Grace Sun

Grace Sun is a member of the China Photographers Association, a council member of the Photography Education Committee of the China Higher Education Society, Deputy Secretary-General of the Jiangsu Higher Education Photography Research Committee, a consultant for the organizing committee of Photo Beijing, Jury Member of the Zhejiang University Student Photography Competition and a specially appointed curator for the Lang Chinsan Art and Culture Development Association in Taiwan. She was an associate professor at the Communication University of China, Nanjing（CUCN）and is an independent photography curator.

University Associate Professor ｜ Photography Educator 

Born in Jiangsu, China, in 1983, Grace Sun graduated with a bachelor's degree in Photography (Commercial Photography) from the Academy of Fine Arts at Nanjing Normal University in 2007 and earned a master’s degree in Art and Design from the same institution in 2010. As an associate professor at CUCN, she dedicated 13 years to higher education, teaching courses in digital photography, conceptual photography, and photography curation. Throughout her teaching career, she participated in the United Nations Digital Technology Project co-established by China’s Ministry of Education and the Chinese Academy of Sciences and received the Humanities and Social Sciences Award from the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. Her photographic works have won multiple awards in national art education competitions, focusing on European humanities and American landscapes, and have been exhibited in China, France, and South Korea.

Over 13 years, she developed a systematic and unique teaching methodology, mentoring students who collectively won more than 100 awards, including two international awards, 11 national awards, and 17 provincial awards. Many of her students have been accepted into prestigious graduate programs at institutions such as the University of the Arts London, the Royal College of Art, Westminster University, University College London, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Grace Sun is committed to researching photography education in China and has published multiple academic papers in leading journals. Her 2017 article "A Glimpse into Photography Education in China’s Private Universities: A Case Study of Photography Education at Nanguang College, Communication University of China" (published in Chinese Photography) and her 2019 article "Reforming University Photography Education under an Applied and Innovative Talent Development Model" (published in Art Appreciation) analyze the current state and future prospects of photography education in China. She has also served as a judge for the Sony Cup Jiangsu University Photography Competition and the Zhejiang University Photography Competition, providing academic guidance and industry insights for emerging photographers.

In recognition of her contributions to photography education, she was awarded the Jiangsu Higher Education Photography Education Award in November 2019.

 Curator，Independent Photography & Visual Arts Practitioner

As a renowned female curator in China, Grace Sun organized the large-scale exhibition "Looking Back at the Master" in 2017, featuring the works of Lang Chinsan, the father of Chinese photography. This exhibition marked the first time since 1949 that Lang Chinsan’s works were showcased in his birthplace after he relocated to Taiwan. The exhibition displayed over 70 of his works from the 1920s to the 1980s, along with photography books and archival materials. The accompanying Lang Chinsan Art and Culture Seminar invited 12 of China’s top scholars, contributing valuable academic research and discussions. The exhibition was strongly supported by the Lang Chinsan Art and Culture Development Association in Taiwan and was highly recognized by China’s photography and academic communities. Over 20 media outlets, including Chinese Photography and People's Photography, reported on the event.

In 2021 and 2022, she served as the curator for the Women’s Exhibition Unit at the Pingyao International Photography Festival, organizing two major exhibitions: "Protagonist" and "Creation and Beyond." Established in 2001, the Pingyao International Photography Festival is China’s earliest and largest international photography festival. It has hosted legendary photographers such as Marc Riboud, Robert Frank, and Bruno Barbey. The Women’s Photography Exhibition is a key segment of the festival, providing a unique artistic platform for female photographers. Past curators of this unit include Chen Xiaobo (Vice President of the China Photographers Association), Zhu Jiong (Professor at Beijing Film Academy), and Shu Yang (Member of the Curatorial Committee of the China Photographers Association). Grace Sun is the only curator to have been selected twice for this role, highlighting the festival’s and China’s photography community’s recognition of her curatorial expertise.

In 2021, Grace Sun curated "Original Intentions and Revival – A Visual Narrative of an Era" at the Nanjing International Expo Center. The exhibition was divided into four sections, showcasing China’s social development over the past 100 years through the emotional and artistic power of visual storytelling. This exhibition received strong support from the Jiangsu News Photography Society, Jiangsu Entrepreneur Photography Association, and Jiangsu Higher Education Photography Research Committee. It also secured sponsorship from Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Fujifilm. This project marked a successful transition from academic exhibitions to commercially supported exhibitions in her curatorial career.