Engagement with the Urban: Visual Arts as a Form of Cultural Activism in Contemporary China
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 February 2021
Summary
Abstract The dynamic interrelations between visual arts and urbanization in contemporary Mainland China bring forward unseen representations and urban interventions. We argue that innovative artistic and creative practices initiated by various stakeholders not only raise critical awareness on socio-political issues of Chinese urbanization but also actively reshape the urban living spaces through the formation of new collaborations, agencies, aesthetics and cultural production sites. All of these facilitate diverse forms of cultural activism as they challenge the dominant ways of interpreting social changes and encourage civic participation in the production of alternative meanings in and of the city. Their significance lies in their potential to question current values and power structures as well as to foster new subjectivities for disparate individuals and social groups.
Keywords: visual arts, urbanization, representations, urban interventions, cultural activism, artistic and creative practices
In 2008, a small retail shop on Xiaojing chang alley in Beijing was transformed into an open platform and artist residence entitled HomeShop (家作坊). The project was initiated by Elaine W. Ho (何穎雅, b. 1977) in collaboration with Fotini Lazaridou-Hatzigoga (b. 1979) and Ouyang Xiao (欧阳潇, b. 1983). The small space was the front part of Ho's own home, which was converted into a semi-public place for the neighbourhood. Because of the growing interest in the activities and the need for more physical space, HomeShop relocated to Jiaodaokou Beiertiao alley two years later and gradually the number of core members expanded to eight. Until 2013 when the lease of the second space ended, HomeShop engaged with issues of urban space, the alternation between private and public domains, the village-in-city dynamics, institutional ecology and the possibilities for autonomous living.
The mutually resonating interests among members of HomeShop to bring together daily life, work and community, inspired diversified methods and projects such as performances, workshops, neighbourhood parties, installations, communal events, providing services, and facilitating interventions in public space. One of the most successful projects in terms of mass participation were the four WaoBao! exchange events, which explored the themes of waste, recycling, cyclicality, and alternative economies, through lectures, workshops and other activities.
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- Information
- Visual Arts, Representations and Interventions in Contemporary ChinaUrbanized Interface, pp. 13 - 32Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2018