I was fortunate that prior to my visit to Almaty, Defne Ayas introduced me to the artists and curators based there, which made my short visit very enjoyable. Alexander Ugay was a very kind to host. We quickly realized that we share many common issues although situated in very different part of the world. Together with him, we visited some art spaces and various other parts of the city.

It was obvious that Kazakhstan is undertaking a big renovation project—as roads, signs, and buildings are being refurbished—things looks much newer than Kyrgyzstan. Renovation is not a radical break from the past (at least in architectural terms) it is a reformation of an existing structure, it can be used as a strategy to readapt spaces for different uses and it may add new functionalities, etc…

The National Museum, like the one in Bishkek was built in Soviet times and holds a relatively rich collection of paintings and sculpture. It was nice to see that there are cultural producers, like curator Yulilya Sorokina, developing exciting new programming. However it was sad to hear that it was very hard for her to bypass strong conservative state bureaucracy and her operational freedom is extremely limited, if not censored! Like the whole country, the museum is also under renovation. In front of the building there were newly constructed fountains, which seemed very foreign in relation to the main building. It was like a forced marriage, modern architecture with a neo-conservative backdrop. It is a counterfeit addition because when you get closer to the fountain, you realize that it is made out of fiber similar to the ones in Las Vegas and pretending to be stone. Whether you like it or not, you have to appreciate that soviet architecture and its urban design has something very consistent about it. You see these new additions all over in Almaty, some of them built by Turkish construction firms, perhaps that is why they looked familiarly intimidating to me. For instance, an Eifel tower in front of a building is signaling marvelous developments in Astana, the new capital, constructed from ground up, 1000km north of Almaty. It is as though a puzzled dream is actually being realized as an eclectic phantasmagoria.

This is the new status-quo, preserved by an authoritarian market economy, so called “patriarchal neo-liberalism”. Alex was rightly pointing out that the abundant Kazak natural resources have a negative effect on its livelihood. Wealth earned from gas and petroleum is not shared and kept by the few (oh how surprising!). As production sites close and creative productivity is all together left out from the public agenda, people are transformed into mere consumers, totally dependent on outside production. Like oil rich Arab countries, money from natural resources is the negation of actual creative production, it permanently alters the quality of labor, replaces it with cheap or expensive imports, and the general culture is transformed so that it can serve the kitschy taste of the nouveau-riches. That is why perhaps this new poverty of x-soviet countries is coming from their absolute richness of their natural resources, like a curse needed to be overcome. That is why we, together with other cultural producers around the world, have enormous intellectual responsibilities to fulfill, like fighting this ugly authoritarianism(s).

By Hakan Topal (imam@xurban_collective)

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Transforming Chinese Urbanism: Lifestyle, Culture, Architecture and Cities in 21st Century China

23 August 2008, 2:00 – 8:00 pm

A symposium organised by
The Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA)

In association with
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai (MoCA)

Co-ordinators:
Tom Verebes (AA, London; HKU, Hong Kong)
Giel Groothuis (FAR, Shanghai)
Henrik Valeur (UiD, Shanghai)
Richard Wei-Tse Wang (UCL, London/ Shanghai)
Stephen W. Wang (LSE, London/ Shanghai)
Gao Yan (Marks Barfield Architects, London/ Beijing)

Introduction
As part of the second AA Shanghai summer school programme, ‘Transforming Chinese Urbanism’ seeks to bring together current works and perspectives surrounding the inter-related themes of culture, lifestyle, architecture and cities in 21st century China. One objective of the symposium is to expose the projective imagination of a generation at the forefront of Chinese urban culture and to demonstrate the range of cultural and technological innovations occurring across a variety of design disciplines. A simultaneous objective is to scrutinize these phenomena in the context of broader urban processes and challenges. Through multi-disciplinary discussions the symposium seeks to unravel the implications of changing urban lifestyles, cultures and creative practices, and to debate the visible paradox between forces mobilizing wholesale change and the demands for permanence, sustainability, and cultural specificity. The event is aimed at students, professionals, and the general public.

Time and venue:
Date: Saturday 23 August, 2008
Time: 2:00 – 8:00 pm
Venue: The Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai
People’s Park, 231 Nanjing West Road, Shanghai, 200003, China

Format: Symposium & Debate
In two sessions of 12 presentations each, a broad set of processes, practices and potentials in the realms of culture, lifestyle as well as architecture and urbanism will be unveiled. Presentations in each session will lead to two debates on the status of current and possible future urban transformations in twenty-first century China.

