Translator and writer Yilin Wang hired lawyers and threatened to sue the English Museum in London for infringement of copyright and moral rights after the institution did not credit its translations of two early 20th century poems feminist revolutionary and poet Qiu Jinwhich he included without permission in the exhibition”China’s Hidden Century.”
When confronted with Wang on social media, the museum removed the English and Chinese texts from the exhibit, rather than crediting and compensating the Vancouver-based translator.
The British Museum “fully accepts that it made a mistake, has apologized to Ms Wang and has sought to make amends financially,” the institution said in a statement provided to the art diaryadding that he had since offered Wang £600 ($780) in compensation, over what he described as “industry rates”.
The museum has not, however, reinstated the poems with the merit of the translation. Last month, Wang launched a fundraising campaign on mob justicewho has raised £18,000 ($23,400) so far, hoping to escalate the battle in UK courts.
If the museum does not capitulate to the request to reinstate Wang’s work “for the remainder of the exhibition, with proper credit and modest payment for it”, Wang intends to sue for violation of law. copyright and moral rights. Using the money she raised, Wang hired Jon Sharples of London firm Howard Kennedy LLP, but has yet to press charges.
“The translations arrived at the explicit request of Ms. Wang…there had been no engagement with the museum’s efforts to obtain their consent,” the museum told the art diarya stance he repeated to Artnet News, with a press representative writing in an email that “we followed Yilin Wang’s wishes”.
Wang disputed the museum’s request on the crowdfunding page, arguing that his request was not that his work be removed from the exhibition but “to be removed unless I am promptly compensated and credited for their use,” she wrote.
“The current stance is the worst possible outcome – the public is not only denied the ability to see my translations and who wrote them, but also the ability to read Qiu Jin’s lyrics,” she wrote. on CrowdJustice. “The result is that two writers of color have both had their work erased. We are not disposable.
Should the case go to court, Wang said she would donate 50% of any financial damages won to start a mentorship program supporting people of color translating Chinese poetry.
“My experience working with artists, writers, and other creatives is that the worst and most dangerous thing anyone can do to them is leave them feeling ignored, rejected, and disrespected, and that’s exactly what what the British Museum did here,” Wang’s lawyer, Sharples, said in a statement.
Wang not only hopes for a positive outcome in her case, but that the dispute will help publicize Qiu’s remarkable biography. Sometimes called the Chinese Joan of Arc, Qiu fought for women’s rights and ran a school for would-be revolutionaries fighting against the Qing dynasty. Authorities beheaded her in 1907, when Qui was only 31 years old.
“The British Museum should definitely fix things,” Wang wrote on Twitter“but I think there’s also an opportunity here for another museum to do an exhibit on Qiu Jin and do it right.”
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