Some contemporary painters fight for money, interests and status.

The "798" in Beijing is an art district named after a factory. 798 Art District started at 200 1. In the first few years, it became a gathering place for artists from different backgrounds.

With the continuous holding of art activities, the popularity of 798 Art District has been continuously improved. In 2003, 798 Art District was rated as one of the 22 most culturally iconic urban art centers in the world by Time magazine.

At the same time, the promotion of popularity has also turned the 798 Art District from an artist's paradise into an art business circle. Coupled with the rising rent, some artists voluntarily choose to leave.

It used to be heaven

Today, people trace back to the development of 798 Art District, often starting with the arrival of Robert, the owner of modern bookstore in 2002. Robert rented this place as the office of his English website about contemporary art in China.

Robert still remembers that when he first moved in in 2002, he saw a certificate in the office of the manager of the property management company, which was awarded by Qixing Group in recognition of his outstanding work and income generation for the group.

In the past four years, the number of 798 tenants has increased to more than 200.

For avant-garde artists like Cang Xin, 798 is more like a paradise. "Here, we are recognized as artists. In the past, we were called' blind flow' and had no identity. This is the so-called unstable factor. " Cang Xin said.

At the beginning of their stay, artists from different backgrounds were immersed in surprises, just like the displaced people discovered the new continent.

During the day, they often hold artistic activities. "798 is like a unit. What we used to make, not to mention the distance, will be thrown away as garbage when we cross the road. But here, people at least admit that we are doing art, "said artist Wu Xiaojun.

In the evening, they take turns entertaining guests. A handful of mutton kebabs and a few bottles of beer, a utopian "golden age".

They are not without stress. "At that time, there were two crises, one from the incomprehension of some government officials. Traditional artists from the Artists Association in a system have a resistance to contemporary art, which is not only a question of understanding, but also a question of identity, status and finally interests. " Xu Yong, whose studio is in 798, said.

The more direct pressure comes from Qixing Group as the direct owner. At the beginning of the lease, the factory greeted us. The factory has been planned as "Zhongguancun Electronic City" and the demolition will be completed by the end of 2005.

But pressure can also be transformed into motivation. Artists and art institutions in the park are using their own resources to keep this hot spot.

In 2004, Li Xiangqun, who rented his own sculpture studio "Zero Factory" in 798 and was also a representative of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, submitted the Proposal on Preserving the Architectural Heritage of an Old Industry and Preserving a Developing Art District to the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, suggesting to postpone the planned large-scale demolition and construction.

In the same year, the German-based "Blank Space" Gallery invited German Chancellor gerhard schroder to attend the "Sino-German Contemporary Art Exhibition", which also attracted domestic and foreign media to 798.

On the other hand, artists and art institutions in the park are organized by Rui Huang, Xu Yong and others, and constantly hold art activities to attract international attention and enhance the influence and status of 798 as an art district. In 2003 alone, they held three large-scale activities, namely "Rebuilding 798", "The Blue Sky was Unprotected during SARS" and "Right Hands-Sino-German International Art Exhibition", with more than 2,000 visitors each time.

"Artists are actually very smart." Anne, a female artist, said, "We try to keep this factory by holding an art festival and making suggestions to the government. We have confidence in this because we feel that the government is becoming more and more enlightened and intelligent. "

Popularity is directly proportional to rent.

The bigger crisis comes from the struggle for fame and fortune within the park. The first Dashanzi Art Festival in 2004 was a concentrated outbreak of internal and external troubles.

The event finally opened as scheduled, but it ended hastily. Although the property owners interpret setting up roadblocks and restricting taxi access as security concerns, in the view of park artists, it creates difficulties for the art festival.

Few people outside the park know that before the opening of this art festival, the contradictions among artists once intensified. Once, drunken artists boycotted an art festival organized by Rui Huang on the platform outside Rui Huang's work room. They are dissatisfied with Rui Huang's use of public resources in the art district to make himself famous.

Rui Huang and Xu Yong are the main promoters of 798 art activities, and they are also the two people who invested the most in 798 among the early tenants.

Most of the early tenants only painted and cleaned the rented houses. One is because there is not much savings, and the other is because the factory has told us that it will be demolished at the end of 2005. "We are just looking for a studio. Art District It doesn't matter to me if it's not an art district. You can create anywhere and go at any time. It doesn't matter. " Cang Xin said.

But Xu Yong and Rui Huang are not so relaxed. Xu Yong, who once developed a "Hutong Tour" popular with foreigners, found that "this is a relatively cheap human resource" as soon as he came to 798. Compared with other artists, he has more money and rents more space. According to himself, it took eight months to decorate only one item, and it cost more than 654.38+0 million yuan.