Session1: Future Visions
With an emphasis on Shanghai as an emblematic city of commerce and cosmopolitan culture, presenters in this first session will speculate on a series of future visions from a variety of design disciplines. The significance of these visions and propositions shall be examined by unravelling linkages with the major cultural, economic, social and environmental forces driving urban change.

Session 2: Urban Culture and Creativity
In this second session, contemporary creative practices in art, design, entertainment, fashion, leisure and media, will be the focus of a series of multi-disciplinary presentations. Broader topics will include reflections on the changing trajectories of policy and spatial development surrounding the creative industries, as well as understanding the changing role of cultural institutions such as museums, professional institutes and associations in influencing China’s urbanism.

Confirmed Participants/Presenters:

SESSION 1: Future Visions

Prof. Wu Zhiqiang
Dean of Tongji University and Chief Planner of EXPO 2010

Xu Wei Guo
Architect and Professor at Tsinghua University School of Architecture. Curator of the 2004, 2006, 2008 ABB Architecture Beijing Biennial

Neville Mars
The body of work Neville Mars is diverse and characteristic. It moves between architecture, planning, research and art installations but has a clear focus on dynamic urban landscapes. In 2003 Neville founded the Dynamic City Foundation (DCF) and outlined a comprehensive research for China’s urbanization for 2020. The work will be published entitled “The Chinese Dream – a society under construction” (010 Publisher, June 2008). The project is available on-line and continues to evolve on the platform http://BURB.tv

Xiangning Li
Assistant Dean, Tongji University College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Associate Professor in History, Theory and Criticism

Alejandro Gutierrez
Alejandro Gutierrez is an Associate Director at Arup Urban Design and has led a range of urban
development projects globally including the Dongtan Eco City in Shanghai. He also is an invited lecturer to London School of Economics, UCL Bartlett School of Architecture, Universidad Iberoamericana – Mexico – Universidad Catolica in Chile, Architectural Association, Foundation – UK, RIBA, Cities Action Summit and Globe 2006 in Vancouver, Canada. He has also done several interviews for international media, regarding sustainable urban development in the context of China and developing countries.
Prior to joining Arup he was director for Cities Consultancy Unit at Catholic University in Santiago,
Chile and also director for Cities and Environment area at the Architecture School in the same
university.

Su Yunsheng
Vice-Director, Studio 6, Urban Planning Design Institute, Tongji University College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Co-editor of Urban China magazine. Has also taught in the AA Shanghai Summer School, in 2007 and 2008.

Bittor L. Sánchez-Monasterio
Has worked in the office of Archi-Tectonics, and has taught with Winka Dubbledum at the University of Pennsylvania, and at E.T.S.A.B in Barcelona. Currently working as an architect in Shanghai.

Samuel Y. Liang
PhD in Theory and History of Art and Architecture (2006, Binghamton University), has taught in China and the United States and is currently lecturer in Chinese cultural studies at the University of Manchester. He has published a number of articles in academic journals of the US, UK, and China. His first and forthcoming book, titled Ephemeral Households, Splintered City: Mapping the Sojourners Shanghai, 1870-1900, charts the spatial, gender and material configurations of the first Chinese cosmopolitan culture in nineteenth-century Shanghai.His research interests include rresidential and public spaces in modern urban China; aesthetic exchanges between China and the West; Chinese architecture and landscape art. Currently he is working on a book-length project on spaces and imageries of home in twentieth-century urban China.

Stephen Wang
Stephen is a graduate of the Design Research Laboratory programme at the AA. He has practised at the Officice for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam, as a member of think-tank AMO. Recent works include a digital-art installation with calligraphy artist Yang-Sze Tong, and a part in the master-planning proposal for the Taipei Cultural and Sports Park. He is currently completing a PhD in Social Policy at the London School of Economics (LSE), examining the politics of housing renewal in Shanghai.

Paul KATZ
Paul is a principal of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF). He has directed the company’s projects in China since 1993. He is currently overseeing the construction of Shanghai’s World Financial Centre – the tallest building in China.

