Practise Till We Meet

esea contemporary, formerly the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA), is based in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. It reopens to the public on February 18 with the first exhibition in its 2023 programme: Practise Till We Meet. 

esea contemporary is the UK’s only non-profit art centre specialising in presenting and platforming artists and art practices that identify with and are informed by East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) cultural backgrounds. The transformation and re-envisioning of esea contemporary with its new name and identity are led by its Director, Xiaowen Zhu, appointed in June 2022.

Showcasing five artists and two collectives, the reopening exhibition Practise Till We Meet is guest curated by Hanlu Zhang, an independent curator, writer, and editor interested in art as social practice, with esea contemporary’s curatorial team.

New, commissioned and existing works will be shown by: Asia-Art-Activism, Asian Feminist Studio for Art and Research, Audrey Albert, Isaac Chong Wai, Koki Tanaka, Liu Weiwei, and Mimian Hsu.

Practise Till We Meet explores diasporic experiences, the condition of migration, and the challenges and actions taken to create a just life in a new place. Personal and political, traumatic and humorous, it looks across geography and through generations to consider how individual and community perspectives become intertwined with global upheavals. The participating artists incorporate approaches such as community engagement, performance,  interactivity and social experiment in their works as exercises of connecting and reconnecting.

Works include moving image, installations, wall works, videos, paintings and a newly commissioned sculpture. The artists and collectives will hold events at esea contemporary’s new Communal Project Space, creating displays which grow and change throughout the exhibition.

Hanlu Zhang, Curator said: “For migrants, understanding how to act in unfamiliar experiences requires practice. By witnessing or even participating in these necessary and emotionally motivated exercises presented in this exhibition, new perspectives and knowledge of this world open up to all of us. The works show personal desires and family histories becoming intertwined with political upheavals. Some self-educate on topsy-turvy journeys searching for memory and belonging; others practise care, tenderness, and affection, collaboratively forging solid paths in a world in crisis.”

Xiaowen Zhu, Director, esea contemporary said: “It’s with great pleasure to be relaunching esea contemporary 36 years after its birth as an artist-initiated, community-oriented arts festival in Manchester. The centre’s new name indicates our profound trust in the ESEA community and this significant transformation has grown from a collective will to redefine and re-envision the organisation’s purpose and mission. Working with Hanlu Zhang to present this inaugural exhibition represents our responsibility to show, archive and convey contemporary ESEA community stories and memories. The Board and team are excited to welcome visitors into the relaunched gallery in February.”

Jennifer Cleary, Director North, Arts Council England said “I’m looking forward to visiting esea contemporary in February and experiencing its new vision under the directorship of Xiaowen Zhu. I’m sure that the exciting and thought-provoking programme for 2023 will attract both local people and visitors alike, and I look forward to seeing how the organisation develops into the future.”

esea contemporary reopens to the public on Saturday, February 18, 2023. For more details, visit eseacontemporary.org.