"The Beijing 798 Biennale is primarily about redefinition," says Curatorial Director Marc Hungerbhler, founder of New York City's the:artist:network. "It redefines Beijing as a catapult for trans-cultural movements and is structured from the bottom up, starting with the artist and the curator, rather than the museum or institution."

Introduction

Constellations will inaugurate the 798 Beijing Biennale, bringing together over 70 Chinese and international artists for exhibitions in Beijing's 798 art district. Works will include painting, sculpture, works-on-paper, photography, video, installation, performance, sound works, media art, and site-specific public art. Constellations will be exhibited in the 798 exhibition space as well as other venues located within Dashanzi Art District.

Theme

Constellations stems from the notion that stars in a constellation are often vastly distant from each other, but they appear close to each other from the perspective of Earth. Nearness and farness, inside and outside, and global and local are some of the concepts that Constellations uses as touchstones, but situates them relative to each other or in states of parallax. In other words, shifting demographics engendered by migration and the circulation of information foment heterogeneous, cross-cultural, and polyphonic articulations that make binary rubrics, such as those previously mentioned, limited.

Beijing is ideal for this unique biennale because it is a megalopolis located between the future and the pasta confluence of the pre-modern, modern, and postmodern that, in turn, reconfigures globalization in a manner more complicated and multidimensional than in other areas of the world. Some of the exhibiting foreign artists, for example, live in Beijing and the artworks made there absorb the locality yet are also refracted through the artists' peripatetic biographies, creating a more fluid exchange between artistic practices within and outside of Beijing. Apart from the international artists who live and work in Beijing, other foreign artists will create site-specific projects or present works that were made outside of China and modified by interfacing with a wholly different context. On the other hand, many of the native Beijing artists that will exhibit have not only traveled extensively outside of China for exhibitions or residencies, but the work selected or made specifically for Constellations will also highlight the global nature of their work while maintaining the specificity of their geo-cultural location.

Ultimately, Constellations raises more questions than it attempts to answer, particularly in a city where international cultural tectonics perpetually shift and reshape the social landscape in altogether unforeseen ways.

Structure

The eight curators will select artists for both the main venue and auxiliary exhibition spaces, creating a dialogue between the main space and satellite venues. The curators will approach their selections as independent projects that are linked to the common biennale, thus creating a coherent and thematically unified exhibition. For example, curator Ral Zamundio will present a project consisting of works by visual and sound artists entitled 'The Man Who Fell to Earth'. While this presentation can be appreciated autonomously from the biennale, it weaves itself into Constellations thematically as well as through its structure, in which artworks will be simultaneously exhibited in both 706 and other venues. In one sense, the biennale's exhibition design and structure meshes with its thematic concept and reflects the notion of a constellationthat is, the artworks, individual exhibitions, and the curatorial frameworks are vastly different from each other, but innately in conversation since they appear clustered in varying formations depending on the viewer's perspective from within Beijing and without.

Organized Without Funding

The Beijing 798 Biennale is organized without funding from the Chinese government or the backing of a major museum, and two-thirds of the participating artists will be international. The biennale's theme, Constellations, stems from the notion that stars in a constellation are often vastly distant from each other, but they appear close to one another from the perspective of Earth.

"Viewing it from the outside, the exhibition is a space in which a group of people are traveling. Everyone gravitates to the places they are most interested in," explains Artistic Director Zhu Qi, a prominent Beijing art critic and editor of Art Map magazine. "While seeing it from the inside, one sees that people form a community among others with similar views and idealsregardless of whether they live in the same geographical location. The internet and an unrestricted art community provide possibilities for this."

East German Design

Located in the northeast of Beijing, the 798 Art Zone was formerly an East GermanCdesigned factory producing electronics. By the late 1990s, the factory was abandoned, leaving an opening for artists and galleries to fill the vast industrial spaces in the early part of this decade. In just a few years, the area transformed from a dusty outpost for art pioneers into the international tourist attraction it is today, with trendy cafes squeezing in next to increasingly prestigious galleries. The biennale offers an opportunity to define the future of the district.

In addition to a central exhibition featuring Chinese and international artists, there will be several satellite shows. German artist Martin Wehmer curates Annexe/Infix, an exhibition of abstract paintings from the German-speaking world. Chile-based duo nicoykaytushka put together Turn on, Tune in, Drop out, featuring Latin American art. New York-based curator Ral Zamundio presents The Man Who Fell to Earth, a group of sound and visual works. New YorkCbased Alexandra Loewenstein and Jaishri Abichandani curate Transitional Aesthetics, a show of female artists of South Asian and Middle Eastern descent.

706 will be the central exhibition space, and the satellite venues will include the SZ Art Center, T Space Gallery, Linda Gallery, Yan Club Arts Center, and With Space Gallery. The 798 Construction Committee serves as the main organizer.

Publication

The publication to accompany Constellations will deviate from the standard exhibition catalog. Instead, the publication will be a special issue of the Beijing magazine Art Map, which will be bilingual in Mandarin and English. The catalog will include curators' essays, artist pages, bios, and other textual and pictorial material as well as a CD of sound works. In formatting the catalog as a magazine, Constellations seeks to extend itself beyond standard distribution systems of libraries and bookstores. It will have broader accessibility through sales at newsstands in train stations, bus depots, and airports, as well as hotel lobbies, restaurants, tourist kiosks, and so forth.

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The new New York is Beijing

---- Adrienne Mong [NBC News Producer]

By all rights, Beijing should be suffering the post-Olympic hangover anticipated by skeptics and cynics.