Henrik Valeur
Creative director and founder of UiD, a networking urban consultancy based in the ֲesund Region of Scandinavia and in Shanghai, P.R.China. Curator of CO-EVOLUTION, awarded the Golden Lion for best national pavilion at the Architecture Biennale in Venice 2006.

SESSION 2: Urban Culture and Creativity

Professor Min ZHAO
Professor of urban planning, and ex-dean of the college of architecture and urban planning at Tongji University. He specializes in urban land policy, strategic spatial planning and community planning in China.

Rosalie HUANG
Creative director of VOGUE magazine in China, and editor and creative director of VOGUE Taiwan. She is also the host of Taiwan’s one and only online ‘real-time Fashion Show’ VOGUE TV.

Anson Chan
Anson is a Hong Kong practicing architect, now working as Vice President (Research & Planning) for Lifestyle Centre in Shanghai. He is focusing on commercial property developments, participated in various projects, like THE BRIDGE 8 (Phase 2), LIVING DESIGN CENTRE, INFINITI Shopping Mall, etc. He is also the founder of Point To Life Design Bookstore.

Tom Verebes
Tom co-directs the Design Research Lab (DRL) at the Architectural Association, and has taught in the DRL since its founding in 1997. He also co-directs ocean D, a multi-disciplinary design practice based in London, Boston and New York. He has taught an AA Diploma Unit, and has been a visiting professor at ABK in Stuttgart. He also founded and directed the AA’s D_Lab Summer School (2006, 2007), and the AA Shanghai Summer School (2007, 2008). Associate Professor at Hong Kong University, from January 2009.

Rebecca Catching
Rebecca is a an art critic and avid China watcher. She has been following Chinese culture for the past four years as the Arts & Entertainment Editor of that’s Shanghai. She has written on a variety of topics including Chinese cinema, literature, film, music, dance and art and has an intimate understanding of the local cultural scene. She’s contributed to a variety of magazines including, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, Billboard and the Far Eastern Economic Review and served as the consulting editor on Time Out’s Shanghai guidebook.

Gao Yan
Received and MArch degree from AA DRL, Yan is a London-based architect with expertise in parametric design. He is currently the monitor of the Digital Design Group of Marks Barfield Architects, a member of Ocean D, and an oversea journalist/editor of World Architecture Magazine, for which he has guest edited two issues, Articulating Complexity and Parametric Design. He taught in 2007/2008 AA Shanghai Summer School, and recently co-founded the Network of Design Emergence.

Richard Wei-Tse Wang
Richard studied architecture at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and at the Design Research Laboratory at the AA School of Architecture, U.K. He has worked for the architectural think-tank AMO. He is currently completing a PhD at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, where he also co-coordinates the China Planning Research Group (CPRG).

Giel Groothuis
Giel Groothuis is an architect and graduate from Delft Technical University in the Netherlands. After working with several architects, such as Herman Herztberger, he founded his own practice in 2003. Since moving to Shanghai in 2005 he has worked on a large number of projects in China, ranging from public spaces, stadiums and commercial centers to exhibition design for the theme pavilion of the World Expo 2010. Next to his design work, Giel has co-founded FAR Architecture Center Shanghai and the urban research platform Sinocities. Giel has been a guest lecturer at various universities and seminars.

Lydia Kim
Lydia Kim (Germany/ Korea) received her M Arch degree from AA Design Research Lab (DRL) at the Architectural Association in 2008. She has previously studied and worked in Germany, USA (Fulbright Scholar) and Hong Kong and lives in London since 2001 where she practises with Kohn Pederson and Fox Associates (International). Her AADRL thesis investigated in Parametric Urbanism on the example of the Shanghai Expo 2010.

Defne Ayas
Based in Shanghai, Ayas is a Curator for New York-based biennial PERFORMA, where she has been developing and presenting performances and performance-related programs since its inception in 2004. In Shanghai, Ayas works as a Curatorial Consultant for Bizart/Arthub, responsible of designing and programming cultural exchange projects between China and rest of Asia. Ayas is also overseeing, in Adjunct Faculty capacity, the development of the Visual Arts Program of New York University in Shanghai. Her research is primarily in new media and performance, and her interest in cultural exchanges.

