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An art historian credited with “almost single-handedly” transforming the study of Chinese art will be honored Oct. 23 as the  2008/2009 Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Scholar at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in Newark. Professor Annette Juliano will also give a talk, “Sleeping on Stone: Mortuary Furniture & Cultural Diversity in Sixth Century China,” at the event, followed by a reception.  The Manhattan resident’s award will be bestowed by Steven J. Diner, chancellor of Rutgers-Newark. The program, which will be in the Paul Robeson Campus Center’s Multipurpose Room, 350 Martin Luther King Blvd. Jr., is open to the public; there is no charge. Juliano selecting artworks from the Beilin Museum for a 2007 exhibition in NYC

Juliano, who has curated critically acclaimed exhibitions and authored numerous books and scholarly articles, was recruited to Rutgers-Newark in 1992 to serve as chair of the visual and performing arts (VPA) department. According to current VPA Chair Ian Watson,  Juliano “has almost single-handedly transformed the study of Chinese art by bringing attention to the non-Han minority’s contributions to China’s artistic heritage.” He also cited her ability to “incorporate meticulous groundbreaking research with a combination of exhibit and publication to draw attention to the importance of northwestern China during the first millennium…”

The Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award honors professors who have done exceptional scholarly work on a subject of fundamental intellectual importance, according to Diner. Another requirement is that recipients demonstrate the ability to speak about their research, no matter how technical it might be, in terms understandable to a broad general audience. In addition to this Rutgers honor, Juliano has been a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and received fellowships from New York University, as well as a post-doctoral fellowship from the Wang Institute.

Juliano is author or editor of numerous books, edited volumes, catalogues and articles, including “Buddhist Sculpture from China: Selections from the Xi’an Beilin Museum, Fifth through Ninth Centuries,” the catalogue to her critically acclaimed exhibition at the China Institute Gallery in New York in 2007.
Juliano received her B.A. from Rutgers-Newark in fine arts in 1965, and was admitted to Phi Beta Kappa that year. Juliano earned her masters in oriental studies
from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. She holds the Ph.D. in Asian Art from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, awarded in 1974.

• Contact Name: Carla Capizzi
• Contact Phone: 973-353-5262
• Contact Email: capizzi@rutgers.edu