Chinas exports-driven economy has taken a big hit from the global recession. Millions of college graduates are still unemployed. Newly built shiny commercial buildings stand unoccupied. And in recent weeks the Chinese government has stepped up its ongoing efforts to control the flow of information on the Internet.

If anything, however, the Chinese capital is enjoying a renaissance in the arts and culture C normally what would be the first casualty in a climate of recession and censorship. And its attracting a growing number of people from around the world who want to be part of the scene.

"Beijing has that combination of optimism, possibility, opportunity, as well as being an interesting city in its own right," said Aric Chen, a freelance writer, curator and design consultant who recently moved here from New York City.

The 34-year-old is juggling several international projects C a book on Brazil, an exhibition in Israel, and a biennale in South Korea C any of which could be launched from another base.

But in Beijing, he found that "there is still a hunger and openness for new things, so theres room for people like me." Within China, he helps to oversee projects like the "100% Design Shanghai," a major industry fair that he hopes will help to elevate the discourse on design in the country and nurture homegrown designers and artists.

A hunger for expertise

"Even with the economic downturn, theres a need for new things," said Melissa Wong, an entrepreneur originally from Vancouver. "In my industry they really want change here, but sometimes they dont know how to achieve that change."

The 36-year-old came to Beijing two years ago to try her hand in the food and beverage industry after a successful run in Hong Kong. Last year she opened a high-end Italian restaurant, "Sadler," which has since won a clutch of dining awards for its food, service and ambience.

The booming food and wine industry also brought Crystal Edgar to Beijing. "Its the perfect time to be here in China, to bring the level of service up, the level of knowledge up, in this industry," said Edgar, 27, who wins the prize for best business title. Shes the "Cellar Master" at the Aman luxury resort in Beijings Summer Palace and supervises their vast wine collection.

"Theres just more opportunity, not just to make a name for yourself, but to make a difference," said Edgar, another former New Yorker who enjoys teaching her staff about the fine wines they collect and serve to guests. "I can do so much more here in regards to being creative or training some other people."

The flip side to this desire for new things, however, is the erosion of old traditions.

"[Chinese] cooking is a big cultural identity that is on the brink of being lost," said Lillian Chou, a former writer for Gourmet magazine who moved to Beijing from New Jersey four months ago to study the language and the food.

Chou, with more than 20 years experience, expressed a singular passion for food "thats died out because of modernization," as she puts it. "Im always meeting elderly people who say, this dish used to be made like this," she said. "But no one has documented it although part of that is because for so many years that wasnt essential. What was important was basic survival."

Moreover, her field lacks the same kind of openness as others.

"Theres a real paranoia," she said. "Everythings clandestine - its secret recipes, secret techniques." During a recent encounter with a chef steeped in the tradition of Chinese imperial cooking, Chou was told, "You will fail. No one will talk to you."

At the same time, Chou still believes that "its an exciting time, because the fields totally open. [Chinese food history] needs a teacher," she said. "And I need a teacher, too, to study it!

The new "New York"

The barriers to entry are also much lower than in other major international cities.

"Paris is great, but its more of a place to spend money than to make money," said Liyu Yeo, an art consultant who was living in the French capital when he decided to decamp to Beijing earlier this year. Unlike the Chinese capital, "Paris is a very established city, which means theres a pecking order. So for younger people who want to create something or make something out of their career, its not always the easiest thing to do."

Instead, Beijings long history is combined with a rapidly evolving infrastructure and architecture that produces a shifting yet confident energy.

"What people dont realize is that this is an extremely textured city with historical layers that takes time to get to know," said Chen. "Beijing has a strong sense of itself. Theres a pride in being in Beijing. But at the same time, its a very outward looking city in the same sense that China is increasingly outward looking. Like China, Beijing has no intention of keeping to itself."

And the capital C with its manifold universities, think tanks, live music venues, museums, galleries, and cultural institutes C hums with a creative vigor that belies its laidback demeanor.

Jerome Sans, Art Director at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in Beijings 798 art district, said he had the privilege of living in New York and London in the late 70s and early 80s and sees similarities. "For me the new New York is Beijing."

Open only two years, UCCA has become a driving force in developing a greater appreciation here for contemporary Chinese and international artists. Sans recently oversaw the opening of three different shows at the center C including a stunning installation of 34 flags painted by Yang Pei-Ming and a sweeping collection of photographic portraits of French actress Isabelle Huppert C which was initiated by the Museum of Modern Art/PS 1 in New York.

"Beijing is the single most important place for an emerging arts center," noted Marc Hungerbuhler. In August, as Curatorial Director, he will help to launch the first Beijing 798 Biennale 2009, an independently-organized exhibition of works by more than 70 artists from China and around the world.

Thats perhaps surprising for a bureaucratic capital of a communist nation, but, as Hungerbuhler said, "Art is always flourishing in situations where things are changing dramatically or where ideology is very strong."

Bi-hemispherical is the new bicoastal

Without a doubt one of Beijings biggest draws is the pace of its transformation.

Its still nowhere near the dizzying speed of pre-Olympic build-up.

"Were settling back to a level of normalcy," said Meg Maggio, Director of Pekin Fine Arts, which just opened three different exhibitions in one weekend.

But life still moves at a fast clip.

"It can be definitely a new kind of melting pot if you want, something between future and past," said Hungerbuhler. "Whenever I get back to New York, Im in middle earth, and when Im in Europe I feel like Im in a museum. And here it feels like the right pulse of time."

And perhaps confirming Beijings emerging role as a global city, commuting between Beijing and North America, Europe or Australia has become the norm for many.

"I like to say the new bi-hemispherical is the new bicoastal," said Chen.