Projects tagged "East Asia"

Buses in Seoul install 'comfort women' statues to honour former sex slaves
Practitioner:
Dong-A Transit company
Date:
Aug 7 2017
Buses serving several routes in central Seoul have acquired a new and highly controversial passenger: a barefoot “comfort woman”, wearing a traditional hanbok dress with her hands resting on her knees.
Ghost Protest in Seoul
Practitioner:
Amnesty International in Korea
Date:
Feb 24 2016
Haeryun Kang reported the following for NPR on February 24, 2016: "On the eve of South Korean President Park Geun-hye's third anniversary in office, protesters gathered in Seoul... to condemn the administration's increasing crackdown on free speech. These protesters were unlike any others Seoul has seen. They were holograms"
China urges Japan to treat "comfort women" issue in honest, responsible manner
Practitioner:
Xinhua Net
Date:
Jun 29 2021
Photo taken on Oct. 15, 2020 shows a "comfort women" statue in Berlin, capital of Germany. The statue was built to commemorate the more than 200,000 girls and women from 14 countries and regions, so-called "comfort women," who were sexually enslaved by the Japanese military during World War II. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
Raise Your Umbrellas: How Denise Ho went from Cantopop queen to pro-democracy activist
Practitioner:
Denise Ho
Date:
Jan 1 2014
In Hong Kong in 2014 the song Raise Your Umbrella by Denise Ho and Anthong Wong became an anthem for the pro-democracy movement known as the Umbrella Revolution. The song was written after police fired tear gas into the crowds when protestors filled the streets.
"Do You Hear Women Sing"
Practitioner:
Qingnianhezi
Date:
Nov 24 2013
On Nov 24, 2013, more than 10 Chinese feminist activists sang the feminist song "Do You Hear Women Sing" in the cabin of Beijing Metro Line 13 (adapted from the famous song "Do You Hear the People Sing" in the musical "Les Miserables". Beijing has the most stringent control on society.
Shaving hair performance art in response to the gender discrimination existing in the Chinese educational system
Practitioner:
Xiao Meili, Liang Xiaomen, Li Maizi
Date:
Aug 23 2012
In early July 2012, after the Chinese college entrance examination results were announced, the media found that many colleges and universities had gender bias on the admitted scores, and the maximum difference between men and women was up to 40 points. This finding aroused widespread concern and dissatisfaction from the public.
Chinese gather and lay flowers despite heavy security as former Premier Li Keqiang is laid to rest
Practitioner:
Chinese citizen
Date:
Nov 2 2023
HEFEI, China (AP) — Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people gathered Thursday near a state funeral home in Beijing as China’s former second-ranking leader, Li Keqiang, was put to rest, while a steady stream of mourners showed their respects at the ex-premier’s childhood home in central China. Li, who was China’s top economic official for a decade, died last Friday of a heart attack at age 68.
China's censors tested by microbloggers who keep one step ahead of state media
Practitioner:
Weibo
Date:
Apr 15 2012
The Guardian By Tania Branigan In the opaque world of Chinese censorship, a few red lines shine through the murk. One of the clearest is: no gossip about top political leaders, their families or internal party affairs.
The Chronicles of Resilience
Practitioner:
FX Harsono
Date:
Mar 3 2016
For FX Harsono, art is activism. Over the past four decades, performance, sculpture, and painting have become his means of nonviolent protest against government autocracy and ethnic strife in Indonesia.
People of Japan is a snapshot of daily life across Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka
Practitioner:
Mark Manzi
Date:
Mar 1 2021
For his latest project, Mark Manzi found himself outside of his comfort zone. For the Amsterdam-based photographer and designer, People of Japan was an attempt to break from his photography-first portfolio. “In the past, my work was very image-focused, whereas with this book I wanted to scan objects, collect receipts, record noises, add copy, and really create something visually striking,” he says.
Umbrella Man - Occupy Central Hong Kong
Practitioner:
Milk
Date:
Oct 7 2014
The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have a new mascot: a roughly 12-foot-high figure of wood blocks holding a bright yellow umbrella in its outstretched right hand. The students call it Umbrella Man. Umbrellas emerged as a symbol of the demonstrations after dozens of students wielded them on the night of Sept. 28 to fend off pepper spray as they jostled with the police.
Buses in Seoul install 'comfort women' statues to honour former sex slaves
Practitioner:
Dong-A Transit bus company
Date:
Aug 7 2017
Buses serving several routes in central Seoul have acquired a new and highly controversial passenger: a barefoot “comfort woman”, wearing a traditional hanbok dress with her hands resting on her knees.
Chinese High School Students Making Film about Trans Gender
Practitioner:
Hu Ranan
Date:
Oct 23 2017
A high school student from The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China Made a Movie about "Sexual Minorities", a Topic Avoided By Almost Every Parent. How Should We Start Talking About This?" was widely circulated among people on Wechat. The topic "High School Students Made a Trans Movie" went viral and ranked highly on Weibo’s most searched topics.
