In a pioneering move, 15 Macau artists have taken a slice of the city’s cultural heart to Beijing.
Last month a collective of artists backed by public and private sponsors opened the Art for All Beijing Contemporary Art Centre (AFA) in the capital’s Chaoyang district.
The October 4 opening was the culmination of months of preparation and gave shape to an idea from the collective of artists from Macau’s AFA society. It came in response to a growing curiosity about the city’s contemporary art scene and the driving force behind it – and now curator of the Beijing AFA centre – James Chu.
Chu is joined by Mio Pang Fei, Ung Vai Meng, James Wong, James Chu Cheok Son, Cindy Ng, Konstantin Bessmertny, Andre Lui Chak Keong, Noah Ng Fong Chao, Bianca Lei Sio Chong, JosÈ Drummond, Wong Ka Long, Kent Leong Chi Kin, Joey Ho, Tong Chong and Alice Kok, the list of artists chosen to showcase their works at the Beijing centre’s debut exhibition.

Showcasing Macau

Chu told Macau Business: “As an international city, Beijing came as the best option to start showcasing what Macau has to ffer.’’ For one of the people who founded the Macau AFA society in 2007 the capital was an obvious choice. “Obviously, the same language is spoken in Beijing and it is geographically close too, this meant Beijing had added value.’’
In September, Chu, together with other Macau artists, travelled to the Beijing Art Fair to guage the level of interest in contemporary art and get a feel for the atmosphere beyond the Barrier Gate.
Still unknown for many of those who work on the Beijing arts scene, Macau contemporary art retains a mystic quality in the mainland.
“Our experience of the Beijing Art Fair was great but it was the very first time. We didn’t know what people’s tastes were and we still have to understand it better. In my opinion, the art scene in Beijing relies quite heavily on traditional symbolism, unlike Macau where you can still find European influences which people here (in Beijing) find interesting,’’ says Chu.
The centre’s first aim is to create “a link” between Macau and Beijing and Chu considers the opening of AFA Beijing Gallery as part of a continuing process.
“This will be more an exchange centre for our artists to meet other artists from everywhere and we intend to expand the exhibitions for artists from places like Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan,’’ Chu said.

This is the place

The Chinese capital is home to hundreds of galleries and art centres illustrating the explosive growth in the contemporary arts scene in the last year.
As an arts venue, the old 798 factory built in the 1960’s, remains top of the pile in Beijing. But the area which hosted the first independent arts festival in 2004 is not longer big enough to cope with the dynamic growth that has seen hundreds of new galleries and studios open in the capital each year.
AFA were already aware of the expansion into other areas and the new centre is based in the 318 area. Chu says a lot of discussions took place before they decided on the location.
“The most important thing is not the place,” says the curator who was well aware that the cost of basing the centre in the 798 were rising: “The most important thing for the artist himself is to build our own reputation and our own list of buyers and collectors.”
In fact, 318 is just a few kilometres away from other artistic areas opened in Beijing, such as the Caochangdi space, another artist village.
Apart from the exhibition area, the new AFA Gallery has a space for artists to spend time, create new works or put on their own exhibitions and the grand opening was designed to introduce the new place to people who might be interested in working there.

Art central

As far as contemporary art is concerned, Beijing is the place where everyone wants to be and Chu believes, as Chinese, Macau artists should take part in this cultural renaissance.
Aware that Macau still lacks an art market, Chu believes showcasing work from the city abroad will help engender more interest and create a market.
Less than RMB1 million was invested to make the centre possible, a “very small’’ amount says the curator.
Sponsored by Macau’s office of the Secretary of Social Affairs and Culture (SASC), the AFA received funding from several Macau companies in the power sector who have been with the society since its beginning.
Chu says most of the investment comes from the AFA association and he prefers not to expect an immediate return: “We want to help Macau artists to build up their own position and their own market.”
The first exhibition runs to the end of November and there is another one to come in December. Of the 15 artists, Alice Kok is the only one not to show still work and chose video instead. Chu said that in future the AFA will exhibit more photos, videos and different genres together with painting.
“Our next step is to make this place run smoothly and show Macau off in the best possible light in Beijing. Later we want to move to different places which are also curious about Macau’s art scene, especially contemporary art,’’ Chu told Macau Business.
This month – November – the AFA Society will be at the 2nd Asian Contemporary Art Fair in New York. The fair runs from the November 6 to 10 and showcases more than 70 exhibitors from more than 15 countries.
The second Art Fair NY will have work from some of the biggest and oldest galleries in the Chinese capital. Among the names on the list for China, Macau Art for All already has its New York space reserved and it promises to be a great opportunity to expose Macau’s artists to a wider audience.
More than 19 thousand visitors attended the first Asian Contemporary Art Fair in New York and this year 25,000 are expected to check out what’s best in Asian Contemporary Art.

by Maria Joao Belchior in Beijing