The 1980s was a seminal period in the development of Chinese contemporary art. Many of today’s most celebrated Chinese artists attended art academies and had their first exhibitions during that decade. However, documentary material, even images of individual artworks and exhibition installations, existed sporadically. In order to foster research into this important period of recent art history, Asia Art Archive (AAA) conducted a four-year focused archiving project; collecting, indexing and preserving hard-to-find documentary materials for use by future students and scholars. This project culminated in the official launch of AAA’s comprehensive website portal called: 'Materials of the Future: Documenting Contemporary Chinese Art from 1980-1990'.

Background:
Thirty years ago, China embarked on a reform programme that transformed not only the economy but also the arts. Since then, the growth and production of contemporary art have been dramatic, and so has the production of documentary materials bearing evidence to the critical debates that surrounded its development. However, until now, many of the most important art publications and critical writings, especially from the late 1970s and 1980s, have been difficult to locate, due primarily to the lack of a systematic collection and archiving infrastructure.

In 2006, Asia Art Archive began a focused archiving project called 'Materials of the Future: Documenting Contemporary Chinese Art from 1980-1990'. This project built a comprehensive collection of primary research materials that includes books, periodicals, newspapers, exhibition brochures, invitations, video recordings, correspondence, and other relevant documents. As part of this project, AAA also digitised the personal archives of renowned Chinese artists and curators Fei Dawei, Lu Peng, Wu Shanzhuan, Zheng Shengtian, Zhang Xiaogang, and Mao Xuhui. With a total of over 70,000 digital documents, AAA now maintains the world’s largest and most systematically organized archive of documentary material about Chinese art made during the 1980s.

As part of the project, AAA conducted over 70 in-depth videotaped interviews with artists, critics, curators, and scholars on contemporary Chinese art in the 1980s. From a portion of these interviews, AAA created a documentary film about experimental art in South China (Guangzhou) in the 1980s entitled From Jean-Paul Sartre to Teresa Teng: Contemporary Cantonese Art in the 1980s.

AAA’s 1980s archiving project culminated with the launch of a comprehensive website portal called www.china1980s.org in September 2010.

'Materials of the Future: Documenting Contemporary Chinese Art from 1980-1990' is made possible by the generous support of:
The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation
The W.L.S. Spencer Foundation
Ilyas and Mara Khan
Foundation for the Arts Initiatives