Voices
For art's sake, support creativity
By Andrew Graham (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-26 08:02
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The United Nations has designated 2010 the Year of Biodiversity to highlight the amazing variety of life on Earth and the importance of protecting and sustaining the planet's fragile ecosystems.
But if you want to do your bit to help protect the world's biodiversity, forget pandas, whales, bats and butterflies for the moment.
If you really want to help protect an endangered species, turn your attention closer to home, as there is a species under threat right here in the streets of Beijing.
They will often be seen in the older parts of the city, where they will usually be found congregating in groups, exhibiting their markings and engaging in noisy squabbles to determine the group hierarchy. Often viewed as wild and dangerous, they are, in fact, often easily trained, and will quite happily perform a variety of tricks for a small reward.
Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly rare to see this species in its natural habitat as its territory is rapidly shrinking under the jackhammers of progress.
So, do your bit for the Year of Biodiversity and help protect the city's rich diversity of life - adopt an artist.
All over the world it's a sadly familiar tale: artists congregate in the run-down areas of cities where the rents are cheap and create a vibrant community that attracts other citizens. Then the developers notice, the bulldozers roll in, and the artists are forced to move on and repeat the process elsewhere.
So the news that 10 art zones in Chaoyang district, including Dongying, Zhengyang Creative, 008, Xiedaoxi, Beigao and Suojiacun, are to be demolished and developed is perhaps not that surprising.
Nor is it surprising that to enforce the evictions in Chaoyang, developers have harassed and threatened artists, cut water and electricity supplies to the art zones, and demolished studios without official documentation.
There's no disputing there's more money to be made from commercial developments than the studio rents of artists - no matter how successful the artist - and the construction of the latest steel and glass glory is not going to be stopped or reversed by performance art protests or a few artists demonstrating in the streets.
The municipal government has said that it wants to "create an innovative, harmonious and livable new Beijing" and it identified the creative industries as one of the key drivers to achieving this.
So it is perhaps a little surprising that it is driving the artistic community out of the city rather than devising and implementing strategies to support the arts, establishing plans and policies to nurture creative talent, and providing opportunities for more investment.
To compete on the world stage, cities need culture.
More importantly, they need living art and artists, not just the dead culture of history. Artists are the tip of the cultural pyramid, the cutting edge of cultural innovation.
As PriceWaterhouseCoopers, one of the world's leading professional services providers, states in its report, Cities of the Future: "Cities need to create their own unique identity and distinct experiences that distinguish it from other cities."
Cultural and leisure facilities go beyond art galleries, opera houses or museums. Today's cities make a virtue of their atmosphere, their heritage and nightlife strategies they have put in place attract dynamic and creative individuals and businesses.
Cities aim to provide an atmosphere that welcomes people to stay, enjoy themselves and, in doing so, spend their money.
American urban studies theorist Richard Florida said that this necessitates "a 'creative class' - artists, designers, media folk - which signals to other knowledge workers that the atmosphere in a city is vibrant, open and tolerant".
Beijing has declared it wants to make the city the country's "capital of creative industry". Exploiting its creativity will be essential for its continued economic development.
The promotion of the creative industry would also position Beijing as a city of new ideas and new thinking, a symbol of China's status in the new world order.
So, let's all help Beijing and adopt an artist today.
China Daily
