Sound & Vision Collide at Three Shadows this Weekend

There’s a big weekend planned up at the Three Shadows Photography Art Center as the Caochangdi PhotoSpring kicks off with two key events. On Saturday the center unveils the finalists and announces the winners of the Annual Three Shadows Photography Award, while Sunday sees the launch of Matthew Niederhauser’s photography book Sound Kapital: Beijing's Music Underground, complete with live performances.

For Chinese photography watchers, the launch of the Three Shadows Photography Award last April – designed to find and foster emerging photographic talent in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan – was one of the most exciting developments of 2009. Last year Three Shadows founder and director Rong Rong commented, “My own experience tells me that in a certain period of your career, being encouraged or complimented by others is very important, as is the chance to communicate with other artists.”

Rong Rong’s sentiments led him and his wife and artistic partner Inri to create the Three Shadows Award, with a prize of RMB 80,000. Their call for entries attracted nearly 300 submissions and such a strong range of talent that 31 finalists were selected for last year’s exhibition.

This year’s competition attracted over 200 submissions that have been narrowed to 20 finalists, who will participate in the exhibition opening on Saturday. The winners will be announced at Saturday's awards ceremony starting at 3pm, which will be followed by a tour of selected Caochangdi galleries and art spaces.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the finalist’s images.

You can see more of this year’s finalists here.

On Sunday the festivities continue with projections and live performances to celebrate the launch of Sound Kapital: Beijing's Music Underground, a book of photographs from the well-known photographer Matthew Niederhauser.

Niederhauser has shot some of the most iconic images associated with Beijing’s contemporary rock scene. His work has appeared in publications ranging from local magazines like the Beijinger to international newspapers like the Guardian and the Washington Post.

Sound Kapital was launched in the US back in October 2009. At that time China Music Radar featured a two-part interview with Niederhauser, in which he said: “The Book will include a CD compilation of 19 tracks – pretty much everybody in Beijing will be on it. AV Okubo, Snapline, Subs, Demerit, New Pants, Lonely China Day. The book is a social document – it’s not about ‘these guys are taking over the world!’ It’s about a particular place and time in a certain stage of China’s musical evolution. It’s not about the future, because I don’t know where that’s going to go.”

You can access the complete interview here and here.

The Three Shadows event on Sunday starts at 8pm, and will feature live performances from Xiao He, Shou Wang (Carsick Cars) and Offset: Spectacles.

Three Shadows Photo Award 2010 Exhibition, launch and awards ceremony starts 3pm, Saturday, April 17. Exhibition continues until June 15.

Book Launch for Sound Kapital: Beijing's Music Underground, featuring performances by Xiao He, Shou Wang and Offset: Spectacles; 8pm, Sunday, April 18.

Both events are at the Three Shadows Photo Art Centre. Free entry. You can read about more other Caochangdi PhotoSpring events here.