To what extent are identity and belonging related to birth and birthplace? How do processes of art making and experiences of migration complicate this question? By illuminating little-known stories of artists and writers of Chinese descent in Britain, this talk explores how their lives and works challenge our commonsense ideas about Chinese identity and belonging. While family, ancestry and birthplace are often vital to our sense of who we are, this talk highlights how they relate to identity and belonging in complex and often unexpected ways.

Diana Yeh's research lies in the interdisciplinary fields of art and migration. Her work explores the translocal lives and works of artists of Chinese descent in order to interrogate 'racial'/ethnic and national paradigms of identity and belonging. She is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of East London and is affiliated to its newly launched Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging.

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Diana Yeh at the University of East London