Beijing's 798 Art District
Beijing is a city of fifteen million and rapidly growing, but that alone does not explain its thriving visual arts scene: of the sheer number and diversity of artists currently working here. And where better to start than a look at Beijng’s 798 Art District? It’s an art scene on the move, and this is just one of a number of its lanes.
It was just by chance that this modish pair flashed by as I was focusing on this sign, although I did react quickly! 798’s scale is better represented by this map.
It’s located on what, a few years back, was Beijing’s eastern periphery: then a moribund factory area in the Dashanzi area and “798” refers to the designation of the original Bauhaus factory that became the first of the many galleries that have sprung up-40% in the last year alone. The almost completed subway line 10 will further increase the momentum-though not perhaps of the zone!
There is so much to see here-and even newer art zones- that this is but the first of a series of articles. Environmentally, it’s atypical of Beijing, being leafy and laid back. That English sign too. There are far more westerners about than elsewhere in this sprawling city and plenty of western food and refreshments too served alfresco. Along with a great art and photography bookstore. Most local gallery staff seem to speak some English too, not a facility to be taken for granted in Beijing generally. A nice place to chill out. But the main business of course is exploring the galleries. Wear comfortable shoes as there are over one hundred galleries spread over a considerable area. The emphasis is on the avant-garde I came across the works of Zhao Limin at the Ahead Gallery and they all display the concerns evident in this bold composition.
Yes, there are plenty of kids here with their parents. More of Zhao’s and other artists’ works are at http://www.being3.com/en_pclass.asp?ClassID=70
In his wonderful BBC series Civilisation (although a truer title would have been “Western Civilisation”) Kenneth Clarke reminds us of the words Ruskin, an earlier art historian:
“Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts the book of their deeds; the book of their words; and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others. But, of the three, the only trustworthy one is the last.”
As a westerner not able to read Chinese the least opaque of these “books” is certainly that of its art. In future articles I will share some of my discoveries.
It was just by chance that this modish pair flashed by as I was focusing on this sign, although I did react quickly! 798’s scale is better represented by this map.
It’s located on what, a few years back, was Beijing’s eastern periphery: then a moribund factory area in the Dashanzi area and “798” refers to the designation of the original Bauhaus factory that became the first of the many galleries that have sprung up-40% in the last year alone. The almost completed subway line 10 will further increase the momentum-though not perhaps of the zone!
There is so much to see here-and even newer art zones- that this is but the first of a series of articles. Environmentally, it’s atypical of Beijing, being leafy and laid back. That English sign too. There are far more westerners about than elsewhere in this sprawling city and plenty of western food and refreshments too served alfresco. Along with a great art and photography bookstore. Most local gallery staff seem to speak some English too, not a facility to be taken for granted in Beijing generally. A nice place to chill out. But the main business of course is exploring the galleries. Wear comfortable shoes as there are over one hundred galleries spread over a considerable area. The emphasis is on the avant-garde I came across the works of Zhao Limin at the Ahead Gallery and they all display the concerns evident in this bold composition.
Yes, there are plenty of kids here with their parents. More of Zhao’s and other artists’ works are at http://www.being3.com/en_pclass.asp?ClassID=70
In his wonderful BBC series Civilisation (although a truer title would have been “Western Civilisation”) Kenneth Clarke reminds us of the words Ruskin, an earlier art historian:
“Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts the book of their deeds; the book of their words; and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others. But, of the three, the only trustworthy one is the last.”
As a westerner not able to read Chinese the least opaque of these “books” is certainly that of its art. In future articles I will share some of my discoveries.
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