Greg GIRARD
Greg Girard (born 1955) is a Canadian photographer living in Shanghai since 1998. He is the co-author of “City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City” and most recently “Phantom Shanghai”. His editorial work appears in publications such as National Geographic, Time, Fortune, Wired and other US and European titles.

Jeb Beresford
Jeb Beresford has been leading the Smc Alsop Shanghai office for over 4 years with a wide portfolio of mixed-use architectural developments and master planning projects underway. With a passion for imaginative, sustainable solutions to contemporary urban issues, Jeb has worked on a diverse range projects across the world, including Hong Kong Airport, GCHQ, Bradford Masterplan, Goldsmiths College, Gao Yang Cruise Terminal and the pioneering ‘Schools for the Future’ initiative in the UK.

Warren Neidich - need bio -

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Topics to be discussed include: What makes the Shanghai art scene distinct? What forms of critical discourse take place in Shanghai? Are issues of Chinese identity reflected in the art of Shanghai? Does Shanghai need the rest of the world for its art system to evolve? Where will the Shanghai art community be positioned in five years?

Members of the panel include:
Biljana Ciric, curator/writer
Ji Weiyu, artist
Hu Jieming, artist
Davide Quadrio, Director of BizArt
Song Tao, artist
Zhao Chuan, writer/critic
Moderated by Keith Wallace, Editor, Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art.

This event is free to the public and will take place:
Wednesday, September 10 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Zendai MoMA conference hall 2nd floor
No. 28, Lane 199, Fangdian Road
Pudong New Area 200135
Tel: 86 (021) 50339801

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// Summer 08, Arthub has collaborated with B’Art: Bishkek Art Center to create the first international public art workshop in Bishkek, bringing together artists and curators from Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, China, and Turkey, varying in age, contemporary art styles, media and experience. The works were exhibited at the heart of Bishkek in the space in front of the State Museum of Fine Arts. Arthub recommended Li Zhenhua from China and Hakan Topal of xurban.net from Turkey as participants and presenters in this workshop. Arthub Curatorial Consultant Defne Ayas was also on site, giving feedback to the artists, as well as presenting a lecture on new media and performance in public space with case studies from China and rest of the world. In synch with Arthub’s mission to support art creation in China and rest of Asia, through this project, the goal was to both promote contemporary art creation across the borders and stimulate an artistic dialogue between artists from different countries in the region.

// For September 08, Arthub/Bizart has jump-started Shanghai Detour 上海游艺图, a non-profit art map and free shuttle ride project, for the distinguished guests of Shanghai Biennial and ShContemporary, bringing together all the disconnected parties of Shanghai art scene, including museums, galleries, and independent art spaces- an initiative undertaken for the first time. Watch out for signs with Shanghai Detour logo first week of September!

// During the same time, Arthub/Bizart will be on site at ShContemporary art fair with a booth, where its most recent projects and publications including by artist collective Birdhead, art critic Zhao Chuan, independent curator Biljana Ciric will be presented. Pippa Dennis will also introduce AAF (Asia Art Forum), an educational initiative for young collectors, art professionals and enthusiasts.

// Strategies from Within, an exhibition of Vietnamese and Cambodian contemporary art practices, will be installed at Ke Art Center this Fall, curated by Biljana Ciric. The exhibition is the result of research conducted in Saigon, Phnom Penh and Hanoi and received support from Arthub for artist travel. Participating Artists include Hoang Duong Cam, Richard Streitmatter-Tran, Tiffany Chung, Sopheap Pich, Vandy Rattana, Chan Dany，Leang Seckon, Dinh Q.Le, Truong Tan, Tran Luong, Nguyen Manh Hung,Nguyen Trinh Thi, Tuan Andrew Nguyen in collaboration with Wowy, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba, Phe Sophon.

// October 2008, Arthub will be curating “Xuhui”, a highly visited neighborhood of Shanghai (October 17-22, 08), upon the invitation of the Shanghai E-arts Festival. Titled Final Cut- Processing New Media in Public Space in China, the program is developed in close collaboration with visual artists, musicians, architects, programmers, dancers and designers and curated by Arthub’s Davide Quadrio and Defne Ayas. Included will be projects such as 40 + 4 and Hipic.org as well as videos and performances by emerging and established artists, mostly from Asia, including Aaajiao with Nunu, Ling Xi, B6 and Alizia Borsari, Christian Marclay, Dead DJ+Chen Xiongwei, Feng Mengbo, Wang Yuyang, Zhou Xiaohu, Shih Chieh Huang, Terra Bajraghosa, Takeshi Murata, and Eric Siu.

