2010 Feb 12 Beijing’s Artist Communities Under Pressure
Rumors have been circulating for some time that Caochangdi, the area past Dashanzi that’s home to a number of high-profile galleries, may be razed for redevelopment, but it’s far from the only “art zone” under threat by voracious real estate agents. Red Box Review recently published an overview of the areas under pressure.
While some areas like Songzhuang are currently being actively developed as creative communities, in many other places artists are facing harassment and forced evictions. The Red Box Review article notes:
“A new cycle of evictions began again in December, when artists in Beijing’s 008 Art Zone and Zhengyang Creative Art Zone were given one month to vacate their studios before demolition. Artists organized performances and protests, but in January the whole district was bulldozed as planned. At least 13 other art zones in Chaoyang are currently under threat, which would displace at least 1000 artists.”
Like ordinary residents in cities all over China, artists are often powerless in the face of developers’ demands, irrespective of rental contracts. Even 798 was only saved from demolition by intense lobbying from both inside and outside China, though rapidly rising rents and rank commercialism have managed to effectively strangle the area's once-thriving creative community, even if the old factory buildings have survived.
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Art Attack: Inside 798, Caochangdi Festivals and Mormon Musicians
Maybe you’re planning to avoid every single one of those music festivals you’ve been reading about. (Fear the port-a-potties? Haven’t a thing to wear?
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Spring Awakening: Caochangdi Busts Out All Over
If you eschew the airport expressway that hurtles past 798 and instead take the tree-lined airport side-road (Jichang Fulu) that winds its way beside it, you will eventually come upon a blue-and-white cluster of signs that point you to the many and diverse corners of the “artist village” of Caochangdi - which this April will be home to an explosion of events under the auspices of the Caochangdi PhotoSpring.
Happy Nova Year: Win Tickets For New Year's Eve!
Got your New Year's Eve plans sorted out yet? Pretty much every bar and club in Beijing will have some sort of celebration, but if you're looking for something huge, head up to 798. In one corner of the Dashanzi art district, the ever-reliable Yen Countdown party is back again, but over in the 751 D-Park area of 798, the Nova New Year's Party makes its debut with a headline set from one of the most significant figures of the past two decades in British dance music, Darren Emerson, and Chinese DJs including Huang Weiwei, Terry Tu, X.L.F. and Dave K. We've got all the information on the party and a ticket contest right here!
Art Hike: Caochangdi
Our fifth and final art walk takes you to an area that's really the best of both worlds: well-curated, high quality exhibits kept safe from big-money development (so you can still revel in dirt roads, street markets and the like). Threats of Caochangdi's impending demolition mean this may change soon, so take it in while you still can.
