The Self-Organization of Contemporary Art in China, 2001–2012

Bao Dong Rethinking Practices within the Art System: The Self-Organization of Contemporary Art in China, 2001–2012 The Origin of the Term “Self-Organization” in China The term “self-organization” was first used in the context of contemporary Chinese art in 2005 at the Second Guangzhou Triennial curated by Hou Hanru, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Guo Xiaoyan. Self-organization was one of the special projects of the triennial, and there were two panel discussions on the topic. The exhibition theme “Beyond” focused on the topic of alternative modernity in China and non-Western countries, and the term self-organization was defined by the following statements: “A number of independent art organizations, institutions, and communities have taken an active role in artistic creation and practice” and “their projects are often diverse, flexible” and “self-induced in nature.”1 Altogether, twenty-four self- organized groups2 were included in this project, and for the curators, the concept of “self-organization” was used to differentiate independent and autonomous organizations from those attached to government systems or political parties. This feature is also the fundamental difference between the various artist-run autonomous organizations and the organizations within the conventional art system as constituted by Chinese Artists Association, along with the various academies of painting, art institutes, museums, and so on. In other words, self-organization is considered a force operating outside of the conventional art system, just as the inception, growth, and flourishing of contemporary Chinese art is believed to have been achieved outside of official systems. In terms of any independence from the conventional art system, self- organization is not a new phenomenon in the contemporary Chinese art scene. The various painting societies that developed after the Cultural Revolution, art collectives that formed around 1985, experimental art groups that were established at the beginning of the 1990s, artist-run spaces and autonomous exhibitions, and attempts to run non-profit art spaces since 2000, all fall under the umbrella of this concept of self-organization. Even “artist villages” and “art districts” can be included, just as Gao Minglu considers such artist collectives alongside the collectives that existed around 1985.3 After the Second Guangzhou Triennial, the art scene witnessed an explosion in the art market, the sudden establishment of an institutionalized art system in 2006 and 2007, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and then the unexpected financial crisis that followed shortly after the Olympics. The concept of “self-organization” did not garner substantial attention in contemporary Chinese art circles until 2010, where it was mainly used by young art critics and the media to refer to collective practices, especially those of young artists, that had begun appearing countrywide in 2008. 40 Against the backdrop of a new system, the connotations of what “self- organization” meant fundamentally changed. Before analyzing this change and the causes of it, it is necessary to introduce the different forms of self- organization employed by young artists. Categories of Self-organization Since 2008, a large number of young artists born after 1976, or the post- Cultural Revolution generation, have emerged on the contemporary art scene across the nation, and their self-organizational practices have received considerable attention. In only a few years, from 2007 to 2012, at least thirty-nine self-organized collectives were established in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and other coastal cities, as well as in major inland cities such as Wuhan, Chongqing, and Chengdu. The collective practices generally defined as “self-organization” can be divided into four separate forms, or, one might say that they fall into four categories: art communities, art groups, independent projects, and autonomic institutions. N12 No.1, 2003, installation view, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. Art communities such as LVXIAO (founded 2002), Beijing, N12 (founded 2003), Beijing, and North Village Independent Workshop (founded 2008), Chengdu are made up of artists with specific conceptual common ground, and they tend to communicate on a regular basis and organize group shows online or in an exhibition space according to naturally formed geographical and personal relationships. The members do not collaborate on artistic creations, but, rather, maintain their own individual practices. Art groups go a step further in that their members do produce work collaboratively, and thus become a creative collective. However, the levels of collaboration within the different groups vary in that there is a range of relationships possible between the individual artist and the group. For example, while the members of Double Fly Art Center (founded 2008), Shanghai, and GUEST (founded 2011), Beijing produce work collaboratively, they also maintain their roles as individual artists. In contrast, the artists involved in TOF (founded 2011), Shanghai, Utopia Group (founded 2008), Beijing, and Cell Group (founded 2011), Chongqing participate in exhibitions identified only by the name of their group. In a more extreme case, the members of Hexie Baroque (founded 2011), Beijing intentionally stay anonymous, completely separating the individual artist from any nominal connections to the collective. 