e-magazine
The Hot Zone
China's newly announced air defense identification zone over the East China Sea aims to shore up national security
Current Issue
· Table of Contents
· Editor's Desk
· Previous Issues
· Subscribe to Mag
Subscribe Now >>
Expert's View
World
Nation
Business
Finance
Market Watch
Legal-Ease
North American Report
Forum
Government Documents
Expat's Eye
Health
Science/Technology
Lifestyle
Books
Movies
Backgrounders
Special
Photo Gallery
Blogs
Reader's Service
Learning with
'Beijing Review'
E-mail us
RSS Feeds
PDF Edition
Web-magazine
Reader's Letters
Make Beijing Review your homepage
Hot Links

cheap eyeglasses
Market Avenue
eBeijing

Web Exclusive
Web Exclusive
UPDATED: December 4, 2007 Web Exclusive
China Designs on the West
The best of China's architecture and design is given a platform in the UK, with a massive exhibition scheduled for four months next year
By YUAN YUAN
Share

China Design Now, an important component exhibition of CHINA NOW, the UK's largest ever festival of Chinese culture, will be held at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in the UK from March 15 to July 13 next year. The press conference of the China launch was held in Beijing on November 28. This will be the first exhibition in the UK to explore the recent explosion of design in China, and the first to attempt to understand the impact of rapid economic development of architecture and design in China's major cities.

Mark Jones, Director of the V&A, said via video conferencing, "China is now the world's biggest market for mobile phones, and is set to overtake the United States as the second biggest consumer of luxury goods after Japan. At the same time, there is more construction in China than anywhere else. The tremendous pace of change has inspired a whole new generation of designers and architects who are shaping fashion, product and urban design in China's big cities. We need to understand what is happening in China and the aim of this exhibition is to help people to get a snapshot of the development of design in today's China."

The exhibition is sponsored exclusively by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. (HSBC), one of the founding partners of CHINA NOW. The festival, which runs from February to July 2008, will feature some 800 events across the UK and showcase the very best aspects of modern Chinese society and culture.

China Design Now and CHINA NOW form part of HSBC's wider Cultural Exchange Program, set up in 2007 to encourage and promote the understanding of different cultures across the world. Wong Tung Shun, General Manager and Executive Director of JP Group in Hong Kong and China's Mainland, said at the press conference, "Philosophy of encouraging different points of view are at the core of why HSBC chose to partner with the V&A on this exciting exhibition. We hope China Design Now provides the people in the UK with new insight into the China of today."

Mark Jones welcomed HSBC's involvement. "When we were first developing the concept for China Design Now, HSBC was an obvious first choice for partner. The bank's commitment to cultural exchange and its strong ties to promoting learning and understanding make it an excellent partner," he stated.

The exhibition will focus on three rapidly expanding cities -- Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. It will display the work of Chinese and international designers, focusing on architecture, fashion and graphic design, as well as film, photography, product and furniture design, youth culture and digital media.

China Design Now will be divided into three sections. Each is linked to a city which provides a case study for the exploration of a different design field: Frontier City, starting in Shenzhen, will show the development of graphic design and visual culture; Shanghai's Dream City will feature fashion and lifestyle; Future City will explore city architecture in Beijing and beyond.

The exhibition is structured round the idea of a journey from south to north along China's east coast. It starts in Shenzhen, where contemporary graphic design took off in China in the mid-1980s, following the introduction of the Special Economic Zones. This section will show how a generation of young graphic designers is experimenting with new technologies and international design trends, as graphic design rapidly becomes part of a fast growing Chinese urban youth culture, expressing itself through fashion, music, and art and through the Internet. These young designers are identifying themselves not only as an alternative to China's cultural mainstream but also as part of a global creative force.

Against the backdrop of the glamour of Shanghai, the second section explores the hopes and dreams of a growing Chinese urban population, with the arrival from the 1990s of a new middle class, the associated rise of a consumer society. Dream City presents the tastemakers who created a new lifestyle, successful cosmetic brands, and luxury retail developments. The exhibition is to explore current China's social status, people's education, work, marriage and health.

The last section will be Beijing. Future City explores how China's ambitions are reflected in the rise of Beijing's new mega-structures -- from the extension of Beijing's Capital Airport and the National Stadium to the China Central Television headquarters. This section showcases China's leading avant-garde architects and young architectural practices. This final section will draw out questions relating to the future of China's cities, including sustainable development, transportation, housing, and urban regeneration. At the same time, this section looks at how China's openness to cutting-edge global design has given rise to an environment where the creative energies of commercial developers and small-scale local architecture have been able to emerge.

The exhibition has been curated by Zhang Hongxing and Lauren Parker of the V&A, after four years of research involving close collaboration with institutions and individuals in China.

Zhang Hongxing said: "Design in China's cities has changed beyond all recognition in the last two decades. This is a moment when you can start talking about things being designed in China, not just made in China. The designers included in China Design Now are pioneers for future generations, and will bring Chinese design to an international audience."



 
Top Story
-Protecting Ocean Rights
-Partners in Defense
-Fighting HIV+'s Stigma
-HIV: Privacy VS. Protection
-Setting the Tone
Most Popular
 
About BEIJINGREVIEW | About beijingreview.com | Rss Feeds | Contact us | Advertising | Subscribe & Service | Make Beijing Review your homepage
Copyright Beijing Review All right reserved