Song Zhuang is an artist village, located in Tong Zhou District (eastern suburbs of Beijing), and is the most famous and biggest artist community in Beijing. Now nearly more than 2,000 artists live in Song Zhuang, which is seen as synonymous with the Chinese avant-garde not only in China but also in other countries.
From the beginning, most of the residents in the village have been avant-garde painters. Now the area accommodates one of the largest artists' communities in China, drawing painters of varying styles; ranging from the avant-garde to the academic. Sculptors and photographers also call the area home.
How ironic it is that the previously institutionalized and socially motivated art system produced many of the initial artists of the Chinese avant-garde. Were it not for the breakaway radicals of the last two decades, there simply would be no artistic community in Songzhuang, even if now concerns are perhaps sometimes more of a monetary rather than a sociological nature. With a shift catering more towards the foreign market occurring in the 1980s, and the rise of the nouveau-riche at the beginning of the new century, today it is both the growing upper middle class in the cosmopolitan cities as well as foreign collectors and galleries that have become the prominent collectors of contemporary art in China, though one would have to be über-cynical to suppose that the creative process has become wholly money-orientated to the modern artist living here. Far from it ~ in fact, a spirit of idealism, a “Songzhuang spirit” well and truly exists, and can even be examined from a historical perspective, where the roots of the artistic community can be traced back to Yuanmingyuan, the grounds of the old Summer Palace in the north-east of Beijing. It was there that in the 1980s, like-minded free spirits congregated, living relatively poorly, though freely, escaping from the rat-race and pressures of modern society. Artists arrived from all over China, celebrating a creative community and period of intense artistic exploration. This fertile artistic ground produced artists later to find international recognition and fame, most notably Fang Lijun, Yue Minjun and Yang Shaobin.
A trend was established for artists to migrate away from the cities, to form their own communities ~ the famous Beijing East Village being one ~ bringing far-reaching consequences for the Chinese avant-garde scene, as focus shifted away from the emerging capitalistic distractions and political pressures and opportunity was given in a tranquil environment for inner reflection and deep contemplation. However, inevitably problems arose once the community began attracting attention / notoriety from the media, gallery owners and other quarters, making artistic life more difficult as the once relaxed and free atmosphere came under an ever-closer scrutiny. If anyone can find a copy, it would be well worth watching the documentary ‘Seeking Dreams on the Verge’, made by the director Zhang Jiarui in 1993. Thus, in an effort to preserve the spirit of the avant-garde, Fang Lijun, Zhang Huiping and Yue Minjun took the bold initiative in the spring of 1994 to relocate from Yuanmingyuan to the farming area of Songzhuang Township, located between the Chaobai and Wenyue rivers in Tong County, 20 km away from central Beijing. Liu Wei, Zhang Huiping, Wang Qiang and Gao Huijun completed this first wave of artists to move, their having being joined by Yang Shaobin, Ma Ziheng, Zhang Jianqiang, Shao Zhenpeng, Liu Fenghua, Zhang Mingqiang, Wang Qiuren and Yao Junzhong before the end of the year. With the accompaniment of renowned art critic Li Xianting, later to be known as “ the Godfather of Songzhuang ”, a quite formidable group of talent had succeeded in keeping the flame burning for Chinese avant-garde art.
798 Gallery
“798” was the code name of a radio factory complex which was funded by the then Soviet Union (1917-1993) and built according to the design of engineers from the then German Democratic Republic (1949-1990) early in the 1950s. Very rarely have we seen in any other part of the world such a huge architectural gathering of Bauhaus style that was widely adopted in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. It can be rated as a precious cultural relic of the history of modern industry.
Things started to get worse for the factory in the 1990s, and they were at loss what to do about factory workshops and other buildings sitting empty. A number of clever and sharp-eyed artists thought the charm of those buildings had special significance, and combined with low rents and many unused buildings, they decided to turn the situation to their good advantage, by engaging in artistic creation or holding art exhibitions. The Central Academy of Fine Arts ( Zhongyang Meishu Xueyuan) moved from Wangfujing to Dashanzi near the factory complex around 1995. It soon became an area of artists to meet and exchange views and experience. More artists came here to rent empty workshops for the establishment of their own studios, art galleries and other art centers so as to create a world of art of their own.
“798” is worthy of its name as a modern art centre in Beijing, which not only draws most influential artists in China involving professions like photography, painting, behavior, device and fashion, but has artists and exhibition designers working here from the UK, German, France, Italy, Singapore, Korea and other parts of the world. Several hundred cultural and artistic institutions have been established here, including studios, galleries, art foundations, bookshops, fashion shops, household decoration shops, bars, restaurants and yoga training centers.
With a growing number of artists and companies are thinking highly of the special benefits that
The atmosphere of art pervading at the 798 Art Zone has brought to their well-known brands. New product releasing conferences have been held successfully for a number of leading brands such as Christian Dior, Shell, Toyota and Omega.
Caochangdi eastern arts zone
Caochangdi eastern arts zone is a Beijing independent art space involving performance art, documentary film/video, and video art. It was founded by filmmaker Wu Wenguang and choreographer Wen Hui in April, 2005. Its existence was made possible through the support of Beijing Storm; Kampnagel in Hamburg; Zuercher Theater Spektakel in Zurich; Borneoco in the Netherlands; Asian Culture Council in the United States; and many friends and supporters both at home and abroad.
Songzhuang Painters’ village
