Chair of East Asian Art History

The Chair of East Asian Art History at the Department of Art History, University of Zurich, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Ewa Machotka, is dedicated to the study of art and visual cultures of China, Japan and Korea, spanning from ancient to contemporary times.  

Established over five decades ago and standing as the sole chair dedicated to East Asian Art History in Switzerland, the Chair, rooted in both wide international academic networks and rich collections of East Asian art kept in the country, serves as a research and education hub for East Asian art history in Switzerland and beyond.  

On this website, you may find information about current events, study programs, and ongoing research projects at the Chair for East Asian Art History.

The  University of Zurich is expanding its commitment to Chinese art history through innovative teaching, international collaboration, and the development of a long-term institutional platform connecting academia, museums, and the wider public.

First Steps: The Sigg Course on Contemporary Chinese Art
A catalyst for this initiative was the Sigg Course on Chinese Art. In 2025, Dr. Uli Sigg, the  foremost collector of contemporary Chinese art and Visiting Professor at the Chair, contributed the highly popular course  “Inside the Art World: Collecting, Curating, and Cultural Diplomacy in the Chinese Cultural Sphere”
The course offered students a rare opportunity to gain first-hand insight into the global processes shaping Chinese contemporary art. 

Institutional Development: Toward a Professorship in Chinese Art History with a Focus on Contemporary Art
The next step is the establishment of a professorship in Chinese Art History with a focus on Contemporary Art. While Chinese art is included in the East Asian Art History curriculum at UZH, Switzerland currently lacks a dedicated permanent professorship in Chinese art history. New professorship at UZH is therefore both a necessity and an opportunity: it will expand research and teaching in the field while strengthening connections with international scholars, museums, and cultural institutions. 

Get Involved: Support Chinese Art History at UZH
The development of Chinese art history at UZH is an ambitious long-term initiative that will require strong institutional partnerships and philanthropic support. We warmly invite cultural partners, supporters, collectors, and patrons of the arts to join a network of Friends of Chinese Art History at UZH to support the growth of this initiative. If you are interested in learning more about the project or exploring ways to contribute, please contact friends-of-chinese-art@khist.uzh.ch
Your interest, ideas, and support are greatly appreciated.

The Chair’s aim is to position art as an active and reflective medium for engaging with the cultures, histories, and social realities of East Asia. Rather than presenting East Asia as a static object of study, this approach emphasizes dialogue, critique, and mutual exchange through artistic and curatorial practices.

The Chair combines practical hands-onresearch and critical theory perspectives to investigate East Asian art objects, their production, reception and circulation (including transnational and global interactions), advocating for inclusive, diverse approaches to studying of artefacts from different cultures. These principles guide the Chair’s research as well as its pedagogy, which stresses research-based education.  

Balancing critical theory approaches with object-based practices,teaching is conducted in diverse formats including seminars, lectures, practical exercises,excursions and colloquia as well as workshops and conferences. Favoring inquiry-based learning, hands-on study, field trips and guest speakers, the aim is to foster curiosity and provide students a pathway to versatile intellectual and professional development, preparing them for careers both within and outside the art world. 

Our Zurich Lectures in East Asian Art History series brings in international speakers on a regular basis for exchange over the most recent developments in and beyond our field.

The prestigious Zurich Lectures in East Asian Art History bring distinguished scholars to Zurich to deliver keynote lectures on current topics and novel approaches in the field. Established with the goal of mapping innovative research in East Asian Art History, offer broad perspectives on the state of research in East Asian Art. These public lectures welcome all interested attendees and aim to foster dialogue both within and beyond the discipline of East Asian Art History. 

The Zurich Lectures serve as a forum of knowledge exchange on topics related to East Asian Art in Switzerland and beyond. Supported by the exceptional environment of museums, galleries and private collections in an around Zurich, the lectures gather a community of diverse professional and intellectual backgrounds. We believe in the value of such breadth, both to facilitate student-led initiatives and to enhance the impact of academic research.

About the Zurich Lectures in East Asian Art History

Roundtable: East Asian Art in Dialogue is a recurring forum that fosters critical, cross-sectoral conversations within the global art ecosystem, with a particular focus on the role of East Asia within this context. Engaging artists, curators, collectors, donors, gallerists, art historians, and philanthropists, the series explores the interdependent roles these actors play in shaping cultural, socio-economic and institutional frameworks of East Asian art.

Situated at the intersection of artistic practice, academia, museums, and the art market, the Roundtable facilitates exchange across professional boundaries. Each edition addresses key dimensions of the art world—art creating, collecting and donating practices, curatorial approaches, institutional partnerships, issues of public engagement and social relevance of art— exploring the forces that shape the production, circulation, and reception of East Asian art.

Structured as a range of formats—including lectures, seminars, workshops, guest talks, and excursions—the Roundtable emphasizes dialogical engagement that foster mutual learning, and exchange among the various actors in the art ecosystem. The initiative also serves as a platform for students and early-career professionals to connect with practitioners and engage with real-world perspectives on art and its social role.

As both an academic and civic space, Roundtable: East Asian Art in Dialogue reflects the evolving responsibilities of individuals and institutions in today’s global art landscape.

Prof. Dr. Ewa Machotka is an art historian specializing in Japan and East Asia, with a transnational academic and museum career. Her research spans Japanese art and visual culture, global and transcultural art history, art historiography, environmental art history, and the computational analysis of visual arts.

Contact

Universität Zürich
Department of Art History  
Raemistr. 73  
CH-8006 Zuerich  
Switzerland    

Office: RAK 3-302  
Tel.: 044 634 28 33 (dir.)  
Tel.: +41 44 634 28 31 (secretariat)
E-Mail: ewa.machotka@khist.uzh.ch   

Consultations

By appointment (ewa.machotka@khist.uzh.ch)

Stay connected with all the latest news and events from our program by subscribing to our newsletter! Sign up here: https://khist.lists.uzh.ch/sympa/subscribe/kgoanews

If you wish to unsubscribe at any time, simply click here: https://khist.lists.uzh.ch/sympa/signoff/kgoanews 

Follow us on LinkedIn! https://www.linkedin.com/company/uzh-chair-of-east-asian-art-history/

For general inquiries, please feel free to contact us atkgoa@khist.uzh.ch. To help us assist you efficiently, kindly keep your questions concise and specific. 

Universität Zürich
Institute of Art History
Chair of East Asian Art History
Raemistrasse 73
8006 Zurich
Switzerland

Tel: +41 (0)44 634 45 95 / +41 (0)44 634 59 44
E-Mail: kgoa@khist.uzh.ch
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uzh-chair-of-east-asian-art-history/