China-As-A-Method Salon
China-As-A-Method Salon at Maison SHECIETY
An intimate gathering of female entrepreneurs, investors, artists, and innovators
In the vibrant heart of Munich’s Neuhausen—where creativity, culture, and curiosity naturally intersect—we’re bringing together 20 remarkable women for an evening of in-depth conversations and forward-looking ideas at Maison SHECIETY.
We’re delighted that Sheciety (sheciety.de) is co-hosting this event—Saina Bayatpour (instagram.com/sainabayatpour) feels like a natural partner when it comes to curating beautiful experiences for ambitious, inspiring women who want more.
This private salon marks the launch of “As-A-Method”—a series shaped by international women who stand at the crossroads of entrepreneurship, art, design, and global innovation. The aim is to explore how creativity and cultural perspectives can actively shape new ways of building, thinking, and problem solving. Inspired by the gatherings we’ve experienced in Asia, we’re creating a space where design fuels strategy, artistic thinking expands innovation, and dialogue becomes a catalyst for new forms of collaboration.
Attendance is intentionally limited and invite-only, ensuring the meaningful exchanges and trust that allow truly original thinking to emerge.
To help cover food, drinks, and event organization, we ask for a 35€ contribution.
To confirm your place, please RSVP.
Questions?
Bettina Scheibe – [email protected]
Brigitte Neumann – [email protected]
Please find further information about the talk below.
Not to Be Forgotten: Women Artists’ Persistence and Creativity in China
The talk focuses on the practices of female Chinese artists as they confront real-life challenges, highlighting their sense of social responsibility and their inventive strategies. Their artistic activism, particularly under intense political control, demonstrates alternative, flexible, and effective methods for addressing shared concerns, sustaining historical memory, and inspiring critical reflection. This topic shows how grassroots wisdom has long been a vital force for social progress, especially in times of complex political change.
Through the lens of these artists’ lives and creative experiences, the talk explores why China’s situation and people’s responses can serve as a reference for reflecting on global realities. It also emphasizes why alternative perspectives beyond official sources are necessary, and how narratives created by Chinese female artists can embody the “China as Method” approach. Their works touch on pressing historical and contemporary issues, including social inequality, suppression of free expression, and the erasure of historical memory.
Among these examples, a special case study will focus on Wen Hui, an influential Chinese choreographer and dancer known for her pioneering work combining dance, documentary, and social engagement. Her performances address sensitive and underrepresented social issues in China, exploring memory and the relationship between body and society. She received the Goethe Medal in 2021 and has created several new works during her residency in Germany, including “I’m 60”, a work deeply rooted in her own life experience.
Speaker: Yuning Teng
https://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/khi/Personen/wiss_mit_drittmittel/teng
Yuning Teng is an art historian and curator based in Berlin, Beijing, and Barcelona. She completed her doctoral studies at the Universität Hamburg and currently works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Kunsthistorisches Institut, Freie Universität Berlin.
Before her career in Germany, she served as deputy director of the Center for Visual Studies at Peking University, where she coordinated the Chinese Modern Art Archive (CMAA) and the Annual of Contemporary Art of China (2008–2022). She was Deputy Secretary General of the Wu Zuoren International Foundation of Fine Arts (2013–2022) and a key member of the Chinese Secretariat of the Comité International d’Histoire de l’Art (2012–2021). She has published several articles in major international publications and delivered lectures on various platforms.
As a curator, she has organized over twenty exhibitions in China and internationally, including serving as co-curator for the 2021 Guangzhou Image Triennale with the Hyperimage Group, of which she is a founding member. She is also a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA).
Commentator: Dr. Stefanie Thiedig
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanie-thiedig
Stefanie Thiedig is a Sinologist and cultural practitioner. She lived in Beijing for ten years from 2007 to 2017, and has been based in Hamburg again since 2018. Since 2009, she has been working freelance under the name Kulturgut 文化财富, offering cultural mediation and a platform for independent creatives. Her work spans art and cultural projects in the areas of concept development, writing, photography, editing, and proofreading. On her blog, she regularly shares her perspectives on life between China and Germany.