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Documentary Film Exhibition, “Materials of the Future: Documenting Contemporary Chinese Art from the 1980s – 1990”

This is an in-depth research project and collection drive culminating in a films of edited video interviews with key artists, critics and curators of the 1980s Scheduled for 2008–2009, travelling film screenings/exhibitions will be held in several key cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Sichuan, Hangzhou, Hong Kong and New York.

Introduction and Objectives

To offer fresh perspectives on the development of contemporary Chinese art during this particularly transformative period in recent history;
A collection drive for material from this period, to locate important and rare material and make this available from the AAA's public facilities for research purposes;
To create new material in the form of a series of well-edited films through interviews with key artists, critics and curators of the 1980s asked to respond to the material collected by AAA from this period.
To present this material in a travelling exhibition that will see the videos screened in different partner venues throughout China and abroad.

Despite the unusual speed at which contemporary art has developed in China over the last two and half decades, one of the key components missing in the art infrastructure in mainland China is an independent archiving platform. The last twenty five years has produced an abundance of archivable materials, but up until now, many of the most important art publications and critical writings, especially those from the 1970s and 1980s, continue to be hard to find.

As the only organization to systematically be documenting and collecting materials relating to contemporary Chinese art, AAA believes it important to locate and preserve these so as to provide resources for further research and critical writing.

Materials that the AAA has collated to date and will continue to collect include periodicals, newspaper clippings, photographs, video recordings, exhibition catalogues, invitations, correspondence and other forms of publications and materials that relate to the development of contemporary art in China between 1980 and 1990. After completing the initial stages of research and collection, the AAA will invite key players of the 1980s to respond to this material in a series of carefully planned video interviews that will take place throughout China. The AAA will work geographically and focus on four main regions in China: Guangdong, the south-west (Yunnan and Sichuan), Hangzhou/Shanghai, and Beijing. The AAA research team will work with a professional camera crew and a producer from Siren Films.

By presenting this series of videos and related documentary materials to the public, the AAA hopes to shed new light on the work of key contributors, including artists, curators, critics, editors and other cultural champions, in order to offer fresh perspectives on the way this period is analyzed and understood.

To date, this project has received grants from the America Center Foundation and Creative Works.