41 When the collective practice of GUEST, Guest, 2012, installation. Photo: Peter an art community involves some Le. Courtesy of the artists and Ullens Center for sort of common topic or shared Contemporary Art, Beijing. direction, and more participants are sought out to partake, self- organized independent projects can be the result. Independent projects stem from art communities, though tend to be more heavily focused on specific research on an issue, the establishment of new concepts, or the implementation of specific actions. For instance, the Museum of Unknown (founded 2007), Shanghai, and Future Festival (founded 2011), Shanghai among other groups, are interested in constructing new concepts and hence theoretical discussions are an important aspect of their projects. Art Praxis Space (founded 2009), Chengdu focuses more on social investigations and research. Provincial Youth (founded 2011), Chongqing, is also involved in constructing new concepts, but places more emphasis on social intervention, while ‘Everybody’s East Lake’ (founded 2010), Wuhan, is focused entirely on social intervention and actions. In comparison, autonomous Museum of Unknown, Encounter, 2011, installation organizations such as Organhaus view in the exhibition A Museum That is Not. Courtesy Art Space (founded 2008), of the Guangdong Times Chongqing, Fei Contemporary Art Museum. Center (founded 2007), Shanghai, Observation Society (founded 2009), Guangzhou, Arrow Factory (founded 2008), Beijing, am art space (founded 2008), Shanghai, Sabaki Space (founded 2009), Guangzhou, Yangtze River Space (founded 2011), Wuhan, Video Bureau (founded 2012), Guangzhou/Beijing, Gland (founded 2011), Beijing, and Floor #2 Press (founded 2012), Beijing are relatively more institutionalized in terms of their self-organization—they have regular members, relatively stable venues, and long-term goals. They differ from the typical alternative spaces in that they provide a neutral space; that is, their aim is not to “replace” the gallery/museum, or to act as an “alternative” to the mainstream, but, rather, to accommodate autonomy of the space and promote its growth. Taiwanese artist Lian Decheng has emphasized this “non-conflict” and “neutrality” in his discussions of early alternative spaces that existed in Taiwan.4 It should be emphasized that there is a great range and fluidity between the different types of self-organizations. Most self-organized communities exist in some sort of liminal state. Aside from the mutual generativeness of self-organizations such as those mentioned above, on a deeper level, one of the reasons for self-organized practice is a demand to break through certain predetermined conceptual and institutional conventions, and to realize a kind of power outside of the system that is heterogeneous and hybrid in nature, one always in flux between formation and transition, and thus impossible to incorporate into existing systems. In short, the liminal is not just an aim of these self-organizations, it is also their inherent state of being. For example, the Double Fly Art Center, as implied by its name, resembles an art center. However it is an art group based within contemporary art 42 Art Praxis Space, Interactive Project, Black Land, 2011, video, 11 mins., 50 secs. Courtesy of Art Praxis Space, Chengdu. Provincial Youth, Travel Plan, communities around China Academy 2012, social intervention. Courtesy of Provincial Youth, of Art (CAA), Hangzhou. Within the Chongqing. art communities of CAA, there are also self-organized projects such as Small Productions (founded 2008), which are closer to being independent. The participants in Small Productions also include those from other art communities of different regions in their projects. The Irrelative Group (founded 2011), which consists of alumni of CAA, was formed when its members were reunited Provincial Youth, Travel Plan, in Beijing. In Chongqing, the Haus·M- 2012, social intervention. Courtesy of Provincial Youth, Commune (founded 2001), H2 Art Space Chongqing. (founded 2006), Organhaus Art Space, Provincial Youth, and 8mg (founded 2011) have also formed interdependent, mutually derivative and

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