Artshake Shanghai: Week 1

We’ve been at the Artshake 2019 International Gathering in Shanghai for a week now, and what a week is has been! It has been great to see how all the artists are getting on, and adapting to working in such a different environment, and alongside the artists from China and South Korea. We are based at the YYT Art Village on Chongming Island, just outside of Shanghai. The climate is difficult to adapt to in Shanghai so the artists are doing an amazing job at pushing themselves through it to complete their works.

Within the group, the artists all come from quite different practices, spanning performance; sculpture; installation; visual arts and even architecture. Due to this we are thoroughly enjoying looking at the progress of such diverse works coming to life.

The site that we are working on can almost be described as an abandoned village, full of derelict buildings, crumbling walls overtaken by nature and big open spaces. The work has almost no limitations so we are beyond excited to see the finished pieces later this week.

‘16 Artists from the UK, China and Korea, 16 abandoned factory buildings, and a whole village of confused people ready to lend a hand.’ - A quote from Juliet Gibbs, one of the artists.

Take a look at some pictures from the first half of our trip: