Back

The Sudden Change -- The artistic inspection of the ecology of the nature and humanity in the Three Gorges reservoir area
Submitted by ZhouBin / Chengdu Up-On Live Art Space

Dear ANA,
I would like to apply for the ANA 2008 Grant on behalf of the Yunnan-Vietnam Female Artists Exchange Program. The details of my proposal are as follows:

Project Background

Yunnan is situated at the borders of China; the relaxed lifestyle that its environment provides had attracted many well-known artists to set up their workspaces there. However, along with the rapid economic development of China, these workspaces have become more of a tourist attraction. As a result, there are an increasing number of native artists who are migrating to central cities such as Beijing in search of development opportunities. This has caused the number of artists remaining in Yunnan to be on a decline. Female artists who choose to stay behind, in particular, have to have an organization of their own to provide themselves with more opportunities of collaboration, as they are the minority gender in the profession.

Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan, is an important economical and arts city in South-East Asia; it has always maintained regular arts and economical associations with countries situated along the Mekong River, most notably being collaborations between the officials of the governing bodies in the region. In the summer of 2005, the Vietnamese artists have attempted to organize an exchange program with the Yunnan artists. However, due to visa issues and the lack of initiative from their Yunnan counterparts, the event did not materialize. China’s knowledge about Vietnam is largely limited to the latter’s traditional handicraft and wooden furniture; much less is known with regards to Vietnam’s arts and design field.

Ever since it was set up in year 2000, the Kunming Loft Arts Community has been dedicated in developing links with the members of the public through various methods. Three of its art galleries made use of art exhibitions, musicals, poetry festivals and other events to attract the participation of members of the public. The various art exhibition platforms built over the past seven years have provided local and guest artists alike a channel for exchange of ideas to occur. It has always been my concern to explore the means of making use of these platforms, and to uphold the original agenda of setting up the Kunming Loft Arts Community. In year 2001, my partner Wang Han set up a 180m2 design studio in Loft, while I have set up another 80m2 studio in year 2007; these will help to provide the room needed for our proposed exchange program. They can be used to hold local or foreign art workshops, and also facilitate the reception of incoming guest artists. The Li Jiang work space that Wang Han is setting up currently will also help to provide additional space if the event requires expansion.
In February 2007, Three Yunnan female artists/designers and I have set up the ‘Yunnan Female Arts Work Room’, also known as the ‘Nine and Three Quarters Workshop’. This workshop covers the concepts below: Female Identity, Personal Space, Freedom, F for Free-for-all, Cross Area Cooperation and Surmounting Life. Being the planners and the organizers, we have shown initiative by conducting female art works exhibitions and activities: In April 2007, we jointly held the ‘Morning Mist’ experimental fashion show; The ‘First Kunming Loft Creative Fair’ organized in November 2007 was another attempt to garner cross-field collaboration between art and design concepts. These two events were shown great support by 32 local female artists, designers and handicrafts women.

Objectives of the Program

The Yunnan-Vietnam Female Artists Exchange Program will allow collaborations with Vietnam artists to be established once again, and more to be understood about the Mekong River region’s culture. It should also promote mutual-motivation between members of the group, allow individual artworks to achieve multi-dimensional development and also open the path for more cross-field collaborations in the future.

Description of the Program

The program will invite 5 art/design professionals from both Yunnan and Vietnam. Artists, clothes designers, graphic designers and accessory designers from different artistic backgrounds and age will immerse themselves in each of the native cultures’ unique creation styles. The female artists will also get a chance to engage in collaborations and discussions. This program will be jointly planned and organized by the artists from both countries, and will be divided into two segments: The Kunming artists will be in charge of the Vietnamese artists’ activities in Kunming (First segment, two weeks), and the Vietnamese artists will be in charge of the Kunming artists’ activities in Vietnam and the execution of their plans. (Second segment, two weeks)

