China Then and Now

Join Dr Geoff Raby AO in conversation with Yin Cao, Curator of Chinese Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, for a focussed discussion on the exhibition In our Time. This special exhibition offers a unique viewpoint into thematic developments in contemporary art as well as the context of changing political ideologies, social conditions and cultural activities in both China and Australia.

Dr Geoff Raby AO

Dr. Geoff Raby AO was Australia’s Ambassador to China from 2007 to 2011. After 27 years in the public service, he completed his Ambassadorial term and resigned to establish Geoff Raby and Associates in 2011.

Dr. Raby was the Deputy Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) from 2002 to 2006. He has held a number of senior positions in DFAT, including First Assistant Secretary, International Organisations and Legal Division (2001−2002), Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation, Geneva (1998−2001), First Assistant Secretary, Trade Negotiations Division (1995−1998), and APEC Ambassador (2002−2004). He was head of the Trade Policy Issues Division in the OECD in Paris during 1993 – 95.

In recognition of his contributions to advancing relations between Australia and China, Dr. Raby was made Friendship Ambassador to Shandong Province and an Honorary Citizen of Chengdu City.

Raby was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2019 for ​“distinguished service to Australia-China relations through senior diplomatic roles, and to multilateral trade policy development”.

Yin Cao

Yin Cao joined the Art Gallery of New South Wales as Curator of Chinese Art in 2011. She has curated several exhibitions including ​“A Silk Road Saga-the sarcophagus of Yu Hong” (2013), ​“Tang: treasures from the Silk Road capital” （2016）, ​“Heaven and earth in Chinese art: treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei” (2019), and“The way we eat” (2021). She edited and written catalogues for theses exhibitions.

Trained as an archaeologist at Peking University and Harvard University, Yin Cao has participated several archaeological excavations both in China and Israel. She received museum management training at the Smithsonian Institution and the Freer/​Sackler Gallery in Washington, DC. Yin Cao is on the Board of the Museum of Chinese in Australia, and a member of the Advisory Board for the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.

Image Caption: Chen Man, Ms Wan studies hard, 2011, chromogenic print on aluminium La Trobe University, Geoff Raby Collection of Chinese Art. Donated by Dr Geoff Raby AO through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2019 © Chen Man. Photo: Jia De.