April Liu

Dr. April Liu is a Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology and has taught visual culture and art history at Emily Carr University of Art and Design since 2011. Her work bridges anthropology and art history through interdisciplinary studies of Chinese print culture, contemporary Asian art, and critical heritage practices.

• PhD in East Asian Art History (2012), University of British Columbia

Her research focuses on cultural heritage dynamics, including the commodification of traditional Chinese woodblock printing in Mianzhu, contemporary Asian artists like Xu Bing and Gu Xiong, and the political dimensions of heritage designation. She has organized high-profile events like the Dalai Lama's 2014 visit to UBC.

Recent publications examine place-making in diaspora art, Chan Buddhist aesthetics in contemporary practice, and rural cultural industries' global circulation. She actively participates in international heritage studies forums like ACHS 2016.

• Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellowship recipient

As an independent curator across Canada, USA, China, and Austria, she has developed cross-cultural programming while maintaining scholarly engagement with heritage's role in social transformation and identity formation.