Beijing: Made in China Part 2
Zhang's performance, called 12 Square Meters, was dedicated to the artist Ai Weiwei, who as a child accompanied his father, the famous poet Ai Qing, when he cleaned latrines in western China during the Cultural Revolution. Two weeks after the performance in the toilet, the police came and arrested several of the Dong Cun artists, and in 2001 the village was razed to make way for a public park.
In the last dozen years, Beijing has stretched its borders; what used to be the periphery is now prime real estate, and some of the most interesting galleries and studios have had to migrate outside the city proper. Just inside the Fifth Ring Road, the tourist-friendly "art district" Dashanzi is still the best place to see what Beijing artists are doing today. Dashanzi is home to Factory 798, a cultural center housed in the complex of brick workshops that was once Asia's largest military electronics plant. Constructed in the 1950's with the help of East German engineers, many of the buildings have the serrated roofs and stark right angles typical of Bauhaus architecture. The north-facing skylights, designed to provide the most consistent light for working with fine tools, are also convenient for curators, who will host the third annual Dashanzi International Art Festival there in May. Although you can still see girls in pink caps and jackets playing desultory games of badminton outside the few remaining electronics workshops, most of 798's tenants are now artists' studios, galleries, shops, and
In the last dozen years, Beijing has stretched its borders; what used to be the periphery is now prime real estate, and some of the most interesting galleries and studios have had to migrate outside the city proper. Just inside the Fifth Ring Road, the tourist-friendly "art district" Dashanzi is still the best place to see what Beijing artists are doing today. Dashanzi is home to Factory 798, a cultural center housed in the complex of brick workshops that was once Asia's largest military electronics plant. Constructed in the 1950's with the help of East German engineers, many of the buildings have the serrated roofs and stark right angles typical of Bauhaus architecture. The north-facing skylights, designed to provide the most consistent light for working with fine tools, are also convenient for curators, who will host the third annual Dashanzi International Art Festival there in May. Although you can still see girls in pink caps and jackets playing desultory games of badminton outside the few remaining electronics workshops, most of 798's tenants are now artists' studios, galleries, shops, and