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Arthub will create a lounge area designed by Dedo Design and will host informal gatherings, books presentations or pre-views and the launch of Arthub Accessories to support Arthub’s initiatives, a line of objects created in co-operation with Chinese artists.

For information about the art fair click here

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When: September 10-13, noon – 7 pm

How often: Every 30 minutes to/from ShContemporary

In a Nutshell: Access to more than 40 galleries, museums, and independent art spaces in Shanghai through 4 individually customized shuttle rides.

Lines include: Line 1- People’s Square (MoCa + Biennale sites) / Line 2- 50Moganshan / Line 3- The Bund / Line 3- Duolun Lu Cultural District / Line 3- Pudong and more! (French Concession is still in the process of being confirmed)

Where do I find it? Watch out for art maps, docents, and signs with Shanghai Detour 上海游艺图 logo during the course of the ShContemporary. Ask your gallery or Shanghai art friends about this service.

Tell me more about Shanghai Detour 上海游艺图

Shanghai Detour 上海游艺图 is a collaborative project in the form of an art map and shuttle ride for the distinguished guests of Shanghai, bringing together all the disconnected parties of Shanghai art scene, including museums, commercial galleries, and independent art spaces- an initiative undertaken for the first time. Thanks to the active participation of all the joined parties, this project is designed to show to all guests a vibrant image of Shanghai and promises to be the first step for a more long-term vision of sharing and spreading information in our local art community. We hope that this simple tool will give to the distinguished guests -both national and international- useful information to guide their exploration of the city and to discover unexpected artistic and creative niches in Shanghai.

Shanghai Detour上海游艺图 is a non-for-profit initiative jumpstarted by Arthub Foundation early this year, which invited the scene makers of Shanghai for consecutive informal roundtable sessions to co-ordinate the parallel Biennial and Shcontemporary activities.  Organized with the support of IFA and Alexis Kouzmine, Lime Design and BizArt.

Watch out for signs with Shanghai Detour 上海游艺图 logo during the course of the ShContemporary Fair and Shanghai Biennial opening week for free bus rides between the fair, the biennial site, and venues at 50Moganshan, The Bund, Wujiaochang, and additional areas.

More info on the project can be found on gallery websites, and http://www.shanghaidetour.ifa-gallery.com/

PARTICIPANTS		ZONE REPRESENTATIVES
1918 Art Space		Former French Concession: Liu Yingmei
Andrew James Art		Bund: David Chan
Arthub		Moganshan area: Alexis Kouzmine
Art Labor
Art+Shanghai		PROJECT REPRESENTATIVES
Aura Gallery
BizArt		Arthub Foundation (Defne Ayas & Davide Quadrio)
Contrasts Gallery		Alexis Kouzmine
East Asia Contemporary		Biljana Ciric
Eastlink Gallery		with the collaboration of Alexia Dehaene
ifa Gallery
Island6 arts center		DESIGN
James Cohan		Thomas Dariel ● lime388.com
Ke Center
M97 gallery		INFO
MoCA		shanghaidetour@ymail.com
Osage Gallery
Oriental Vista Gallery
Park Ryu Sook Gallery
Shanghai Gallery of Art
Shanghart
Shine Art Space
Stir Art Gallery
Studio rouge
Wujiaochang
Zendai Museum

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Through an invitation to research on the conditions in UB extended by Arts Council Mongolia (private org. originally initiated through SOROS fund) in 2005, a research and presentations trip was arranged in 2006, October with Davide Quadrio, Chu Yuan and Jay Koh as part of Compass project. Here they met organisations such as the National Art Gallery, Artist Union, Blue Sun ( artist group), Ministry of Education and Fine Arts Institute. From this trip an application for a 3 years plan was made to Prince Claus Fund in July 2007 and was accepted starting from autumn 2008. The Open academy is a resource development programme to meet the needs to connect to contemporary art practices of the art communities (mainly represented by Blue Sun but not solely) and the needs of the Fine Arts Institute. The programme is originally conceived as a 2 sessions per year programme with 4 persons conducting workshops for each session.

