The Visual and Material Perspectives on East Asia (VMPEA) workshop is pleased to announce the Winter 2026 schedule. All the in-person events will meet on selected Fridays from 4:45 to 6:45 pm CT at CWAC (Cochrane-Woods Art Center) 152 unless otherwise noted. If a presenter opts for a hybrid format with online audience, we will send out a registration link prior to these events. You are welcome to subscribe to our listserv to receive event notifications.
Winter 2026 Schedule
January 30
Seonghee Ha
PhD Student, Department of Art History, UChicago
“To Be or Not to Be a Portrait: Sin Yunbok’s Beauty and Its Place in the Intellectual History of the Late Chosŏn Period”
February 6
Jiayi Zhu
PhD Candidate, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, UChicago
“Gathering Regional Practices: Shaping a Buddhist Capital through Peaks and Waters”
Respondent: Lucien Sun, PhD Candidate, Department of Art History, UChicago
February 13
Stephanie Su
Assistant Professor of Asian Art, Department of Art and Art History, University of Colorado Boulder
“Chasing Lights: Photography, Abstraction, and the Possibility of Printmaking in Onchi Kōshirō’s Work, 1920s-1940s”
*This event is co-sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Chicago
February 19 (Thursday)
5:00–7:00
Barbara London
Curator, Writer, and Host of Barbara London Calling
“Whose History Is It?”
*This workshop is co-sponsored by RAVE
February 25 (Wednesday)
4:30–6:00
Yan Jin
PhD Candidate, Department of Art History, UChicago
“Material Substitution: Reinventing the Altar Set at Emperor Yongzheng’s Court”
Respondent: Jessie Alperin, PhD Candidate, Committee on Social Thought & Department of Art History, UChicago
*This workshop is co-sponsored by RAVE
March 6
Wenshu Wang
Visiting Research Associate, Center for the Art of East Asia, UChicago | Research Assistant, Longmen Grottoes Academy
“Where to Carve? Site Selection at the Longmen Grottoes in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.)”
