China Residencies is proud have support from of some of the most qualified international advisors. Our board includes these awesome people:
Governing Board
Crystal Ruth Bell
Founder & Program Director at China Residencies
Crystal Ruth Bell is the former director of Red Gate Residency, where she served as the primary contact for prospective, active, and alumni artists for two years. During Miss Bell’s tenure, she successfully diversified the demographics of applicants, specifically in the areas of age and nationality, by broadening the reach of the programs reputation through modern design branding, web engagement, video and photo documentation, and social media presence. She also created two financially sustainable staff positions within the organization.
In 2011, Miss Bell initiated the first and second meetings of China residency administrators in Beijing to discuss the challenges faced by organizations. The resources China Residencies is developping are a direct response to these challenges. Miss Bell’s academic background is in fine art and graphic design. She currently works full-time in NYC as the Creative Lead for DoSomething.org, a web-based non profit for young people and social change. Her own art practice explores cultural exchange through pop-up food art interventions.
Kira Simon-Kennedy
Co-Founder & Program Manager at China Residencies
Kira Simon-Kennedy is China Residencies’ Program Manager, as well as a freelance film producer, non-profit development specialist, and Mandarin and French translator specializing in the arts. Previously, Miss Simon-Kennedy help found Caoker, bilingual web startup aiming to promote Chinese artists and musicians abroad and international artists within China. As head of production and marketing manager at Caoker, Kira produced videos and interviews with over fifty artists in China’s burgeoning indie scene.
Miss Simon-Kennedy grew up in Paris then went on to earn a B.A. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania, while minoring in Fine Arts and Photography. During her undergraduate years, Miss Simon-Kennedy was a curatorial intern at the Philadelphia Art Museum, then interned under Crystal Ruth Bell at Red Gate Gallery and Residencies in 2009. She returned that summer to assist Nancy Murphy with her China Art Law practice, and has lived between China, France, and the US for the past five years.
Dr. Kristin Congdon
Professor of Film and Philosophy at the University of Central Florida / Founder of ChinaVine
Dr. Kristin G. Congdon is Professor Emerita of Philosophy and Humanities at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Before becoming a university professor, she taught art in a variety of settings, including public schools, correctional settings, treatment facilities, and museums. She continued her community-based art activities at the University of Central Florida as the Director of the Cultural Heritage Alliance. She has a Ph.D. in art education with a minor area of study in folklore from the University of Oregon (1983), an M.S. in art education from Indiana University (1972), and a B.A. in art from Valparaiso University. Kristin Congdon has received many awards for her research, teaching, and service and is a National Art Education Association Distinguished Fellow. Dr. Congdon has published extensively on folk art, community arts, and feminism in an effort to celebrate artists who have had little visibility in the art world. Her most recent books include, Artists from Latin American Cultures and 20th Century United States Photographers (co-authored with Kara Hallmark). Dr. Congdon has been president of the Florida Folklore Society and a member (and chair) of the Florida Folklife Council. She has also been a World Congress Member for the International Society for Education Through Art, and the president of the National Art Education Association’s Women’s Caucus. She has been the senior editor of The Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education and Studies in Art Education. From 2002-2006, she documented ten Florida folk artists on www.folkvine.org with the help students, faculty, and artists in an effort to explore how the Web can effectively be used for educational purposes. For the last five years she has been working on ChinaVine, a partnership project with many universities and art organizations in the United States and China. ChinaVine’s mission is to educate English-speaking audiences about Chinese culture; the project can be found at www.chinavine.org. Kristin Congdon continues to write and work with community-based art programs. She is currently President of the non-profit organization, IRASUS (International Research on Art and Sustainability).
Adam Short Senior Associate, Corporate & Foundation Partnerships, American National Red Cross
Adam joined the American Red Cross in 2012. His work is focused on soliciting and stewarding major gifts from corporate partners in the Northeast. Prior to joining the Red Cross, Adam served as the Development & Program Manager at the Alliance of Artist Communities, as Producing Director of the Rhode Island International Film Festival, as an English teacher in the Providence Public Schools, and as an adult ESL Instructor at the Rhode Island College Outreach Program. In 2011, he traveled to China to visit with artist-in-residency programs and to facilitate a successful cross-cultural artists exchange. He has an MBA from Bryant University and a BA in English Literature from Reed College. Adam lives in Providence with his wife, Alyssa, an arts educator and professional illustrator.
Brian Wallace Founder & Director of Red Gate Gallery / Founder of the Red Gate Residency
Founding director of Red Gate Gallery, Brian Wallace is a veteran and visionary of the contemporary Chinese art scene. Originally from Australia, Mr. Wallace has lived in Beijing since 1986. In 1991, he established the first private contemporary Chinese art gallery in China, Red Gate Gallery, in the historic Dongbianmen, a 600 year-old Ming Dynasty Watchtower. Now in its twentieth year, the gallery exhibits the works of reputed artists such as Liu Qinghe, Su Xinping, Tan Ping and Zhou Jirong, all esteemed professors at the Central Academy of Fine arts as well as younger talents like Jiang Weitao, Shi Zhongying, Island6 and Xie Guoping. Mr. Wallace is intimately acquainted with the contemporary Chinese art scene, working regularly with international curators and artists to present special exhibitions, such as "Hard Sleeper", part of the Australia-China Cultural Year. Personally committed to social causes, Mr Wallace has organized eight editions of the Charity Printmaking Calendar to benefit Shepherds Field Children's Home and supports the Gedun Choephel Artist Guild for Tibetan artists in Lhasa, Tibet. In 2001, Wallace created the Red Gate Residency program to host international artists, curators, writers and academics interested in living and creating in Beijing. The residency program is a separate entity from the gallery and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The program integrates resident artists with the dynamic Beijing art scene, and has converted several past-residents into full time expats. Since 2007, Red Gate residency has been officially selected to run the Austrian Government's artist residency program in Beijing.
Advisory Board
Nancy Murphy
Attorney / China Art Law Specialist
Catherine Croll
Cultural Partnerships Australia / Director of Special Projects at Red Gate Gallery
Gordon Laurin
Co-founder Where Where Curatorial Space / Manager of International Art Residency Beijing
Ed Dadey
Founder/Director of Art Farm
Stephanie Gross
Non-profit Advisor