Since this year Jay Koh knew Annu Wilenius, a Finnish artist who has been working closely with Blue Sun for the last few years and has bought a show to Finland. As her activities centred around Blue Sun and Jay Kos’s activities have to be considerate to the wider communities in UB, Jay Koh have requested ArtHub to assist Blue Sun in their space rental.

Arthub will co-operate with OA through the seminars conducted by Qiu Zhijie and Defne Ayas in Autumn 2008 and April/May, 2009 and supporting structural funding for Blue Sun art space.

About Open Academy

The Open Academy offers focused practical training in form of workshops targeted at facilitating the development of art practices. Artists, writers, curators and other cultural workers will be placed in learning situations where they themselves can identify and address their own learning needs. After a basic and broad-based exposure to various aspects of contemporary art practice and management in the first main sessions, participants will decide on the content, direction and approaches of the following sessions.

The programme will also expand participants’ visual and creative thinking as research including the use of materials and identifying issues in contemporary art practices in Asia. Participants will begin to develop their self-led enquiry through (studio) practice, fieldwork and case studies, leading onto project proposals and engagements, through presentation of these ideas, in critical debate with peers, facilitators and visiting specialists.

Special attention will be given to the workings of knowledge transfer and knowledge generation across cultural and belief systems due the internationalisation of contemporary art. As information and different bodies of knowledge cross cultures, it is also important to recognise the effects of these cross cultural influences on existing local memories and knowledge and the impact of applying these knowledge onto local contexts.

These workshops offer a balance of theory and practice and will provide participants with basic skills and methods in enhancing their professional practice. Skills in a range of critical and professional practices, such as accessing resources, critiquing and analysing material, writing and communication, curating, programming, documenting art history, fundraising and marketing will also be covered.

The Open Academy is open to all contemporary practitioners in the local cultural and art environment. There will be 2 main sessions (Winter + Summer) that will take place in May and September/October. In between these sessions, visiting specialists will conduct talks and discussions to expose participants to various perspectives of art making and art critique and make independent assessments of the participants of the Open Academy.

The list of specialists to be invited in the initial session in September 2008 will be Chu Chu Yuan (artist and project director of NICA in Yangon), Fatima Lasay (artist and educator, University of Philippines, Manila), Sharaad Kuttan (journalist, activist and educator from Malaysia) and Jay Koh.

Targeted Audience: Artists, curators, art writers, cultural practitioners and students of the Fine Art Institute. Sessions will be conducted in 2 separate groups. Students and practitioners.

Timeframe: May and September/October is to coincide with the timing of the semester ending and beginning of the Fine Art Institute

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Arthub supports mobility that creates new space for artistic experiences. The following exhibition curated by Biljana Ciric and presented by Ke Center for the Contemporary Arts in Shanghai in September provides us a good occasion to explore the possibilities in this direction. Arthub contributed to this exhibition by supporting the travel of some of the participating artists from within Asia.

Strategies from Within

An Exhibition of Vietnamese and Cambodian Contemporary Art Practices

Participating Artists: Hoang Duong Cam, Richard Streitmatter-Tran, Tiffany Chung, Sopheap Pich, Vandy Rattana, Chan Dany，Leang Seckon, Dinh Q.Le, Truong Tan, Tran Luong, Nguyen Manh Hung,Nguyen Trinh Thi, Tuan Andrew Nguyen in collaboration with Wowy, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba, Phe Sophon

Curated by Biljana Ciric
Presented by Ke Center for the Contemporary Arts

Including projects: Seasons of Migration documentary by John Bishop, choreographer: Sophiline Cheam Shapiro and film S21-Killing Machine by Rithy Panh

Venue: Kai Xuan Road 613-B, Shanghai, 200051 China
Exhibition Opening: 20:00, Sunday, September 7, 2008
Performance “Enokiberry tree in wonderland” by Tiffany Chung 20:30
Exhibition Dates: September 7th through September 24th, 2008
www.kecenter.org
for more information pls contact tel:86-21-61313080
biljana.ciric@gmail.com ke@kecenter.org

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

For me there can be no art revolution that is separate from a science revolution, a political
revolution, and education revolution, a drug revolution, a sex revolution or a personal revolution…I
will not call myself art worker but art dreamer and I will participate only in a total revolution
simultaneously personal and public.
—From Lee Lozano’s 1969 statement for open hearings, art workers coalition

Lozano declares the necessity of a personal revolution as a main point of departure for change.
This essay, and Lozano’s radical statements, intersects with the aims of the exhibition Strategies
from Within as it attempts to present the different practices of its participants as art dreamers, as
much more than workers. The concept of Art Dreamers offers a more radical viewpoint of art
making that is not necessarily reliant on the commercial world economy, which today seems almost
impossible. Art Dreamers are those who work towards a revolution of the self, whose practices and
strategies engage utopian ideals towards total revolution.

