; art and audience; alternative space; and future directions in Chinese arts. Invited speakers include Geremie Barme, Australian National University; Chen Hui-chiao, IT Park, Taiwan; Norman Bryson, Harvard University; David Clarke, University of Hong Kong; Gary Garrels, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Victoria Yung-Chih Lu, Chaoyang Institute of Technology; Barbara London, Museum of Modern Art, New York; and several visual and performance artists. Panel Discussion Between the Sheets: Understanding the U.S.-China Relationship through Popular Culture: December 5, 1998 This afternoon of screenings and discussions looks at how popular culture in China and the U.S. (music, cinema, and TV soap opera) is shaping attitudes towards one another and its impact on Sino-American relations. By exoticizing, eroticizing, and ultimately domesticating "the other," does public culture and the mass media create its own political unconscious in China and the U.S.? Commentators include Perry Link, Princeton University; Sheldon H. Lu, University of Pittsburgh; and others. The Inside Out: New Chinese Art exhibition and related programs are funded with major grants from The Starr Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, The Rockefeller Foundation, The W.L.S. Spencer Foundation, and Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The Taiwan portion of this project is supported in part by the Council for Cultural Affairs, Taiwan. The New York presentation of Inside Out is also supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural Challenge Initiative; E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation; and Annie Wong Art Foundation. Support for the Asia Society exhibitions and education programs has been provided by the Friends of Asian Arts, The Starr Foundation, The Armand G. Erpf Fund and the Arthur Ross Foundation. The programs of P.S. 1 are made possible in part through the generous contributions of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Office of the President of the Borough of Queens, the Council of New York City, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts