Part of a DVD series produced by China Institute featuring intimate discussions with artists, curators, critics and art historians about contemporary Chinese art from the perspectives of society and politics, the relationship between contemporary Chinese and Western culture, and the bridge between traditional and contemporary Chinese art.

Despite the history of repression of the visual arts in China, censorship has substantially subsided in the past decade. Despite sporadic incidents—most recently, the cancellation of Zhang Huan’s exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum—contemporary art has been allowed, by and large, to flourish. How does China’s oversight of contemporary art operate in today’s context? How does it compare to the situation of artists in the US?

This is a video recording of the talk 'Censorship in the Visual Arts in China' on 21 October 2008, featuring art critic Barbara Pollack, artist Zhang Hongtu, and artist/former chief curator of Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, Colin Chinnery.