sinokultur offers artists from the fields of art, literature and music the opportunity to realize and communicate their projects by financially supporting 1-3 projects per year. In 2025 we are supporting the following projects:
The Chinese artist Jiaxi Han is working on the research project Identifying the effect of the modern world on traditional Miao batik techniques.
Her hometown Guizhou, China, is one of the key regions where Miao ethnic minority batik techniques (苗族蜡染) have been passed down for generations. The intricate batik patterns, created using a wax knife (蜡刀), often draw inspiration from the history of the Miao people, nature, daily life, and cultural symbols. In recent years, traditional crafts have gained attention as intangible cultural heritage. Many Miao women, often with limited access to education and modern job opportunities, are revitalizing batik practices, balancing economic independence with cultural preservation.
However, the pressure of modernization and commercialization has influenced both traditional patterns and techniques. While some innovations have emerged, traditional motifs face challenges in being passed on to younger generations. Through this project, Jiaxi aims to document the current state of Miao batik, record the lives and works of artisans, and explore how traditional and modern influences coexist. The final outcome will include video documentation, writing, and batik works—both her own and pieces created by the artisans. The project also seeks to highlight the significance of contemporary batik creations, encouraging appreciation for the ongoing work of Miao women, alongside traditional designs now celebrated in museums or markets for collectors.
Jiaxi Han(1993), of Buyi ethnicity, was born and grew up in southwest China. She received her Bachelor and Master degree in Visual arts at the Academy of Visual Arts in Hong Kong Baptist University and exchanged at Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna in Italy. She also received a Master of Transdisciplinary Studies at Zurich University of the Arts in 2024.
The German sinologist and translator Karin Betz is working on a translation of the volume of essays “The Silent Majority” （Chenmo de daduoshu 沉默的大多数）with a selection of writings by the Chinese author WANG Xiaobo. The volume is being translated from Chinese into German and will be published by Matthes & Seitz Berlin in 2026.
The Chinese author, essayist and literary critic WANG Xiaobo (1952-1997) is considered the “enfant terrible” of Chinese literature. In reference to the first English translation of Wang's collection of critical essays, published by Penguin 2023 under the title “Pleasure of Thinking”, Ai Weiwei described him as “a truly unique writer”, which he undoubtedly is. Literary quality aside, it is a phenomenon that, despite his subversiveness, he is still a bestseller in the Chinese-speaking world and is as beloved by readers today as he was in the 1990s when his first writings appeared.
Although the collection of essays covers a wide range of topics, the underlying theme is mostly how people fail to reap the rewards of their own thinking in a variety of ways. The 35 essays range from reflections on the culture shock of discovering American eating habits, treatises on some of his favorite authors, such as Italo Calvino, Ernest Hemingway or the philosopher Bertrand Russell, to the question: why do I write? He discusses the importance of individual resistance to tyranny, the logic of censorship, quirky characters in Chinese village life and classical Chinese philosophy, and recounts his travels between East and West.
Karin Betz (born March 7, 1968 in Hanau) studied sinology, German studies, philosophy and politics in Frankfurt am Main, Chengdu and Tokyo. She has been translating Chinese literature from the People's Republic of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong into German full-time since 2009, including Nobel Prize winner Mo Yan, Liu Cixin, Liao Yiwu, Jin Yong and Can Xue. She is also a lecturer in literary translation, editor, presenter and DJ. She has received several awards for her work, most recently the 2024 Helmut M. Braem Translator's Prize for her outstanding translation of the novel “My City” by Hong Kong author Xi Xi and the Special Book Award of China.
Foto © Alexander Neroslawski
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