Reporter's viral eye roll causes trouble with Chinese censors
Practitioner:
Liang Xiangyi
Date:
Mar 1 2018
By Steven Jiang, CNN https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/14/asia/china-viral-eye-roll-intl/index.html (CNN)It was the eye roll that resonated with millions -- and broke the internet in China.
Beyond AI WeiWei
Practitioner:
International Art Basel Fair
Date:
Mar 27 2015
In a gallery in Hong Kong’s Chai Wan district last week, during the city’s third annual installment of the international Art Basel fair, the Beijing-based artist Huang Rui introduced a new live work called “Red Black White Grey.” At the start of the performance, four affectless women walked onstage wearing trench coats, then disrobed one by one as Huang, who is sixty-three, slathered their bodies with black and then white paint.
Hong Kong Apple Store met with protest over supply chain violations on iPhone 6 launch day
Practitioner:
SACOM
Date:
Sep 3 2015
Apple implemented improved reservation procedures and policies for employees dealing with the iPhone 6 launch at retail stores on September 19th, 2014, but the launch at the company’s Hong Kong store hadn't gone quite as smooth as elsewhere. The store was hit by protesters from the Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM) and also required police to help disperse customers that had waited in line without reservations.
Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei
Practitioner:
Ai Weiwei
Date:
Mar 12 2025
“Everything is art. Everything is politics.” Globally renowned artist Ai Weiwei (Chinese, b. 1957) is celebrated as a disruptor of artistic canons and a champion of free expression. In his work—ranging across performance, photography, sculpture, video, and installation—he deploys humor and provocation, calling upon his viewers to examine history, society, and culture.
Instantaneous ownership
Practitioner:
Zou Yaqi, China News
Date:
May 21 2021
"Why should I play a celebrity and live in Beijing for 21 days without spending money?" From May 1st to May 21st, 2021, I spent 21 days in Beijing without spending money, and I was as elegant as a celebrity. I recorded this behavior through video. Video "Instant Ownership" 28-minute graduation exhibition version of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (click to watch)
Embracing the Elements: Tong Wenmin's 'FLYING THE WIND' and the Art of Human-Nature Interaction
Practitioner:
Tong Wenmin
Date:
Jan 1 2016
Tong Wenmin is a Chinese performance artist affiliated with works exploring movement, interaction, and humanity. Her art is a relationship between human behavior and the natural world, a round dynamic between physicality and environmental elements. One of her most compelling works, "FLYING THE WIND," is outstanding in merging performance art with a deeper exploration of the interaction between humans and nature.
The powerful images of Hong Kong’s protests
Practitioner:
Hong kong residents
Date:
Jun 1 2019
The face of Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam is falling apart: an eyeball has fallen out of its socket and the flesh of her left chin has been ripped off. Black-clad protesters in yellow hard hats are standing on top of her head, hanging a banner with ‘Hong Kong add oil’ on her forehead and shouting into her ear with a megaphone.
Glory to Hong Kong - Protesters Create National Anthem
Practitioner:
Hong Kong Protesters
Date:
Aug 30 2019
“Glory to Hong Kong,” created less than three weeks ago, has rapidly been adopted as a symbol of the pro-democracy movement. via NYTimes:
In Women’s Rights Battle, a Call to Underarms
Practitioner:
Weibo User
Date:
May 26 2015
As the summer warms up, bringing with it sleeveless tops, Xiao Meili, a women’s rights advocate, is collecting photos of women’s armpits. Her goal: to challenge a growing belief in China that a woman must have hair-free armpits to be attractive.
Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge Suicide Intervention Program
Practitioner:
Artist Qiu Zhijie
Date:
Jul 8 2008
The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, completed in 1968, is one of China’s most iconic infrastructural projects and a potent symbol of national pride. Spanning over 6,700 meters across the Yangtze River, it was the first double-decked road-rail truss bridge designed and built entirely by Chinese engineers, without foreign assistance, during a time of intense geopolitical isolation.
"Dying to Survive": A Movie on Generic Drugs
Practitioner:
Director Muye Wen (文牧野）, Yong Lu (陆勇)
Date:
Aug 7 2019
The screen portrayal of a cancer sufferer whose illegal import of foreign medicines into China spurred national policy changes has become a box-office smash as audiences flock to a rare Chinese film on a hot-button issue. Dying To Survive is based on Lu Yong, who was arrested in 2013 after illegally importing a generic cancer drug in a case that sparked public debate about high medical costs.
My vagina says, “I want freedom.”
Practitioner:
Beijing Foreign Studies University Students
Date:
Nov 12 2013
In November 2013, a group of 17 female students at Beijing Foreign Studies University sparked national debate when they staged a bold social media campaign in support of an upcoming performance of The Vagina Monologues, a feminist play by Eve Ensler.

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