VR Technology in Arts and Museums

Join Victoria Chang, director of VIVE Arts at HTC, Jane DeBevoise, chair of the Asia Art Archive in New York and Hong Kong, and artist Lin Yilin in a discussion on how virtual reality is transforming art. The conversation will be moderated by Kelly Ma, manager of Arts and Culture Special Initiatives at Asia Society. This program is a continuation of discussions at the 2017 Arts and Museum Summit, an Asia Society Museum initiative examining current trends in arts and museums. The conversation will be followed by a virtual reality experience of Nonny de la Peña's Passage: The Life of a Wall on Lin He Road (2017), a virtual reality iteration of Lin's seminal 1995 performance Safely Maneuvering Across Lin He Road, commissioned by Asia Art Archive.

This program is organized in collaboration with Asia Art Archive in America. Virtual Reality in partnership with HTC VIVE.

Victoria Chang is Director of VIVE Arts at HTC, London, and is responsible for developing corporate strategy and partnerships across the cultural sector for HTC VIVE. In 2017, she launched several major virtual reality projects with institutions worldwide, including the forthcoming exhibitions “Modigliani” (Tate Modern, London) and “From Life” (Royal Academy of Art, London). Chang holds a Master’s degree in history of art from the University of London.

Jane DeBevoise is Chair of the Board of Directors of Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong and New York. Prior to moving to Hong Kong in 2002, DeBevoise was deputy director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, responsible for museum operations and exhibitions globally. She joined the museum in 1996 as project director of China: 5000 Years (1998), an exhibition of traditional and modern Chinese art that was presented at the Guggenheim museums in New York and Bilbao. DeBevoise has a PhD from the University of Hong Kong and an MA from the University of California, Berkeley, both in art history. Her book Between State and Market: Chinese Contemporary Art in the Post-Mao Era was published in 2014 by Brill.

Lin Yilin was born in Guangzhou, China, in 1964 and lives and works in New York and Beijing. He cofounded the Guangzhou-based artist collective "Big-Tail-Elephant” in 1990. Lin is best known for his site-specific performances that use the motif of a brick wall to address the issue of widespread gentrification in urban centers throughout China. His multi-disciplinary practice includes sculpture, installation, photography, performance, and new media work. Lin has participated in numerous international exhibitions including the 50th and 56th Venice Biennale (2003 and 2015), Documenta 12 (2007), and Cities on the Move (1997). His works have been exhibited in renowned institutions such as Asia Society Museum, New York; Hayward Gallery, London; Kunsthalle Bern; MoMA PS1, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.

Kelly Ma (moderator) is the Manager of Arts & Culture Special Initiatives at Asia Society in New York. Since 2013, Ma has organized international conferences for arts professionals and their related publications, including the Arts & Museum Summit and the U.S.-China Museum Leaders Forum, part of Asia Society’s Asia Arts and Museum Network. Previously, Ma was the project manager at artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s studio in New York, where she oversaw Cai’s exhibitions worldwide, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and Philadelphia Museum of Art. From 2012 to 2013, she contributed to the magazine ARTCO in Taiwan as a New York correspondent. Ma received a BA in visual art and history of art and architecture from Brown University.