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No fairytale ending for evicted artists in Changdian village

By Qin Zhongwei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-22 08:09

Ai Weiwei is a leading artist and a cultural and social commentator in Beijing. Gao Peng / for China Daily

In 2007, artisit Ai Weiwei brought 1,001 Chinese visitors, most of whom had never even left their villages before, to Kassel in Germany to participate in his famous art work, Fairytale.

However, along with many other Beijing-based artists who have lived and worked in the city's suburbs for years, Ai Weiwei, is having to turn from his fairytale creations to face the harsh realities of modern life.

The artists have been informed they must now pack their bags and leave, as their studios are to be demolished to make way for the construction of new developments. Most of them will not get any compensation,

In July last year, the urban planners of Beijing launched the land reserve plan in Chaoyang district.

Since last December, the artists in Creative Zhengyang Art Zone, Changdian village, northeast of Chaoyang district, have had their water, electricity and heating supplies stopped, and the demolition squads have been tearing down the houses.

"The artists should not be sacrificed to urbanization," Ai said.

He believes that the boom in artists' studios, which can be traced back to 1994 when poor artists from all over the country began to congregate near the old Summer Palace, has contributed to the city's cultural and financial prosperity.

But now, the city that used to be considered artist-friendly is giving them the cold shoulder, he said.

"Any big cultural metropolis shares a similar pattern. Artists choose to come and live in or near the city and the culture develops. Beijing is no exception," he said. "They live in suburbs as they cannot afford the expensive rents downtown and they need large spaces in which to work."

Ai was the first artist to move to Caochangdi village. He opened his studio there in 1999 and he witnessed the village become a new cultural landmark, as artists from all over the country and abroad converged on the village and galleries began to emerge.

In his opinion, it is not just art that is being created; the artists are also generating a boost for the local economy.

For example, the 798 Art Zone, he said, has become such a well-known attraction as familiar as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and roast duck.

To highlight their plight, artists from nearly 20 artist villages gathered to express their dissatisfaction through a peaceful art exchange program called "Warm Winter", and toured it around the 20 art zones.

Ai participated the third stop exhibition in the Creative Zhengyang Art Zone, which was called "Warm Winter Games". More than 100 artists took part in different sports and games, such as tug-of-war, outside their studios to protest against the demolitions.

Even though artists are a group of people with creative ideas, Ai still thought they are powerless victims during the rapid urbanization and violent demolition.

On Feb 22, a group of poeple attacked the Creative Zhengyang Art Zone in the early morning. Several artists, who still lived in their cold studios, were injured, media reported. Similar cases took place in other art areas.

"The artists should be equally treated like anyone else, they deserve that," he said. "It is a humiliation that the demolition is carried out in a violent way," he added.