This symposium will explore the complexity of material culture and design in Asian cultures, focusing on four themes: the nature and experience of materiality, the social effect of material culture, aesthetics as a cultural expression, and the biography of a design. Speakers will examine examples from different cultures that reveal distinctive characteristics in Asian designs, including architecture, ceramics, decorative art, fashion, furniture, graphic, and interior design. Discussions will reveal intricate historical and social dynamics that are fundamental to design innovation and cultural revitalization.

Thursday, March 18, 9:30–11:30 am

Stacey Pierson
University of London
“Trash or Treasure: The Sherd in East Asian Ceramic Culture”

Megha Rajguru
University of Brighton
“The Home and the Street: Critical Reflections on the Working Class Interior and Public Space in India 1970–1990”

Hui-Ying Kerr
Nottingham Trent University
“Health Booms and Bubbly Bodies: Hanako Magazine, Women and Beauty in the 1980s Japanese Bubble Economy”

Yunah Lee
University of Brighton
“Diligent Helpers in the Kitchen: The Consumption of Kitchen Appliances in Korea”

Friday, March 19, 9:30–11:30 am

Sandy Ng
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
“Self and Object: Feminine Design and Social Changes in the Life of the Modern Woman”

Sarah Cheang
Royal College of Art
“Transnational Material Agencies: The Global Circulation of Chinese Embroidered Textiles”

Anna Grasskamp
Hong Kong Baptist University
“Maritime Matters: Shell Design and Cultural Transfer”

Kyunghee Pyun
Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY
“Reverse Orientalism in East Asia: Aesthetics and Ethnic Identity”

This event will be live with automatic captions.

This event will be held via Zoom. A link will be circulated to registrants each day in advance of the event.