This workshop is organised by the University of Westminster and supported by the Centre for Social Justice Research. Featuring speakers Justine Atkinson, Yi Wang and Lydia Wu who will share their experiences and insights on film curation and public engagement, the event aims to explore the methods and ethics of engaging film curators and programmers, particularly from underrepresented communities, and discusses ways of decolonising film curation in higher education and the industrial sector.
By centering on the lived experiences of speakers, the public workshop aims to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the sector of film curation and public engagement.
With growing interest in film curation and programming, there is a pressing need to involve more professionals and institutions which share similar goals and values for initiating systemic change.
Issues covered include but are not limited to the possible ways forward of engaging the curatorial community as co-researchers, empowering those directly affected by the research outcomes and fostering allyship and collaboration with underrepresented and marginalised groups.
Chair
How Wee Ng
How Wee Ng is Senior Lecturer at the University of Westminster and co-founder of the Association for Curators and Programmers of Asian Cinemas. Research interests include theatre, cinema, television, literature, and the politics of representation related to ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, nationality in visual culture.
He regularly hosts talks and Q&As for film screenings, and his new monograph The Censorship Discourse on Chinese Television: Worrying about the Audience in Postsocialist China will be published in 2025/2026.
Speakers
Justine Atkinson
Justine Atkinson is the founder and director of Aya Films, a distribution and media education company.
She has recently worked on the creation of an app – Curate-It – which is a platform for learning about film curation. Curate-It has been used by Edinburgh International Film Festival, Dublin International Film Festival and the University of Glasgow. In 2023 she completed a PhD on curatorial practice in film at the University of Glasgow.
Yi Wang
Yi Wang is the founder, director, and curator of Queer East, a festival dedicated to showcasing boundary-pushing LGBTQ+ cinema, live arts, and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora communities. Yi is also a cultural and creative producer in the performing arts, with a focus on marginalised voices and intercultural productions.
Yi has served as a jury member for the Iris Prize, MIX Copenhagen, Taiwan Women Make Waves Film Festival, and Taiwan International Queer Film Festival, and has delivered lectures, talks, and panels about festival programming, management and queer Asian cinema.
Lydia Wu
Lydia Wu is a Newcastle University Academic Track Fellow in Culture and Creative Arts. She leads a five-year research project titled Decolonising Film Curation: Asian Cinemas as Method, supported by Newcastle University.
She is also the founder of the Association for Curators and Programmers of Asian Cinemas (ACPAC). ACPAC serves as a platform for film curators and programmers of Asian cinemas at all career stages, offering opportunities for networking, collaboration, professional development, and career growth.
