2011 Apr 29 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?
Well, non-music-festival-goers are people, too. People who deserve some interesting cultural events to tide them over while their friends have all escaped to Hong Kong (or Tongzhou) for the holiday. Check out more fascinating photography, an insiders' look at 798, a huge art installation in Songzhuang and the BYU
All weekend (and into next month)
Caochangdi Photospring
The opening last Saturday was blessed with beautiful blue skies, artfully gussied-up attendees and of course some great photography. Even if you missed it, this weekend would be a great chance to check out more of the over 30 exhibits. See last week’s post for suggested highlights.
Saturday, Apr 30
Inside 798
How did 798 evolve and what makes its heart beat? An insiders’ introduction and walking tour of Beijing’s most famous art district. RMB 100/Free (Members). Registration required (members@ucca.org.cn; 8459 9269). 10am. UCCA
Sunday, May 1
Film: Deep in the Clouds
Young filmmaker Liu Jie paints a picture of love and life in a Lisu village. RMB 40, RMB 30 (students and seniors), RMB 25 (members). 7.30pm. BC MOMA
Monday, May 2
Art Exhibit: Hope & Glory
If you ended up going to Strawberry and got lost out in Tongzhou, might as well stop by G-Dot Art Space. Simon Birch’s conceptual circus is likely the largest scale, most expensive visual arts exhibit to hit Beijing. The opening celebration starts at 7.30pm. Look out for our interview with the artist, both in the May issue of the Beijinger, and on The Beijinger Blog Monday. Free. G-Dot Art Space
Wednesday, May 4
Orchestra: “The Butterfly Lovers”
The 11th annual “Meet in Beijing” Arts Festival soldiers on with this performance by both the BYU Chamber Orchestra and the Beijing Dance Academy. RMB 80-580. 7.30pm. Poly Theatre
Photo from flickr user theogeo.
You might also be interested in :
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.
Art Attack: Food & Film Postponed, Hunger Games and Last Calls
We already let you know last week that the 48 Hour Film Project, the annual short film competition that’s been running in Beijing for three years now, will not be taking place this weekend as planned. Also not taking place: the Food, Film & Friends cooking/film screening event at The Hutong. Also, Hunger Games is finally set to hit theaters, and several art exhibits are closing up shop. Read on for details.
I See China, Do You?
Tucked away behind a thick green hedge, down a narrow street in Caochangdi, I face a room so densely packed with photography that taking a step back means almost bumping up against the nearest free-standing wall of China-centric imagery.
This is the scene at "I See China," a group exhibit mounted at Pekin Fine Arts as part of Caochangdi PhotoSpring. It encompasses a broad span of subjects, styles and artists both foreign and local. Cut-out pictures of Beijing folk photographed amid New York City scenes hang opposite a larger-than-life, glinting sheet of ‘Made in China” stickers.
Art Attack: PhotoSpring, Movies and Out-of-Reach Celebrities
Just think, if film hadn’t been invented a couple hundred years ago, this week would look a lot more boring. As it stands, we’re being hit with a deluge of things captured through a lens then reflected on light-sensitive paper and projected back out (or, you know, whatever digital version of that exists now … kids these days, sheesh). Read on for great photography and tons of films to catch.
Art Attack: Shteyngart Wheezes, Kurt Cobain Lives and Budding Filmmakers Ask Elders to Relive Horrors of the Past
You should all be drunk on sunshine by now instead of sitting in front of your computer screens. But if you’re looking for things to do this weekend, that’s fair enough. We’re in a quiet before the storm as we all await Caochangdi PhotoSpring and other new exhibits near May Festival. But, between a documentary series at UCCA’s art cinema and a new debut at BC MOMA that channels Kurt Cobain, you’ve got some sound options.
