The Shenzhen Biennale has announced the termination of Gary Xu, one of three curators of its inaugural edition, after he was accused of sexual assault and inappropriate behaviour on social media, Art Asia Pacific reports.
Wang Ao, assistant professor of East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University, Connecticut, claimed that Xu, a former associate professor in the department of East Asian languages and cultures at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), had been sexually harassing his female students for the past 20 years. An anonymous woman, concurred with Wang Ao’s accusation, claiming Xu physically abused her and shared a petition she filed against the academic with an Illinois court in 2015 for an emergency order of protection.
‘Given that the center’s attitude and mission is to spread positive energy of art, we, after deliberate consideration, decided to terminate our cooperation with Xu Gang for the 2018 Shenzhen Biennale,’ the biennale team said in a statement. Xu denies all allegations.
16 March 2018
