The Fourth "Gallery Week Beijing": Exploring The Internationalization Of Contemporary Chinese Art

In the fourth year, "Gallery week Beijing" still relies on the 798 Art District of Beijing, and has completed the connection of four artistic districts of Beijing grass site, Tianzhu town, Hua Jia Di and long Fu Temple in physical space. It has become Beijing's unique platform for the collection of Chinese contemporary art. Despite its foothold in Beijing, the ambition of "Gallery week Beijing" has gone beyond a local contemporary art exhibition, turning its attention to the world and trying to answer a question: how to create a platform that enables Chinese contemporary art to have an equal dialogue with contemporary world art?

Before looking at the world, this platform based on China's contemporary art needs to find out a set of operation models that are in line with China's national conditions. On the one hand, compared with the years of development of contemporary art abroad, its development in China is still young, the market still needs to be nurtured, and the collectors still need guidance, and the public is generally discouraged from contemporary art. This means that it can not copy the mode of direct collection of Berlin galleries and other roots rooted in the mature art market. It needs to start with the construction of ecology and the cultivation of audiences. On the other hand, "art week Beijing" needs to be clear about the value of its existence when art fairs, which are primarily targeted at trade and consumption, have sprouted everywhere in China.

The 7 fourth day "Gallery week Beijing" exhibition will be held in March 13, 2020, and the information conference will be held in Beijing. From 2017 to 2020, the participants in the "Gallery week Beijing" need to be included, including galleries, galleries, collectors, international visitors, and the domestic public. This means that it should not only balance the market and public education, but also balance the different interests and demands of the profit and non-profit organizations. Such a complex goal, position and mode will make it impossible to find a template that can be duplicated. From the framework of the fourth "Gallery week Beijing", it has already explored a new road based on the local and international.

Gallery week Beijing - Information

Complex patterns adapt to local needs

Like world art galleries such as Zurich art week and Berlin Gallery week, "Gallery week Beijing" also originated from the spontaneous alliance of gallery owners. In order to achieve the purpose of attracting the collectors, the gallery owner spontaneously gathered to try to make Beijing lively. What to do and how to do it is entirely decided by the gallery owner who organized activities.

Wang Yi Fei, executive director of gallery week Beijing, took over the second term. In fact, before taking over, she hesitated about the necessity of "Gallery week Beijing". In her view, the reason for the "Gallery week Beijing" lies in the complexity of Beijing's urban culture. There are too many energy sources that need to be broken out, hoping to attract the gallery owner who collectors purchase works is a kind of energy. But if only to meet the needs of the transaction, the gallery owner can spend a whole exhibition fee on the art fair. Why should he spend the cost to participate in the local Gallery week? What is the difference between seeing an exhibition on the exhibition stand and seeing an exhibition in an art gallery or gallery?

The Expo aims at consumption. "That is to say, the audience participating in the Expo should have a good knowledge reserve and pick up a few pieces of works to be bought as collections." Wang Yi Fei said. Behind the exhibitions of galleries and galleries, professional curators and gallery masters plan to promote specific types of artists in the light of current cultural trends. And the specific direction of content can only get the most accurate information by asking questions and communicating in the specific and exclusive space of the exhibition.

"One focuses on buying, one focuses on learning, communication, understanding and cognition. I thought for a long time that the meaning of "Gallery week Beijing" was to explain the development of contemporary art through this platform. We emphasize the importance of intelligence to audiences. Wang Yifei told the twenty-first Century economic report.

This is also the starting point for the introduction of the "Gallery week Beijing", which is different from the internationally renowned Gallery week, introducing non-profit organizations outside the gallery. Wang Yi Fei graduated from the Department of history of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. In her view, non-profit organizations rely on professional academic research institutes and naturally face the public. Exhibition contents can connect the past, present and future, presenting the context of contemporary art. The gallery focuses on the current artistic trend, the cutting-edge artists and future artistic trends. Before trying to understand the gallery and understand the exhibition of the artists, we can go to the art gallery to understand the history of art, and help the audience better understand what the current gallery is doing. The training of collectors' systematic appreciation of works, collections, and the training of public awareness of contemporary art can be taken into account in the simultaneous participation of galleries and non-profit organizations.

After fourth years, the expansion of "Gallery week Beijing" is obvious.

In 2019, the third Gallery week Beijing included 27 galleries and art institutions, including 18 local galleries. Compared to 2018, the number increased by 30%. In physical space, it has also completed the extension from the 798 Art District to the grass Site Art District, Tianzhu town and the China Central Academy of Fine Arts Art Museum.

In 2020, there were 23 local galleries and 6 local non-profit organizations exhibiting in "Gallery week Beijing". Nonprofit organizations include the Central Academy of fine arts, the crown art foundation, the wood and wood art gallery, the pine Art Museum, the Taikang space, and the UCCA Contemporary Art Center. On the basis of the last 18 local galleries, CLC Gallery, fingerprint Gallery, Linda Art Center, three yuan Contemporary Art Center and 5 Gallery of space station were first joined. Local galleries and agencies form the "main unit" of the gallery week 2020.

Build an international platform for equal dialogue

The diversity of institutional nature is only a reflection of the complex positioning of "Gallery week Beijing" in the "main unit". The three special units including "art visiting unit", "public unit" and "new force unit" further outline the complex orientation of "Gallery week Beijing". Among them, the "public unit" aims to interact with the public, specifically for large-scale sculpture and installation in the 798 Art Park and surrounding public scenes. The "new force unit" aims to support young artists' exploration. Through the way of young Chinese artists' group exhibition, it shows their diversified ways to explore knowledge production and contemporary value, re deduce the relationship between art and spirit, and excavate the unknown and secret in the digital age.

The "art visit unit" continued its cooperation with the Zurich Arts Week in 2019, and continued to invite Zurich local galleries and agencies to present Beijing's audience's exhibitions and works from Zurich. Local institutions in Beijing will also come to Zurich to display the creation of contemporary Chinese art on the international stage.

"Contemporary art is one of the most important interfaces for countries to understand each other. At that time, China was still the follower of contemporary art. We are still marginalized in academic and global markets. When you say you want to face the world and make effective dialogue based on contemporary art, there are a series of problems to be solved. 798, founder Wang Yanling, for example, "do we have to fully judge the Chinese Oriental Art System in the light of the judgment and logic of other Western cultures for contemporary art values?"

The dilemma seen by Wang Yi Fei is more specific: "many of our local galleries do not attach much importance to internationalization because they feel that the West has a sense of superiority in their culture, and our gallery believes they are not interested in understanding China." But in the two exhibition, Wang Yifei believes that breaking the current predicament requires Chinese practitioners to take the initiative to show their presence on the contemporary art platform with world influence.

Even if Chinese practitioners are willing to participate, barriers still exist. "From the international exposition, few galleries can be selected, such as the Basel art exhibition, so that many local galleries finally opt out. There are many complicated reasons behind this phenomenon, such as the strength of national strength, the understanding of internationalization and so on. Under such circumstances, Wang Yifei believes that China can make a big platform to enable artists and culture to go through exhibitions in the world's most important art galleries.

"Without such a platform, we can see how many Chinese artists can exhibit in the world's important art galleries. Can be counted on one's fingers. We have to face this reality. But our cultural energy and energy creation are more than just "side dishes". You have to be very ambitious in doing this. " Wang Yifei said.