West Bund 2013: A Biennial of Architecture and Contemporary Art
Opening: 19 October 2013
Professional & media preview:
18 October 2013
Sonart Shanghai 2013: 20, 21 October 2013
Shanghai Cement Plant & Oil Tank,
and Bankside
Bing Jiang Area, Longteng Avenue
Xuhui District, Shangai
Guidance Units: Shanghai Municipal Planning, Land and Resources Administration; Shanghai Municipal Culture, Radio Broadcasting, Film and Television Administration; Shanghai Municipal Urban and Rural Construction and Transportation Commission
Organizer: Shanghai Xuhui District People’s Government
Co-organizers: Tongji University, China Academy of Art, Shanghai West Bund Development Group Co., Ltd
Synergizing such art genres as experimental architecture, contemporary art and avant-garde theatre, we integrate sound, video, space, installation, performance and create on the live site of West Bund.
Themes
As an emerging Biennale that combines experimental architecture with contemporary art, West Bund 2013 is Asia’s first international, interdisciplinary avant-garde art exhibition. We will invite over a hundred architects and artists of international renown to create an avant-garde architectural and artistic spectacle characteristic of the West Bund. We will also host themed special exhibitions devoted to Chinese experimental architecture, sound art, video art and avant-garde theatre and try to catalogue the problematic, creative typography and trends of development of these four avant-garde cultures at the turn of the 21st century. By doing so we hope we can highlight the self-regeneration and experimental creative spirit of Chinese society.
Both experimental architecture and contemporary art are arguably the medium and apotheosis of the avant-garde culture of our own time. And the avant-garde is even more prominent as a path leading to ‘contemporaneity.’
The Curatorial Team
Curator-in-Chief: Yung Ho Chang
Architectural Curator: Li Xiangning
Artistic Curator: Gao Shiming
Assistant curators: Liu Xiao, Liu Tian, Yao Weiwei, Wang Yan
Exhibition structure
Outdoor exhibition area:
Fabrica: International Exhibition of the Built Environment
This unit is focused on the duo concepts of Pre-Fab and In-Situ. Architects and artists of international renown will be invited to collaborate on creative work on the land slots of the West Bund. It is our hope that through on-site exchanges, collaboration and construction, the architect’s work will find resonances in that of the artist, so that the two cutting-edge contemporary modes of production and action may enrich each other in a constant, dynamic process of mutual inspiration.
Central exhibition area:
Reflecta: Four Themed Special Exhibitions of “Experimental China”
–Contemporary Chinese Architecture 2000-2013
Curated by LI Xiangning
–RPM: Sound Art China
Curated by YAO Dajuin
–Resolution Power: A Performative Video
Curated by GUO Xiaoyan, LIU Xiao
–Cloud Theater: Shanghai Odyssey
Chief Director: GAO Shiming
Concept Director: MOU Sen
Director: MA Nan, LIU Tian
The core unit of the first Biennale will be themed ‘Reflecta’, taking its cue from the four cultural phenomena constituting the West Bund (Dream Works, Concert Hall, Art Museum, New Architecture) and cataloguing the four avant-garde cultures considered most avant-garde in contemporary China. Under the giant vaulted production floor that houses the Dream Works, we launch systematic research in experimental architecture, sound art, avant-garde theatre and video art. With the dynamic intellectual forces of academia, we hope the four special exhibitions can fit into the factory space. Reflectiveness is the essence of art. Experiment is made possible only through reflection. And experiment stands at the fountainhead of creativity. ‘Reflecta’ suggests the attempt to recover the visceral, physical experience of art by returning into the various aspects of selfhood in the hope of creating something new in the process of experimental reflection. By returning to selfhood and reflections, we hope we can open up fresh imaginings of the future through the historical resonances in the contemporary world.
Local Workshop: Creation+Education+Exhibition
Some participating artists and architects will be invited to China Academy of Art and Tongji University to host workshops and do creative work locally. This will serve as the education wing of the exhibition. As on-site production, the workshops will also help the Biennale to enter into full-blown interactions with the media and the audience.
