The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) at NYU Shanghai opened its spring exhibition, Disentangling Entanglement: In Memory of Intimacy, Vulnerability, and Action, running from February 26 through May 23.
Unlike conventional art exhibitions centered on a single artist and their artistic vision, this show brings together 14 creators from fields such as social work, journalism, and nonprofit sectors. As “practitioners” in their respective fields, they showcase experiences and reflections from the past decade through craft, images, and interactive installations.
Co-curated by Zhao Yiren, Zhu Lina, Ji Chenjia, Bao Yang, and Chen Baichao, this exhibition marks the fourth and final season of ICA’s artistic research program Lightless Fires (2024–26). Structured around the arc of “gathering and dispersal,” the exhibition traces paths of encounter, entanglement, resonance, and separation, while also looking toward the lives that continue after.
While the creators do not make art professionally, “each of them is an ‘artist,’” curator Zhao Yiren said. “This exhibition is a collective narrative and a co-creative process. It is not a self-narration by a few people, but an invitation for more people to document this era together.”
Zhao described the exhibition as an effort to record experiences related to “intimacy, vulnerability, and action.” Many of the artists working in social innovation, gender equality, and support for marginalized groups, have encountered both joy and difficulty in their practice. These experiences are tied to personal growth, and also broader social change. The curatorial team hopes to “open up” these complex feelings and, through collective storytelling, invite more people to look back on the past decade together.
Zhao also explained that these creators think actively -- within their own work and lives -- about what society should look like and what kind of life they want to live, and then try to make change in practical ways. She cited Xiaoka, who gained inspiration from her work in mental health and social work. Her installation includes photographs taken over more than a decade weaving together personal memories and public issues.
Zhu Lina’s work, “From Heteroglossia to Monologue,” takes the form of a white dome-like space marked with the fingerprints of friends using Suzhou-style embroidery, accompanied by their stories of “loss.” Visitors are invited to enter the space and see the traces left by those who once walked alongside one another but are now scattered in different places.
The five curators came to know one another through college, community networks, or working together. They are interested in how people build relationships, collaborate, and express themselves, and in how social change shapes individual experience.
Curator Chen Baichao said the team deliberately included materials such as photos and meeting notes from the curatorial process as part of the exhibition to show their process and how the participants worked together.
The exhibition includes multiple ways to encourage visitor involvement, including an experiential piece will continue on at the show as more people add their own stories and a research archive recording the impactful events of the past decade for social and historical context.
A series of workshops and interactive programs will be held throughout the next few months, including a dance workshop led by Zhu Lina, a live performance by Theatre LaStrada incorporating audiences' real-life experiences, and a closing concert by Zhao Yiren and her friends.
Chen added that the team also hopes to “lend” the space to those who need it during the exhibition period, supporting small sharing sessions and discussions so that exchanges around real social issues can continue.
Beyond looking back over the decade, the curators hope visitors will recognize that “doing anything important is never smooth sailing, and setbacks do not happen to only one person,” says Chen. “If you feel discouraged, you may find resonance in other people’s stories -- and then keep moving forward.”