Strategies from Within shares this vision of the importance of personal revolutions and change. The exhibition is the result of research conducted in Saigon, Phnom Penh and Hanoi. The undertaken research attempts to allow for a wider reflection of the contemporary culture in both Vietnam and Cambodia through the presented bodies of work.

This exhibition strategically presents artists from different generations in order to show the shifts in the range of issues that they encounter and deal with, and the presentation methods of their works.
This project also involves a variety of themes that the different individuals present as crucial to their practice, revealing a broader perception of the societies in which they inhabit through their artworks.
The foundational curatorial concept of the exhibition is to present key figures in their local contexts ;to present many established, up and coming artists in the most complete way possible, representing their overall artistic oeuvre; and to present works of art that will provide the audience better insight into the issues that the artists themselves try to raise . Despite the use of the group exhibition framework, the exhibition attempts to emphasize the individual presence of each artist in the strongest way possible, presenting works from different periods, thereby combining the presentation of different bodies of work within the larger exhibition to create a model that is somewhere in-between the solo exhibition and group exhibition format. At the same time, the exhibition tries to push the possibilities of the artists towards more active participation within group exhibitions in general.

Vietnam and Cambodia are currently in a process of building their own intellectual critical discourses, which today remains underground, alluding to the issues of both nations’ political and economic development. The work that has been done by certain of these individuals and the small number of institutions in recent years past spans a spectrum much broader than the visual arts. This work has also provided and built new cultural, educational, and discussion platforms that fill the voids left behind by many turbulent years of war and upheaval. Simultaneously, these young intellectuals and artists are building a critical discourse and practice while also trying to rebuild the cultural milieu of their own societies.

The exhibition also contains a few smaller projects within its framework.

A reading room project was inspired by the artists’ practice of establishing libraries and reading rooms in their homes, and in the galleries of Saigon, as a result of the lack of art related publications available . For the exhibition we asked artists to borrow the books that they think are of great significance to the local scene to be introduced throughout the course of the exhibition.

The Alternative Archive publication will also collect texts and articles about the local scenes, including critical discourses and other writings, to act as a guide for a better overview of the issues and strategies employed by the professionals working in the field of contemporary art practices.

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The workshop took place from June 30 – July 12, 2008 and also marked the first international public art workshop in Bishkek.

This project brought together artists from Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey, and they vary in age, contemporary art styles, media and experience. The artists traveled to Bishkek for two weeks to participate in the public art workshop and create together public art works to be exhibited at the heart of Bishkek in the space in front of the State Museum of Fine Arts. In synch with Arthub’s mission to support art creation in China and rest of Asia, through this project, the goal was to both promote contemporary art in the Kyrgyz Republic and stimulate an artistic dialogue between artists from different countries in the region.

Arthub recommended Li Zhenhua from China and Hakan Topal of xurban.net as participants and presenters in this workshop. Arthub Curatorial Consultant Defne Ayas was also on site, giving feedback to the artists, as well as presenting a lecture on new media and performance in public space with examples from China and New York (PERFORMA).

Two public art experts, Kendal Henry from New York and Arseny Sergeev from Ekaterinburg led the workshop, sharing their experience in the field of public art with the participants and guiding the artists through design, fabrication and installation. They conducted introductory lectures about public art, guided discussions about issues related to the design and construction of public art, and worked with the artists to create public art objects to be exhibited in the center of Bishkek. Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev presented a video program of young Kirgiz artists.

The majority of the program took place in Bishkek, where the public art objects were built and displayed. At the beginning of the workshop, the team spent three days at the mountain retreat in the Chon-Kemin National Park.

