The choreographic turn in the visual arts from 1958 to 1965 can be identified by the sudden emergence of works created by different visual artists around the world. Dedicated to the renewed encounter between dance and performance and the institutions of global contemporary art, this publication proposes that a “new performance turn” has emerged in the second decade of the century.

“Taiping Tianguo,” a touring exhibition organized by Para Site, Hong Kong, began as a series of questions, including: How did Ai Weiwei, Frog King Kwok, Tehching Hsieh, and Martin Wong—four artists of Chinese heritage hailing from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and San Francisco, respectively—all end up in New York in the heady 1980s?

Arrow Factory is an independently run art space located in a narrow 200-year old alleyway in the center of Beijing. This publication provides a valuable look into the uniqueness of our contemporary situation, and captures for posterity the fleeting connections that situate Arrow Factory in China’s larger economic, intellectual, and artistic zeitgeist.