Art & Commerce

Can I tell you...about the art scene in Beijing. Booming would be putting it mildly. It is 'out of control"! I had read about the 'scene' and how several artists and galleries took over a 50 year old former decommissioned military factory complex to form a thriving artist's community. Just like New York in the early 80's when artists lived and worked out of lofts and galleries moved in, Soho suddenly became a cool destination. The same phenomenon is happening in Beijing. Now famously referred to as "798 Art Zone" or "Factory 798", the Dashanzi Art District factory complex in the Chaoyang District was built by the Germans in 1954. It began as an extension of the "Socialist Unification Plan" of military-industrial cooperation between the Soviet Union and the newly-formed People's Republic of China. The problem was that the People's Liberation Army still needed modern electronic components, which were produced in only two of the joint factories. The Russians were unwilling to undertake an additional project at the time, and suggested that the Chinese turn to East Germany from which most of the Soviet Union's electronics equipment was imported. Hence, the unmistakble Bauhaus style of the buildings drawn from East German architects plans.
The area is a little out of the way from the center but well worth the trip. I was blown away at how developed it was and how there were so many galleries within a square mile radius. I saw several people walking out with wrapped purchases and a lot of the art had red dots beside them signifying their 'sold' status.
There was quite a crowd of people walking around, eating at cafe's and getting lost as we were despite the numerous bi-lingual signs all over the streets directing you to the galleries. It was all quite exciting and you had this feeling that you were discovering something new. Actually, there's been an exodus of artists and galleries since 1995. In 2001, Texan Robert Bernell opened Timezone 8 Art Books and publishing office, becoming the 1st foreigner to move in. Local/ international designer Ai WeiWei, an artist/curator/architect further validated the neighborhood by moving in just outside the complex. It is also now fondly called the center of "Bobo community" ( bourgeouis bohemian).
There were several openings at the same time so we hit those galleries. We had lunch at Cafe Pause, an institution and the epicenter of the area. The owners write for Time Out Beijing so naturally I asked for recommendations of what to see and where to go. Foster, Winnie and I were determined to see as much as we could and I think we did. We combed the streets, walked up deserted stairs to see out of the way galleries: we were on a mission!
Nick May, a transplanted New Yorker/fashion photographer now living there met up with us and took us to an opening of his friend's gallery / clothing store. The crowd was quite international, German, Dutch, Taiwanese, Thai, New Yorkers and Angelenos. At the end of the day, he took us for a ride on his side car which was a lot of fun...and dust! Thank God for helmets! Unfortunately, we were a week to early for the 'Affordable Art Fair' which would have been fun to see and maybe even buy a piece or two. But then again, affordable is relative, isn't it?!