Execution of the Program

A. Confirm the name-lists of the participating artists from the two regions, prepare their resumes and gather information regarding their past works. (Currently, the Yunnan segment is complete.)
B. Establish contact through the internet (e-mail, blogs and websites). The artists from both countries should then each appoint an organizer to maintain contact between the groups. They will be in charge of organizing group activities, planning the collaboration progress and also the collection of suggestions from their respective group members. Each group will independently hold a monthly meet-up in their own country to discuss methods of collaboration, basing the discussion on female arts. Each meeting and collaboration process shall be recorded by words, pictures or video and be sent to the other group, in order to establish a mutual understanding and knowledge of artistic backgrounds and the differences in the forms of art between the two countries. This will provide preemptive security for the event that is to come.
C. Vietnamese artists shall station in Kunming for two weeks and visit the local artists’ work spaces and galleries to appreciate the local artistic culture. They shall then share their artworks and their experience of being artists in Vietnam with the Kunming group. Pictures, actions, videos, paintings, handicraft and such can be used to facilitate this process (pending on the material available in Liu Lifen’s and Wang Han’s workshops). The exchange process will not be restricted by any theme, so that the artists are free to display their abilities. Celebrated artist Mao Xu Hui will be invited to give a speech on ‘The Basic Clues of Modern Yunnan Art’. The Kunming group will be in charge of all the planning of activities and their execution. At the end of the exchange period, an event process report will be held at Loft’s Yuan Sheng Fang or TCG Nordica’s gallery (tentative). ‘The Female Artistic Language-International Arts Seminar’ will also be held at the same location. Subject: The network and channels of international female arts exchange. (First Segment)
D. Both parties will do a feedback and summary with regards to the first segment of the program; meaningful activities will be continued in the second segment, while undesirable aspects of the program will be fine-tuned. Each group shall continue their monthly meet-up in its own country. Information regarding the Vietnamese artists’ trip to Yunnan will be collected.
E. Yunnan artists will station in Vietnam for two weeks; the trip’s activities and collaboration plan will be prepared by the Vietnamese artists. Yunnan artists are to appreciate Vietnam’s artistic culture, and to hold a discussion with regards to the format in which the exchange is conducted. The Vietnam group shall be fully in charge of the planning of activities and its execution. (Second Segment)
F. Every participating artist is to submit a piece of writing with regards to their experience in the event, and to attach the various forms of media (pictures, words or video) which were used to record the progress of the event, so that they can be published.

The agenda of the event: the importance of the process; the artistic language and artistic exchange between the female artists in the current artistic linguistic environment. Every member must be able to secure time for the monthly meet-up and the exchange period in both countries! Pending the situation in the respective regions, the final exhibition of word progress can be in an artist workshop or a public space. A critic from each of the regions will be invited for the exchange event.

Kunming’s (first segment) plan is as follows:
Yunnan-Vietnam Female Artists Exchange Program
Workshop Schedule 2008 (Yunnan)
Person in charge and Point of Contact: Liu Lifen

Note: From 8th to 13th August, the art works of two artists from the ‘Nightly Presentation by Artists’ whose styles are similar will be exhibited to the public. Collaborative workshop will be held at the studios of Wang Han and Liu Lifen.
Collaboration will be emceed by Long Yu Mei, Wang Han and Liu Lifen.

Dates

May 2008 to January 2009:
- Monthly meet-up for respective groups in their own countries in year 2008 May, June, July, September, October and December;
- 6th to 19th August 2008, first segment: Vietnamese artists station in Kunming, Yunnan;
- 8th to 21st November 2008, second segment: Yunnan artists station in Vietnam
- December 2008 - January 2009, material collection, event article book’s design and publishing. (Pending on the discussion with the Vietnamese artists, the artist-in-residence dates in the countries are still tentative)

Planning of the Program

Workshop › Artist-in-Residence/Discussion › Exhibition of the process

Program’s Audience

The art’s scene, members of the public from the different fields in the community, students and teachers from arts schools, arts associations, media and enterprises.

Publicity

A. Set up an event webpage, update progress of event, introduce the event, promote the impact of the event and push for more similar forms of collaborations to occur;
B. Collaborate with the local media (newspapers, arts magazines) to trace-report the progress of the event;
C. Participants to record their experience on their respective blogs.
D. Reprint event progress on China’s arts internet network: Artron, Arts.Tom, Asia Arts Archive etc.
E. Invite related personnel to participate in the artists’ artwork introductions and talks through posters, e-mail, and SMS.
F. Picture albums – Report on the exchange program and promote the program’s format.

Impact of Program and Development in the Future

A. Congregate the strengths of the native female artists, and encourage more collaborations and exchange between artists;
B. Establish a link between Yunnan and Vietnam female artists, improve knowledge of the cultural backgrounds and the state of the arts scene within the two regions. Channels and networks via which international female arts exchange can occur can be shared among the artists.
C. Multi-dimensional development can be achieved in the artists’ individual creations through providing them with an opportunity to collaborate with other artists and through experimenting with the different variants of art form.
D. Through exploring the female artistic languages that are based on different cultural backgrounds, a greater depth of knowledge about female identity in the current artistic linguistic environment can be achieved.
E. The senior artists are able to pass down their artwork creation experience to their younger counterparts, while the younger artists’ fresh ideas will help to promote these creations and expand the respective artistic concepts.
F. The final execution of the program will be the first collaboration between civilians of the Mekong River region. Through strengthening the bonds between female artists in the region, it provides a foundation for future cross area cooperation to occur;
G. The successful execution of the program will affirm the effectiveness of this exchange format, allowing it to act as a pioneer movement and provide experience for the involved personnel.