The project has been organized by the B’Art: Bishkek Art Center in collaboration with the international arts service organization, CEC ArtsLink. Funding was also provided by the Open Society Institute, the Kettering Family Foundation, and Arthub.

Related Projects

• NICA in Burma and emergency response (0)
• 1.0 Shanghai Meeting, 2008 (0)
• XMLA: Mapping Alternative Art Spaces in Manila by Green Papaya (0)

The program with start later on this autumn after the emergency allert is over.

Here below a short report about the works done by the community in Burma to relieve the conditions for the victims of Nargis.

To know more click here

About NICA

NICA is an independent not-for-profit resource development centre for culture and the arts located in Yangon. Established in early 2003 , NICA has 2 main objectives:

(1) to identify and support those aspects of arts and cultural practices within Myanmar that are in need of resource-building to facilitate their development and

(2) to facilitate access and exchanges between Myanmar arts and cultural practitioners with counterparts, organizations and opportunities outside Myanmar.

Related Projects

• Experimental theatre workers from Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo (0)
• Just What Is It That Makes Shanghai So Different, So Appealing? (0)
• In a Blink of an Eye by Xu Zhen, first time in Europe (0)

In occasion of Artissima 2008, Arthub invites the artist Xu Zhen to present the performance/installation “in a blink of an eye”, a sort of “manifestation” of the globalized market where Chinese workers are symbolically and literally “suspended” in disquieting actions -as if a tragedy is about to occur- but instead does not happen.

A suspension that, as suggested by the title, disappears in “ a blink of an eye”: the public will look at this installation for a short while, as to testify an improbable event, only to be entertained by the game of impossible physical laws. They will stay blind about the inevitable and total tragedy represented by these workers: as if their lives have been removed.

This installation is presented for the first time in Europe. Organized by Davide Quadrio and Defne Ayas in the section “Constellation”.

Related Projects

• 100 Asian Contemporary Artists a publication by LOOP Press, Seoul, Korea (0)
• Wonder Site residency, Tokyo (0)
• XMLA: Mapping Alternative Art Spaces in Manila by Green Papaya (0)

Related Projects

• 1.0 Shanghai Meeting, 2008 (0)
• Publication after the exchange project between SSamzie Space and BizArt (0)
• Arthub featured at ShContemporary, Shanghai (0)

Related Projects

• Arthub featured at ShContemporary, Shanghai (0)
• Strategies from Within, an Exhibition of Vietnamese and Cambodian Contemporary Art Practices (0)
• 1.0 Shanghai Meeting, 2008 (0)

Shanghai Detour 上海游艺图（TBC)

The Art ride by all of us for the distinguished guests

Concept:

* The idea is to make the all venues in Shanghai connected.
* One map to be printed
* Connecting buses every 40 mins starting from 10am to 8pm, 7/8/9/10 September. Last one 6.30 from Sh Fair.
* We need buses (50 seats) better with tv set in, plus on student each in the bus and 1 standing at bus stop.

PARTICIPANTS (TBD)
1918 Art Space
Andrew James Art Gallery
Art Labor
Art+Shanghai
Aura Gallery
Bizart
Contrasts
Eastlink gallery
ifa gallery
Island6
James Cohan
Ke Center
M97
MoCA
Park Sook
Shanghai Gallery of Art
Shanghart
Shine Art Space
Studio rouge
Zendai Museum

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• No related posts.

For the past ten years, BizArt has been at the forefront of the Shanghai art scene, with our active involvement in the best exhibitions and art events and our commitment to supporting young local artists.

Most recently, BizArt has been headed in new directions, splitting our exhibition space in half to include a full production studio for artists-in-residence from China and abroad. We will be concentrating less on exhibitions and more on production, workshops and symposiums.

On the business side, we specialize in various art services, interior design and graphic design. We also act as a production center as well as consultants for international and local exhibitions and events, covering a vast array of mediums from painting to multi-media. For questions regarding our business services, please contact Vigy Jin at vigy@biz-art.com or check the biz section in this page.

Contacts:

Alexia Dehaene – guanchaoqun@yahoo.com.cn

BizArt Art Center
4/F, Build. 7, 50 MOGANSHAN ROAD
200060 Shanghai
Tel: +86 (21) 6277 5358
Fax: +86 (21) 6298 5696

Related Projects

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