CLAIRE ROBERTS is an art historian and curator specialising in modern and contemporary Chinese art, and the cultural flows between Australia and Asia. She is Associate Professor of Art History in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne. Her research explores the international context of Chinese art, including in relation to Australia. Claire’s curated exhibitions include ‘Other Histories: Guan Wei’s Fable for a Contemporary World’ at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, and ‘Xiao Lu: Impossible Dialogue’ at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney. Her most recent books are Photography and China and Friendship in Art: Fou Lei and Huang Binhong.

JOHN THOMPSON is a cultural historian. Previously Director of Australian Collections and Services at the National Library of Australia, he has for many years played an active role in the collection and preservation of Australian historical records, including the personal papers of many notable literary and artistic figures. With Brenda Niall he edited The Oxford Book of Australian Letters. Later he edited Documents that Shaped Australia: Records of a Nation’s Heritage. His other publications include The Patrician and the Bloke: Geoffrey Serle and the Making of Australian History, based on his doctoral research at the Australian National University.