With Beijing’s 798 art zone morphing from obscure artist hide-out to slick market place, one provincial government decides to lure some of the capital’s art producers with a deal they can’t refuse. From The New York Times:
For years their work could not be exhibited in China, but now the country’s leading contemporary artists are being courted by major art collectors abroad and their paintings set records at international auction sales. A local government in Sichuan Province ” the area in western China known for its natural beauty, spicy food and talented painters ” is taking notice.
It has offered to give eight contemporary artists, all under 60, their own personal museums to operate. The group includes some of China’s best-known avant-garde artists: Zhang Xiaogang, Wang Guangyi, Fang Lijun,Yue Minjun, Zhou Chunya, He Duoling, Zhang Peili and Wu Shanzhuan. All have accepted, and Dujiangyan, a city near the provincial capital, Chengdu, will soon begin construction on an 18-acre plot of land. The museums are scheduled to open in October 2008. [Full Text]
