Sarah E. Fraser
Globally renowned art historian
Director of the Institute of East Asian Art History, Heidelberg University, Germany
Distinguished Professor at Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts
In 2024, the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts appointed Professor Sarah E. Fraser, a globally renowned art historian and Director and Chair Professor of the Institute of East Asian Art History at Heidelberg University in Germany, as a specially appointed professor. Recently, Professor Fraser accepted an interview with this publication in Chongqing.
Bridging Eastern and Western Cultures
From 1999 to 2004, Sarah E. Fraser served as Director of the Mellon International Dunhuang Archive Project at Northwestern University, working in collaboration with the Dunhuang Academy. She regards the Dunhuang depicted in the works of Zhang Daqian as a genetic repository of Silk Road civilisation, carrying the codes for dialogue between Eastern aesthetics and the wider world. Zhang Daqian once taught at the predecessor of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts.
In 2010, Fraser made her first visit to Chongqing to consult archival materials, an experience that left a lasting impression. After becoming a specially appointed expert at the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, she delivered five themed lectures at the institution in December 2024. In October 2025, her lecture entitled “Medievalism and Pan-Asian Concepts of Modernity in the 20th Century” was warmly received, further deepening the dialogue between Dunhuang art and modern and contemporary culture.
Valuing Cultural Heritage: A Manifestation of Soft Power
In Sarah E. Fraser’s view, as the Chengdu–Chongqing economic circle continues to develop, Chongqing’s potential in areas such as international art exchange and cultural heritage protection will be further realised. She cited the China Three Gorges Museum in Chongqing as a notable example, observing that it has reached a high standard in its educational role, exhibition planning and display design. “This demonstrates Chongqing’s commitment to cultural heritage,” Fraser noted, “and represents a vivid expression of national soft power.”
Chongqing: A Hub for Coordinated Economic and Cultural Development
“As an important node in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and a hub for inland opening-up, Chongqing is able to bring together the rich natural and cultural resources of western China and position itself as a focal point for coordinated economic and cultural development,” Fraser said. In her view, Chongqing is not only the only municipality directly under the central government in western China, but also holds strategic significance as a hub that links east and west and connects river routes with maritime access, enabled by the Golden Waterway.
As a globally renowned art historian, Sarah E. Fraser remarked: “My work at the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts is very important to me and a source of genuine enjoyment. Students in Chongqing are not only deeply rooted in local culture, but also demonstrate strong academic enthusiasm and literacy, actively engaging with international academic frontiers.” She is currently committed to cultivating local talent in Chongqing, hosting doctoral students and visiting scholars from the academy for exchanges at Heidelberg University in Germany, while also supervising doctoral candidates and visiting scholars from Chongqing in their research projects.
Text by: Ye Lin, Huang Yuting, Zeng Rui
Images courtesy of the interviewee