Transnational Dialogues launches in China!

European Alternatives in 2014 is running Transnational Dialogues, an exchange program between young artists and cultural practitioners in Europe, Brazil, and China. The first activity took place in Brazil last February, with ten days packed with seminars, site-visits, workshops, events and cultural activities.

We are now launching the second caravan, to China. We will be visiting Guangzhou, Beijing, Chengdu, and Chongqing, meeting with a wide array of organisations, formal and informal spaces, and individual artists and researchers.

Find out more on the dedicated facebook page and website, which will soon contain multimedia content coming out of the trip. And here is the first part of the program of activities! Second part coming soon.

Programme: Second Caravan China
Beijing / Chongqing / Chengdu (30/05–05/06/2014) 

Beijing – 30.05 Friday

10:00
Attending the symposium “Collective Eye. Group subjectivity and its aesthetics in the light of cultural differences” at CAFA Museum.

16:00-20:00
Introductory Meeting at ZaJia Lab. The coordinators will introduce the programme of the Caravan and the participants will introduce themselves and their work with 5 minutes presentations

Evening
Dinner nearby – Invited by Transnational Dialogues

Beijing – 31.05 Saturday

9:30-11:30
Visit to the new-born, independent space Flickingforehead in the hutong area near Gulou. The space is run by CC, a former member of HomeShop

14:00-17:30
Meeting at the Caoba Commune in Caochangdi with a group of artists, film-makers, curators and cultural operators to discuss about art and culture in contemporary China. Among the participants are: He Chengyao, Chen Jing, Wang Jun, Megumi Shimizu, Qiao Xing Yue, Li Jie, Zhang Haitao, Lin Jingjing, Zhu Yu

Evening
Dinner at Fodder Factory, Caochangdi

Beijing – 01.06 Sunday

10:00
Visit to Intelligentsia Gallery in the Beixinqiao hutong area. Meeting with the directors, architects Cruz and Nathalie Frankowsky

Afternoon
Visit to 798 and Caochangdi areas, commercial galleries and museums. Exhibitions or spaces to visit: “Hans Van Dijk: 5000 Names” at UCCA (Ullens Center for Contemporary Art), Zeng Yang’s “The World of Infinite Life” at Space Station, James Richards’ “Of Disturbance” at Magician Space, Kader Attia’s “Beginning of the world” at Galleria Continua, Qiu Xiaofei’s “Apollo Bangs Dionysus” at Pace Gallery, Long March in 798; Zhang Ding’s “Orbit of Rock” at ShangArt Gallery, Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and Tobias Rehberger’s “Das Kind Muss Raus” at Galerie Urs Meile in Caochangdi.

17:00-19:00
Screening of a selection of Chinese video-artworks curated by Video Bureau, the first archive of Chinese video-art, in Caochangdi.

Beijing – 02.06 Monday

9:30-12:30
Meeting at Institute for Provocation. Introduction to IFP by its director Max Gerthel and meeting with the resident artists. Screening of the film for the “Sayizheng Project” about interventions in public space by Tianji Zhao and discussion. Followed by lunch.

Free afternoon

21:00
Presentation of the “Social Sensibility Program” by Alessandro Rolandi at ZaJia Lab.

Beijing – 03.06 Tuesday

10:00-12:00
Visiting Arrow Factory and meeting with one of the founders Wang Wei. Arrow Factory is one of the earliest and most important independent spaces in Beijing created by Rania Ho and Wang Wei

From 15:00 onwards
Meeting at Action Space, Heiqiao Village, with a group of local artists, curators and intellectuals to discuss about art and culture in contemporary China. Among the participants are: Yu Bogong, Guazi Liu, Cai Dongong, Li Zhefeng, Wu Xiaojun (tbc). Mr Qianlong, founder of Action Space, will organise a tour of artists’ studios in Heiqiao. Followed by dinner and party in Heiqiao

Beijing – 04.06 Wednesday

9:30-12:00
Visiting Lijuan Independent Art School. Meeting and discussion with artist Deng Dafei about art education and social practice in China. Followed by lunch

14:00-15:30
Projection of a documentary from “The Memory Project” and Q&A with the director at ZaJia Lab

16:00-18:00
Meeting with Feng Hao and Li Qing, founder with Yan Jun of the Miji lab, at ZaJia Lab. Introduction and discussion about Beijing experimental music and sound-art scene. Followed by a dinner

Evening
Projection of “Bumming in Beijing”, the earliest documentary film in China, by Wu Wenguang at ZaJia Lab. Q&A with the director (tbc)

Chongqing – 05.06 Thursday

Early Afternoon
Arrival in Chongqing

15:00-18:00
Visit of Copper Cash Factory Project site (T1). Meeting with artistic director Yang Shu, curator Ni Kun, local coordinator Chen Yizhong, and artist Qian Lili. Project introduction and discussion

18:30
Cocktail talk on Chongqing and Sichuan between art and politics. Transnational Dialogues interviews artists and curators Yang Shu and Ni Kun

20:00
Dinner in Huangjueping Art District – Invited by Organhaus

Chongqing – 06.06 Friday

10:00
Informal meetings for collective production, individual research and artistic exchange at Organhaus

13:00
Lunch

14:00-17:30
Visit of the Huangjueping Art District and visit of studios at the WangJiang Art Community. Artists: Baolei & XiaoYang, Wang Haichuan, Yang Shu, Dong Xun, Qian Lili and Liu Weiwei, Yu Guo, ShanYang. Informal talks with the artists

18:30
Dinner – Invited by Organhaus

19:58
Train to Chengdu

Chengdu – 07.06 Saturday

10:00-12:00
Visit of local art institutions: L-Art Gallery and MOCA, Chengdu’s contemporary art museum, at Tianfu Software Park

13:30-14:30
Visit of Chinese Art Treasury

14:30-18:00
Symposium “Curatorial and Artistic Practices in Developing Cities in China, Europe and Brazil” at Chinese Art Treasury (中国艺库). Speakers: Zhao Mi (Chinese Art Treasury, Art Director, China), Ni Kun (Organhaus, Curator, China), Li Jie (A4 Contemporary Art Center, Curator, China), Robin Resch (Artoholics e.V., Manager, Germany), Pauline Doutreluingne (Independent Curator, Belgium), Andressa Vianna (Casa de Cultura Digital, Manager, Brazil), and others. Moderators: Luigi Galimberti (Transnational Dialogues, Manager, Italy) and Ni Kun.

Chongqing – 08.06 Sunday

9:00
Train to Chongqing

11:30
Bus to the University Town and lunch there. Visit of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (New Campus). Visit of the graduate exhibitions and meeting some of the students who will introduce their works

16:00
Bus to the hotel

18:00
Dinner in Huangjueping

19:30
Final reflection meeting at Organhaus. Presentation of the “Global Players Residency Programme” by curator Robin Resch and artists Laura Engelhardt, Seila Fernandez Arconada, Nina Gschlößl, Christopher Kieling and Petra Pölzl

Chongqing – 09.06 Monday

End of the programme and departure from Chongqing

Useful Links
Second Chinese Caravan
The participants
The coordinators