MARVELLOUS REALISM PROJECT TEAM

The exhibition is spearheaded by a leading figure in the world of cross cultural dialogue, Lady Linda Wong Davies. Adding to her expertise are Fotografiska Shanghai alongside renowned curators Ekow Eshun and Lucy MacGarry. Eshun, the renowned British Ghanaian writer, curator and broadcaster, is celebrated for his distinctive curatorial vision, particularly in African art representation. MacGarry is co-founder of RMB Latitudes, an art fair in South Africa, and Latitudes Online - the largest online marketplace for visual art from Africa.

FOTOGRAFISKA, SHANGHAI

Fotografiska, the Contemporary Museum of Photography, Art, and Culture, was founded in  Stockholm with a strong commitment to showcasing thought-provoking and cutting-edge visual  art. Fotografiska champions talents from diverse backgrounds, both locally and internationally,  fostering a dynamic and inclusive artistic community. Fotografiska Shanghai is in Suzhou Creek  area in Shanghai Jing’an district covers 4,600 square meters overlooking the river. Fotografiska  Shanghai is the fifth museum of the Fotografiska group, following Stockholm, Tallinn, New York  and Berlin. 

Fotografiska Shanghai offers a captivating program of carefully curated exhibitions, events,  concerts, workshops, and talks with a strong focus on the promotion of Chinese and Asian artists.  It is complemented by on-site lifestyle venues including a gelateria, a terrace café and bar, as well  as a rooftop lounge restaurant across its four floors. The museum extends its opening hours to 11  pm, allowing visitors to explore and engage with the museum's offerings at their own pace.  

LADY LINDA WONG DAVIES AND THE KT WONG FOUNDATION

Through the KT Wong Foundation, Lady Linda Wong Davies’ life is dominated by her active and pioneering involvement in a series of cultural events. The KT Wong Foundation supported the South Africa pavilion and commissioned the music for artist Mohau Modisakeng’s video at the 2017 Venice Biennale. Lady Davies introduced the work of Yang Yong Liang, China’s leading videographer, to the National Gallery of South Africa in February 2024.

As a producer of television documentaries, Lady Davies has collaborated with the BBC’s Imagine series on the life of the superstar pianist Lang Lang “Do or Die” and also on the celebrated conductor Daniel Barenboim which was filmed during the East West Divan Orchestra’s first China tour. In addition to staging the first Benjamin Britten opera in China, Lady Davies has also brought productions from Aix en Provence International Opera Festival and the Salzburg Easter Festival to China, plus enabling young Chinese and Western musicians to engage in powerful cultural exchanges including co-producing, with La Theatre Royale de la Monnaie de Munt, Handel’s opera “Semele”. Lady Davies negotiated the challenges in staging the first ever production of   Wagner’s “Parsifal'' in China and screened the National Theatre Live’s filmed production of Danny Boyle’s “Frankenstein” to an ecstatic public in both Shanghai and Beijing, 2012. In 2021, The KT Wong Foundation co-produced, with Sky Arts, Handel’s oratorio La Resurrezione aimed at providing a lifeline to the arts scene during the pandemic providing much needed artistic and financial sustenance to musicians in the United Kingdom.