Xu Yong and Rui Huang are both planners of the first Dashanzi Art Festival. He didn't sign the joint letter to boycott Rui Huang, but he also opposed Rui Huang's practice: "Rui Huang tends to be personalized and corporatized. He went outside to solicit sponsorship, which was opaque and his finances were not open. Everyone has to pay for the park and print the album. And everyone has no chance to participate. "

Later, after mediation, some studios and institutions agreed to open their own space during the art festival. However, "the unity and harmony of the first art festival and' Rebuilding 798' are completely different. It turns out that this area is like a big family, and the art festival has caused a great gap. " Xu Yong said.

At the second and third art festivals, Rui Huang and his French assistant, Li Jing, established the "Hand of Thought" company, which operated through it. April and May in Beijing was originally the peak season for artistic activities, and several Dashanzi art festivals also attracted more and more tourists.

Aboveboard commercial operation, but not so much trouble, artists have no complaints about the last two art festivals, and are quite grateful for Rui Huang's contribution.

From the outside world, since the first Dashanzi Art Festival, 798 has gradually established the status of China's contemporary art exhibition and started to become popular. In 798, some tenants enjoy the benefits of rising attention, some tenants are dissatisfied with the fact that their quiet creation is interrupted after the surge of people, and some tenants have both States.

No matter what kind of state, these tenants all feel helpless. "We all know that this is digging our own grave. In the past few years, we have been constantly carrying out activities to improve the visibility here, but the result is an increase in rents. " Xu Yong said.

The art district suffered from commercial erosion.

Robert from the United States, like many people, likes to compare 798 with SOHO in new york. I believe that 798 will also experience a turnover from the art district to the business district like SOHO. "I don't know how long the turnaround period of 798 will be, but what is certain is that it has already started. Sooner or later, we won't be able to pay the rent. In the end, it is so expensive that only world famous brands can afford it, and private small bookstores and artists can't stick to it. " Robert said.

But now 798 is still attractive to art institutions. In 2006, Hongmen Gallery, one of the earliest foreign galleries in Beijing, opened a branch in 798. Another notable possessor is the Ullens Foundation established by Belgian collector Ullens and his wife.

In September, 2005, Fei Dawei, the director of the Foundation, formally signed a contract with Qixing Property on behalf of Ullens Art Foundation, renting 5,000 square meters of space and becoming the largest tenant of 798 Art Zone.

It is unknown to what extent the demand of the Ullens Foundation will affect the future direction of 798. But what is certain is that the art district management office attaches great importance to this tenant with both reputation and strength.

Comparing 798 with the painter's village in Yuanmingyuan a few years ago, Li Xiangqun, a professor in the Sculpture Department of Tsinghua University Academy of Fine Arts, pointed out that 798 is extroverted, geographically close to the embassy district and fashionable people, and has an innate awareness of external display. Now, with the change of tenant types, 798 has gradually changed from an art creation area to an art exchange area, and the role of the display platform has become increasingly obvious.

"There are many false bubbles in contemporary art ... this kind of falsehood is hard to exist in traditional art because it requires technical training and has objective and quantifiable value. Contemporary art is difficult to quantify. Only after being hyped and the concept is recognized to a certain extent can it be operated by capital as an accessory tool. " Xu Yong, who saw the commercial value of 798 from the beginning, said, "Now is the harvest season, and 2008 has not arrived yet, and the concept is just hot. Unless 798 decays, everyone will not leave. "

With the increasing popularity of 798 Art District, the attitudes of the government and Qixing Group have also changed. In 2006, 798 was officially positioned by the government as a "cultural, artistic and creative industrial park", out of the shadow of the overall demolition. In the same year, Qixing Group held a general election, and the new leadership team repeatedly said to the tenants of the art district: Please let bygones be bygones and hope to build the art district together in the future. In March 2006, the Construction Management Office of 798 Art District was established.

For these new managers and management institutions, most tenants in the art district still hold a wait-and-see attitude. Especially in June, 5438+10 last year, the "798 Creative Culture Festival" organized by the management office caused widespread dissatisfaction among the artists in the park, who thought it was incompatible with the contemporary artistic atmosphere in the park.

Some artists took the initiative to leave and moved to grasslands, wineries, railway around the city and other areas around 798. Cang Xin and several of his neighbors rented new studios in other places and used 798' s studio purely for exhibitions. And his former roommate Morgan has completely moved to Huantie. "798 is more and more like a show, selling small handicrafts and clothing, which has nothing to do with us." Cang Xin said.

798 Art Zone

In the northeast corner of Beijing, there is an art district named after a factory built in the 1950s, namely 798 Art District, also called Dashanzi Art District.

From 200 1, artists from around Beijing and outside Beijing began to gather in the 798 factory. They make full use of the style of the original factory building (Bauhaus architectural style in Germany), slightly modify and decorate it, and become a distinctive art exhibition and creative space.

In 2003, 798 Art District was rated as one of the 22 most culturally iconic urban art centers in the world by Time magazine.

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