Call for Papers

All articles submitted should be original work and must not be under consideration by other publications.

The journal operates on the basis of thematic CFPs only, please consult the current CFPs below before submission.

Creative China

Volume 11, Issue 1, Spring 2024 

Co-editor: Hua Dong, Brunel University London 

Since 2017, every issue of The Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art is themed. We are committed to developing and supporting new knowledge production in the interdisciplinary context of Chinese contemporary arts, design, media and visual culture. This Special Issue of spring 2024 focuses on the creative industries in China and their international collaborations. 

The creative industries sector is made up of a broad range of industries, from advertising, architecture, visual arts, to design, fashion and textiles, to computer games, film, video and TV. It is an important sector for economic growth and cultural exchange. In China, creative industries have grown exponentially in recent years and they are becoming a vital part of the global creative landscape. 

The rise of digital platforms has provided new opportunities for collaboration in creative industries. In March 2022, for example, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in the UK delivered a week-long virtual festival, engaging creative industries in the UK and China, advancing conversations around the future UK-China collaboration. An ambitious Hub for UK-China Creative Industries Research and Innovation is in the making. Such collaboration in creative industries is very important: it nurtures innovation, provides access to resources, creates opportunities for shared learning, and increases the visibility of the creatives in both countries. 

This Special Issue of the Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art invites submissions on the topic of ‘Creative China’, with a specific focus on three Cs: Creative Industries, China, and Collaboration. Papers are especially encouraged from the recent years’ UK-China Collaborations in the Creative Industries’ programme. Papers can address a range of issues, including, but not limited to 

• Creative arts in China
• Contemporary design in China
• Cross-cultural collaborations between the UK and Chinese creative industries
• The role of government policies in supporting and regulating creative industries in China
• The impact of digital technologies on the creative industries
• The opportunities for, and barriers (challenges?) to, creative industries in China
• Education and training in developing talents for the creative industries
• Ecosystems for creative industries in China 

We welcome submissions from scholars, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in the fields of creative industries, cultural studies, media studies and related disciplines. Papers may take the form of theoretical analyses, empirical studies, case studies, comparative studies, or policy recommendations. 

The aim of  the ‘Creative China’ issue is to offer a platform for researchers and practitioners to reflect on their creative inquiry and practice in (or in collaboration with) China, and to share knowledge and learning for more productive and sustainable collaboration between the UK and China in the future. 

Submission guidelines

Please prepare a Word document containing (1) an abstract of up to 300 words and (2) a 100-word biography, contact information and any institutional affiliation, and submit to co-editor Hua Dong (Hua.Dong@brunel.ac.uk) and principal editor Jiang Jiehong (ccva@bcu.ac.uk) with the subject ‘JCCA 11.1’ by 17 April 2023.

The authors of the selected abstracts will be invited to submit their full paper by 22 September 2023. 

The journal publication (in 2024) is subject to peer review outcomes. 

About the co-editor

Professor Hua Dong is Head of Brunel Design School. Her research expertise is inclusive design. She is the convenor of the Inclusive Design Research Special Interest Group (InclusiveSIG) at the Design Research Society (DRS), and has been an organiser of the Cambridge Workshop for Universal Access and Assistive Technology since 2014. 

Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art is an associate journal of the Centre for Chinese Visual Arts at Birmingham City University.

The Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art is a scholarly forum for new research into and critical debate on the subject of contemporary Chinese art. The journal welcomes contributions that address contemporary art produced in mainland China, Hong Kong-Macau and Taiwan as well as in relation to diasporic and trans-national Chinese cultural communities world-wide. The journal also welcomes contributions that address the relationship between Chinese cultural thought and practice and contemporary art of non-Chinese origin. The journal is open to non-standard contributions such as photographic essays and conversations for publication alongside its more usual peer-reviewed content.

Areas of research and debate that the journal will explore include, but are by no means limited to:

· Contemporary art with a relationship to Chinese society, culture and history

· Art-historical and critical writing related to the reception of contemporary Chinese art

· Curatorial theory and practice related to the exhibition/display of contemporary Chinese art

· Contemporary Chinese aesthetics (as seen from Chinese and non-Chinese cultural perspectives)

· The contemporary Chinese art market

· Issues of historical importance to the development of contemporary Chinese art (e.g. cultural interaction and exchange between China and the West prior to the emergence of contemporary Chinese art)

Journal contributors will receive a free PDF copy of their final work upon publication.