Blog of Vietnam Female Artists

http://cid-9136a84dc2b005ea.spaces.live.com/default.aspx
The Sharing Space of Yunnan Female Arts (Chinese)
It is a blog set up recently; the records of events/activities, participated/planned/organized by female artists in Vietnam is available. It links to the websites of China female artists/arts workers/critics.

Events jointly organized by the Yunnan female artists group in 2007

A. April 20th, 21st Morning Mist Experimental Fashion Show
http://www.art-gean.org/public/articlebrowse.aspx?id=442
Designers: Liu Lifen, Shi Zhi Jie, Zhu Xiao Feng, Du Xi
Music: Dan Froberg (Sweden)

First Mist Experimental Fashion Show is the first mini-theatrical fashion show in Kunming that is jointly organized by multi-region artists. It involved the joint effort of professional clothes designers, artists and experimental musicians. Among them, Swedish experimental musician/artist Dan Froberg has given great support ranging from conceptualization to execution of the fashion show. Froberg has made use of various natural musical materials to create music that has a ‘Morning Mist’ touch; Swedish artist Janeric Johansson provided us with his artwork of twenty-two years ago, imprinted on fabric in Italy and Switzerland; English artist Jonathan Kearney gave many valuable suggestions with regards to the use of space, and aided in the execution of the event; the Northern European module students from TCG Nordica Hyllie Park and some chance-met part-time models have also aided through their contribution of natural styles of catwalk. The many artistic suggestions that they have provided during the rehearsals have helped to make the event more interesting, and have also spurred the participants towards a common dream! This is our first joint creation! (All the participants in the event are volunteers)

B. Love Protection Exhibition: China-Sweden Handicraft Design Artists Exchange Program
http://www.tcgnordica.com/archives/247
Participating artists:
China: Wang Han, Shi Zhi Jie, Dou Yu, Sha Sha, Chen Ling Jie
Sweden: Anneli Linder, Christina Nyström Jansson, Elisabeth Johansson, Linda Thörnblad, Else Månsson

It is an event that involved the many variants of handicraft design artists, which includes silverware designers, fabric designers and plane designers. The artists made use of varying creation methods to express the theme of Love Protection; this emphasized on the optimistic side of Love, and also allowed a contrast between China and Sweden with respect to their perception of the language of Love.

Love Protection is an extension of Aids-themed events. The artists made use of different creation methods to act as a ‘safety precaution’ for the theme Love. In this event, ten female artists of different age, hailing from China and Sweden, expressed their concept of Love through games, passion, and deep, undying life energy. Some of the participants possess many years of experience in their native country with regards to handicraft-making skills and design, and have achieved hallmarks in, just to name a few, the silverware and fabric design fields. These women possess a similar desire: to express a form of love that is starkly different from what is often seen in the society and media. This form of love involved self-exploring, acquirement and development, and is primarily based on youth, surface phenomena and magnanimity.

Love Protection is jointly organized by artists from both countries. The Chinese artists were in charge of the activities in China (first segment), while the Swedish artists are in charge of the activities in Sweden (second segment). The purpose of the event is for its participants to attempt to discover a common and feasible creation language for Love Protection. The two groups first worked individually in their own country, and kept in contact through e-mail during this period of time. Thereafter, the artists from both countries will gather in China for two weeks (August 2007), and then in Sweden for two weeks (June 2008). The entire creation process will be exhibited at two exhibitions/work displays. Currently, the first segment is already successfully held at Kunming TCG Nordica.

C. 23rd, 24th November
IMART – The First Kunming Loft Creative Fair
This event is held at Loft’s Yuan Sheng Fang arts space. It attracted a total of 37 participants, amongst them 33 are females.
Planning: Liu Lifen, Wang Han, He Jing, Tao Jin
Purpose of Fair: Promote creativity, artistic lifestyles, practicality, Do it by yourself!!

This time round, many playful and active local ‘mini handicraftsmen’ have gathered together. Artists, designers, rock and roll players, DIY enthusiasts and housewives have gathered to showcase and sell their creative products. Original creations and various handmade articles include furniture, accessories, handmade dim-sum, handmade notepads, shoes, lights, hand-drawn t-shirts, re-constructed old materials, stockings, sandals, original music, comics, dolls, construction models, photograph albums, clocks and many more!

The event, in the meantime, has set up Loft Creative Fair Fund: It was set up using the funds generated from selling products imprinted with the artworks of Loft founders/artists Ye Yong Qing, Tang Zhi Gang and Mao Xu Hui. The fund is used in the continual development of female events.

