SAINT LOUIS, MO.-The Saint Louis Art Museum welcomes Chinese contemporary art curator and critic Lu Jie Wednesday, October 19 for a free lecture at 5:30 pm. Lu Jie will explore how contemporary Chinese art has moved from the underground to its current position as a mediator between society, government, and the general public. The program is in the Auditorium.

Based in Beijing, China, Lu Jie is the founding director of the Long March Foundation in New York and the 25000 Cultural Transmission Center in Beijing, as well as a writer on the editorial board for Yishu – A Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art. One of his most noted curatorial endeavors, The Long March: A Walking Visual Display, commemorated the route of Mao’s historic Long March. Following the path of the Red Army’s historic journey in 1934, the three-month project focused on bridging the gap between art and people as well as creating a link between the ideas of art and space.

The eighth annual Nelson I. Wu Lecture on Asian Art and Culture, which honors the memory of the late Dr. Wu, is jointly sponsored by the Saint Louis Art Museum and Washington University. Each year, the program features an internationally renowned specialist on Asian art and culture and is complemented by related events and activities at both the University and the Museum.

The Saint Louis Art Museum is one of the nation’s leading comprehensive art museums with collections that include works of art of exceptional quality from virtually every culture and time period. Areas of notable depth include Oceanic art, pre-Columbian art, ancient Chinese bronzes and European and American art of the late 19th and 20th centuries, with particular strengths in 20th century German art. The Museum offers a full range of exhibitions and educational programming generated independently and in collaboration with local, national and international partners.