Big Think

Question: What sparked your interest in Chinese art?

Melissa Chiu: I think that from very early childhood, my . . . I had always shown an interest in art, and I think that my parents had always encouraged that. And so when it came for all of us to make decisions about what path our career might take, I decided to study in art history. And when I was going through university at that time in Australia, Australia was really undergoing a . . . an enormous kind of readjustment or realignment where those . . . those powers that be in politics and in the financial fields really wanted to see Australia realign itself to the Asia Pacific region, realizing that the U.S. and the European markets primarily were becoming harder for Australia to engage with them. So I was very much involved in seeing that kind of climate change. And I had long obviously traveled to Asia through my family’s experiences. And so I became interested . . . more and more interested in China and also Asia more broadly. I think I would have to say that seeing a great work of art is incredibly inspiring. I think that while I couldn’t necessarily identify an individual who would inspire me, I think that that . . . seeing . . . seeing a compelling, poignant work that speaks to our time, that says something about current day issues, or politics, or how an artist was experiencing the world around them I think is an incredible experience. And I think that that’s what really probably drew me to this field.

Recorded on: 7/11/07