SOAS video‑art programme

SOAS Gallery has opened a video-art programme on contemporary work from the Sinosphere, pairing the exhibition with free screenings and public discussions in London. (soas.ac.uk) The exhibition is called *In-/Visible Spectrums: Contemporary Video Art from the Sinosphere* and is presented by SOAS, University of London. SOAS says the programme challenges the idea that Chinese contemporary art should be read only through mainland China or through overt political messaging. (soas.ac.uk) The public events run from April 16 to June 20, 2026, in the Khalili Lecture Theatre opposite the gallery on Thornhaugh Street near Russell Square. Event listings describe the sessions as free screenings and panel discussions with artists and scholars. (unsw.edu.au) In this context, “Sinosphere” means Chinese-speaking and Chinese-influenced communities across places including mainland China, Hong Kong and the diaspora, not a single national scene. The programme’s lineup reflects that span with sessions on artists in London, queer video art in mainland China, and work from Hong Kong. (soas.ac.uk) (eventbrite.com) The screenings are built around artists’ moving-image work and then extended through discussion, which turns the programme into both an exhibition and a teaching series. SOAS says the talks focus on how the works were made and how they are interpreted in Chinese contemporary art studies. (soas.ac.uk) The first scheduled event, on April 16, features Yique and Xu Ziyi in a session titled *Institutional Critiques by Chinese Artists in London*. Later sessions include Zheng Que on April 30, Sheng Jinghao on May 14, Siu Wai Hang and Yim Sui Fong on May 28, and Kiki Tianqi Yu on June 18. (soas.ac.uk) (eventbrite.com) (soas.ac.uk) The programme ends with a roundtable on June 20 on interpreting contemporary video art from the Sinosphere. SOAS lists Professor Paul Gladston, Lynne Howarth-Gladston, Yique, Lin Zi and Frank Vigneron among the participants. (unsw.edu.au) SOAS places the series inside its wider arts teaching and research focus on Asia, Africa and the Middle East and their diasporas. In practice, that gives the gallery a university setting for work that might otherwise appear only in commercial or festival circuits. (soas.ac.uk) (newexhibitions.com) For visitors, the immediate change is simple: a free run of artist-led screenings and discussions is now on the spring calendar, anchored by a gallery show that stays focused on video art across Chinese-speaking worlds. (eventbrite.com)