Chinese activist and artist, Badiucao, and Emmy-nominated foreign correspondent, Melissa Chan, will discuss their new graphic novel, You Must Take Part in Revolution. A dystopian story about a fascist United States and techno-authoritarian China at war, the work is informed by their personal experiences living and working in authoritarian regimes — and what that may say about current global upheavals. Badiucao has held solo exhibitions in Italy, the Czech Republic, and Poland. He is a recipient of the Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent.
Books will be available for purchase and this event is free!
About the book:
2035. The US and China are at war. America is a proto-fascist state. Taiwan is divided into two. As conflict escalates between nuclear powers, three idealistic youths who first met in Hong Kong develop diverging beliefs about how best to navigate this techno-authoritarian landscape. Andy, Maggie, and Olivia travel different paths toward transformative change, each confronting to what extent they will fight for freedom, and who they will become in doing so
About Melissa Chan:
An Emmy-nominated Hong Kong and Taiwanese American foreign correspondent based between Los Angeles and Berlin. Melissa was previously posted in China until she became the first journalist in more than a decade to be expelled by Chinese authorities in 2012. Much of her reporting examines human rights, the rise of global authoritarianism, and the defense of democracies. Her work has taken her from Pyongyang to Moscow to Havana. She has written for The New York Times, where she was nominated for a Loeb Award—business journalism’s highest honor—and The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Time, The Guardian, and more. As a broadcast correspondent, she has reported for VICE News Tonight and Al Jazeera. This is her debut graphic novel.
About Badiucao:
A Chinese Australian artist, activist, and political provocateur. Badiucao is of the most popular and prolific creatives from China, he confronts a variety of social and political issues in his work, often using satire to tackle censorship, authoritarianism, and capitalism. He has exhibited in the U.S., Australia, and throughout Europe, including solo exhibitions at Museo di Santa Giulia (Brescia, Italy), DOX Contemporary Art Center (Prague, Czech Republic), and Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art (Warsaw, Poland). In 2018-2019, he worked as an assistant to Ai Weiwei at his main studio in Berlin. In parallel to his fine arts practice, he continues publishing political cartoons as a regular contributor to The Sydney Morning Herald / The Age, and won the Walkley in 2023 — Australia’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. In 2020, Badiucao won the Human Rights Foundation’s Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent. He currently lives in exile in Australia. This is his debut graphic novel.
PRONUNCIATIONS:
Melissa Chan: Surname rhymes with “pan.”
Badiucao: Ba + dew + tsow rhymes with “wow.”
ADVANCE PRAISE:
“Badiucao and Chan weave a tale that cuts to the heart of concepts like complicity, loyalty, trust, guilt, and hope. Powerful, complex, and angry, YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION is a work of fiction that grapples with how much we are willing to destroy in order to defend what we believe.” — Tessa Hulls, Author of FEEDING GHOSTS: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR
“This is an important and deeply moral work: a timeless fable of courage in the face of oppression, and a reflection of our present and an only too plausible future. Gripping, troubling and intensely moving, with startling and startlingly beautiful art, it should be widely read and understood.” — Sarah Perry, Author of Apple TV+’s THE ESSEX SERPENT
“A gripping dystopian thriller for this moment. The artwork sings in this fable about loyalty, treachery, and the price of political ideals.” — Louisa Lim, Author of INDELIBLE CITY: DISPOSSESSION AND DEFIANCE IN HONG KONG
"This nuanced and engaging story is beautifully illustrated in a wholly original style. It lights a match to illuminate a not-so-futuristic tale that will blow your mind.” — Peter Kuper, Author of RUINS
DATES of THE TOUR
March 8
Los Angeles / Wende Museum
March 14
NYC / Mocca Arts Fest
March 20
Washington DC / JF Books
March 27
San Francisco / Minnesota Street Project
Book Talk and Signing: Badiucao and Melissa Chan: You Must Take Part in Revolution
Chinese activist and artist, Badiucao, and Emmy-nominated foreign correspondent, Melissa Chan, will discuss their new graphic novel, You Must Take Part in Revolution. A dystopian story about a fascist United States and techno-authoritarian China at war, the work is informed by their personal experiences living and working in authoritarian regimes — and what that may say about current global upheavals. Badiucao has held solo exhibitions in Italy, the Czech Republic, and Poland. He is a recipient of the Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent.
Books will be available for purchase and this event is free!
About the book:
2035. The US and China are at war. America is a proto-fascist state. Taiwan is divided into two. As conflict escalates between nuclear powers, three idealistic youths who first met in Hong Kong develop diverging beliefs about how best to navigate this techno-authoritarian landscape. Andy, Maggie, and Olivia travel different paths toward transformative change, each confronting to what extent they will fight for freedom, and who they will become in doing so
About Melissa Chan:
An Emmy-nominated Hong Kong and Taiwanese American foreign correspondent based between Los Angeles and Berlin. Melissa was previously posted in China until she became the first journalist in more than a decade to be expelled by Chinese authorities in 2012. Much of her reporting examines human rights, the rise of global authoritarianism, and the defense of democracies. Her work has taken her from Pyongyang to Moscow to Havana. She has written for The New York Times, where she was nominated for a Loeb Award—business journalism’s highest honor—and The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Time, The Guardian, and more. As a broadcast correspondent, she has reported for VICE News Tonight and Al Jazeera. This is her debut graphic novel.
About Badiucao:
A Chinese Australian artist, activist, and political provocateur. Badiucao is of the most popular and prolific creatives from China, he confronts a variety of social and political issues in his work, often using satire to tackle censorship, authoritarianism, and capitalism. He has exhibited in the U.S., Australia, and throughout Europe, including solo exhibitions at Museo di Santa Giulia (Brescia, Italy), DOX Contemporary Art Center (Prague, Czech Republic), and Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art (Warsaw, Poland). In 2018-2019, he worked as an assistant to Ai Weiwei at his main studio in Berlin. In parallel to his fine arts practice, he continues publishing political cartoons as a regular contributor to The Sydney Morning Herald / The Age, and won the Walkley in 2023 — Australia’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. In 2020, Badiucao won the Human Rights Foundation’s Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent. He currently lives in exile in Australia. This is his debut graphic novel.
PRONUNCIATIONS:
Melissa Chan: Surname rhymes with “pan.”
Badiucao: Ba + dew + tsow rhymes with “wow.”
ADVANCE PRAISE:
“Badiucao and Chan weave a tale that cuts to the heart of concepts like complicity, loyalty, trust, guilt, and hope. Powerful, complex, and angry, YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION is a work of fiction that grapples with how much we are willing to destroy in order to defend what we believe.” — Tessa Hulls, Author of FEEDING GHOSTS: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR
“This is an important and deeply moral work: a timeless fable of courage in the face of oppression, and a reflection of our present and an only too plausible future. Gripping, troubling and intensely moving, with startling and startlingly beautiful art, it should be widely read and understood.” — Sarah Perry, Author of Apple TV+’s THE ESSEX SERPENT
“A gripping dystopian thriller for this moment. The artwork sings in this fable about loyalty, treachery, and the price of political ideals.” — Louisa Lim, Author of INDELIBLE CITY: DISPOSSESSION AND DEFIANCE IN HONG KONG
"This nuanced and engaging story is beautifully illustrated in a wholly original style. It lights a match to illuminate a not-so-futuristic tale that will blow your mind.” — Peter Kuper, Author of RUINS
DATES of THE TOUR
March 8
Los Angeles / Wende Museum
March 14
NYC / Mocca Arts Fest
March 20
Washington DC / JF Books
March 27
San Francisco / Minnesota Street Project