D. Lei Yan’s Solo Exhibition 2007
http://www.tcgnordica.com/archives/275
Exhibition dates: 9th to 22nd November, 2007
Venue: TCG Nordica

This event exhibits Loft Female artist Lei Yan’s recent two batches of creations.
Lei Yan is born in the 50’s of the last century; 30 years of her life were spent in the military, constructing a unique life experience. As a sensitive and creative female artist, the regulated life in the military unit formed a sort of tension with her nature. This unique experience has become a special spring of resource and thought for her creations in the future. Historical events and military items like the army uniform, badges and the Star has appeared numerous times in her creations’ narration. What’s interesting is that Lei Yan did not stop at merely making use of these items as subjects; she incorporated her sense of romanticism to expand what are otherwise normal perceptions of daily life.

After she ended her military service, Lei Yan attempted a new form artistic language in her creations, ranging from traditional oil paintings to modern photography, video, installations and handicrafts. Not only is she an artist well-versed in the various formats of art, Lei Yan also has a diversity of topics related to her creations, which includes urbanization, female identity and thoughts extended from her life in the military.

Both the two batches of creations exhibited are strongly linked to her life in the military. One batch of creation is a set of photography featuring military unit items frozen in ice, while the other consists of perception art pieces created by Lei Yan through weaving; this second batch is the surprise package that Lei Yan has prepared for everyone. These military items, historical events and handicrafts in her artworks seem to be items kept in a briefcase hidden under a grandmother’s bed; we can see from these creations how a female artist’s private memories can invoke public memory.

G. The applicant Liu Lifen’s partial resume as the manager of Kunming TCG Nordica Gallery, from April 2002 till now.

Planned/organized 53 arts exhibitions/events in this timeframe (33 local, 20 international); 9 artist-in-residence programs, 2 China-Sweden Female Artists Exchange Programs:

Exchange Programs:
2003-2004 “Sugar and Salt”, China-Sweden Female Artists Exchange Program
2003-2005 “Navigation Logbook”, China-Sweden Female Artists Exchange Program
2007-2008 “Love Protection”, China-Sweden Female Artists Exchange Program

Partial Exhibitions:
2002 “Getting Rich on the Back of the Horse” Li Zhan Yang Sculpture Solo Exhibition
“Long March —–Experimental Chinese painting”
“Old Baby” Shen Xin Chinese Painting Art Exhibition
“Experience” Exhibition of drawings/installation/pictures by 21 Kunming
artists
2003 “Pieces” 4 Young Yunnan Artists Exhibition
“Passion” Nina Ericsson Installation and Photograph Exhibition (Sweden)
“My Journey” Nobuhiro Uozumi (Japan) Workshop by Anna Carlsson (Sweden)
2004 “Dream” Gao Xiang Oil Painting Exhibition
“Go to a Higher Place” Poster Exhibition by Yunnan Young Designers
“Chinese Family” Photography and Installation Exhibition by Chen Qi Ji
from Guizhou Province
“Anxiety and Preservation” Curator: Mao Xu Hui
“Letters Unknown” Riitta Liede (Finland) Sculpture Exhibition
“Re-visiting Dan-Sun Planet” Sun Guo Juan, Dan Froberg (Sweden)
2005 “Chinese Fairytale” Tang Zhi Gang Solo Exhibition
“Works of the Heart” Janeric Johansson (Sweden)
“Cutting Edge” Mao Xu Hui Solo Exhibition
C for Courage Children Rights Exhibition
2006 HIV/Aids Project: “Contagious Love” Exhibition
From the Polar to the Valley — the Swedish Sami /The Chinese Li Su exchange Project
“True Fiction” Photograph and Video Art Exhibition by Swedish Artists Lennart Alves and Marit Lindberg
2007 “The Identity and Evolution of Contemporary Chinese Art”
Exhibition (16 Yunnan Artists, Bohuslands Museum, Sweden)
“Morning Mist” Experimental Fashion Show
“Wind from borderland” reduction prints by students and teachers from Simao National College
“XYLON!” Sweden Relief Printing Association
First Kunming Loft Creative Fair

In the past five years, the working experience that I have accumulated is mainly through the collaborations with local and northern European artists. I strongly yearn for an establishment of contact with the arts community of the Mekong River region, so as to provide more collaboration and exchange opportunities for the native artists in Yunnan and to improve their understanding of the Mekong River region’s culture. The execution of the Yunnan-Vietnam Female Artists Station-Exchange Program will be the first step.

Based on the above considerations, I wish to apply for the aforementioned fund.