Despite booming sales in the Asian art market throughout 2008, nowhere has been immune to the ravaging effects of global recession. The Chinese art scene was devastated by the collapse in prices that saw the disappearance of scores of galleries in the first months of this year. Hope is on the horizon however, and according to the Art Newspaper China is now witnessing the first tentative signs of recovery, underwritten by significant regional government investment in both Shanghai and Beijing. The Chinese capital and other regions are set to receive huge investments to stimulate “creative industries”—an umbrella term which includes the arts. Under this programme, said Dong Menyang, director of the Art Beijing fair, “the Beijing government has also set aside Rmb1bn ($146m) to promote cultural industry development.” Recovery is still a slow process however, and times are particularly hard for artist’s in Beijing’s troubled 798 district. Artist have been staging rent strikes in protest against the high studio fees whilst the area has also suffered a spate of break-ins, with galleries losing computers and suffering smashed windows.
Archive for July, 2009
No sooner do we find out that onedotzero has a craft strand this September, we also find out about this new contemporary craft lounge offering us jaded consumers a way to connect with the world around us. Meet people, make stuff. Click here.
Critiqued in everyone’s favourite, albeit slightly intimidating, Creative Review. We know they’re everywhere… but they were ours first.
Sometimes, but not often, London life necessitates a trip south of the river. Few people ever really want to go to Peckham, but the arrival of Frank’s Cafe – temporary space at the top of a multi storey car park – means you just have to. Created by Paloma Gormley and Lettice Drake, sponsored by Campari and serving sardines on toast. This place rules.
Over the past couple of weeks Times readers may have noticed advertisements for the Royal Opera House standing out incongruously on the paper’s Management and Finance pages. The advertisement isn’t specifically for the Royal Opera House however, but publicises the institution’s professional development programme, HouseWork. The programme was founded 18 months ago in collaboration with The MAP Consortium an artistic group producing high impact, cutting edge work in order to benefit the creative and professional growth of organisations and their people. HouseWork states sets out it’s main objectives to be a) ‘to strengthen and deepen existing corporate partnerships and create a new initiative to drive future business’ b) ‘to create personal development opportunities for ROH staff – many have become facilitators’ and c) ‘to create a new revenue stream for the Royal Opera House’. HouseWork delivers unique business experiences, successfully translating the Cultural assests of the ROH into valuable practical tools for corporate professional development, working with Opera, Ballet and the many resources which make Covent Garden a world centre of artistic excellence. Clearly culture is establishing its place on the business pages as it is increasingly recognised as an effective resource in order to inspire learning and innovation.
After hours culture is becoming an increasingly popular concept that has now been adopted by none other than Vatican City. The celebrated Vatican Museums, which house Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, are set to experiment with late openings until 11.00pm. Atrracting around 3 million visitors a year the museums are the biggest tourist draw in the country by far and the project should ease the pressue of day time queues. It will also offer visitors the opportunity to experience the museums under a new ‘after dark’ atmosphere. Museum director Antonio Paolucci said the late opening would ‘offer citizens a chance to… benefit from an unusual atmosphere and a special light.’ The move follows the the lead of the Louvre museum in Paris and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
