AUUUUDITORIUM MAY | Conversation on Factory Girls in Early Shanghai Film

Under the aegis of Rockbund Art Museum’s multi-year research initiative, Complex Geographies, the May screening series of AUUUUDITORIUM, The R.A.S. auditorium historically played a key role in cultural representation through its film screenings.
The "Factory Girls" series focuses on two films: Crossroads (1937) and Huang Baomei (1958). These films feature female protagonists who represent the complex roles of female textile workers in Shanghai across different historical periods. Crossroads portrays the societal challenges of unemployment prior to China's liberation, while Huang Baomei reflects the era of a planned economy in New China, specifically within Shanghai's cotton-spinning industry. These narratives provide unique and profound contexts for storytelling, linking the personal destinies of the textile workers to broader urban transformations in Shanghai.
Speakers:
Ho Rui An is an artist who works at the intersections of contemporary art, cinema, performance, and theory. He works and lives in Singapore.
Zian Chen is Contributing Editor for Ocula Magazine’s Chinese platform. He works and lives in Shanghai.
Ag is a writer, director, and curator who frequently navigates the realms of film, literature, and geographic theater. She resides in Shanghai.
依托上海外滩美术馆发起的“复杂地理”长期研究计划，“讲---堂”五月的系列活动“奇女列传：早期上海银幕上的本土现代主义”呈现了二十世纪初上海早期电影文化错综复杂的景观。
“女工”专场将围绕《十字街头》（1937）与《黄宝妹》（1958）两部作品展开。丝线从第三场《盘丝洞》的远古奇境穿连到了二十世纪的上海纺织工业。《十字街头》中女主角和《黄宝妹》的女主角分别代表了不同历史时期上海纱厂女工的复杂形象，前者体现了解放前的社会失业潮，后者则呈现了新中国计划经济大潮下的上海棉纺系统，两者都为故事提供了深刻的创作背景，而纺织女工的个体命运也与上海都市的大变迁相互牵动。本场活动是五月“奇女列传”系列放映及映后谈活动的最后一场，该活动也与艺术家何锐安与编辑兼策展人陈玺安针对中国纺织工业史的长期研究交织在一起。该项目专注于过去一百年的中国纺织业产业及其自长江三角洲地区工业资本主义出现以来的多次延伸为中心。他们追踪本劳动网络、技术网络、资本网络几条线索，对长三角流域的纺织历史如何流入南方的珠三角地带，并进而交织在一起的过程展开考察。“女工”专场的对谈将从早期上海电影中不同的纺织女工形象出发，结合“仿织时间”的研究线索，探讨背后的社会、经济及历史变迁。
对谈人：
何锐安，艺术家，其创作专注在当代艺术、电影、表演和理论的交叉领域上。现工作和生活于新加坡。
陈玺安 《Ocula》杂志的中文平台编辑。现工作和生活于上海。
Ag，写作者、导演，策划人，常出没于影像、文学与地理剧场之间，现生活于上海。