The Bishan Commune and the Practice of Socially Engaged Art in Rural China: The Bishan Commune and the Practice of Socially Engaged Art in Rural China

This book is concerned with socially engaged art projects in the Chinese countryside, with the artists and intellectuals who are involved, the villagers they meet and the local authorities with whom they negotiate. In recent years an increasing number of urban artists have turned towards the countryside in an attempt to revive rural areas perceived to be in a crisis. The vantage point of this book is the Bishan Commune. In 2010, Ou Ning drafted a notebook entitled __Bishan Commune: How to Start Your Own Utopia__. The notebook presents a utopian ideal of life based on anarchist Peter Kropotkin’s idea of mutual aid. In 2011 the Commune was established in Bishan Village in Anhui Province. The main questions of this book thus revolve around how an anarchist, utopian community unfolds to the backdrop of the political, social and historical landscape of rural China, or more directly: How do you start your own utopia in the Chinese countryside? This book is concerned with socially engaged art projects in the Chinese countryside, with the artists and intellectuals who are involved, the villagers they meet and the local authorities with whom they negotiate. In recent years an increasing number of urban artists have turned towards the countryside in an attempt to revive rural areas perceived to be in a crisis. The vantage point of this book is the Bishan Commune. In 2010, Ou Ning drafted a notebook entitled Bishan Commune: How to Start Your Own Utopia. The notebook presents a utopian ideal of life based on anarchist Peter Kropotkin's idea of mutual aid. In 2011 the Commune was established in Bishan Village in Anhui Province. The main questions of this book thus revolve around how an anarchist, utopian community unfolds to the backdrop of the political, social and historical landscape of rural China, or more directly: How do you start your own utopia in the Chinese countryside? Mai Corlin is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Fine Arts of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Introduction: Radical Rural Intellectuals (Mai Corlin)....Pages 1-33 Fields of Socially Engaged Art (Mai Corlin)....Pages 35-64 Imagining the Commune (Mai Corlin)....Pages 65-103 The Great Leap into Utopia (Mai Corlin)....Pages 105-134 Trojan Horses or the Artist as Realtor (Mai Corlin)....Pages 135-168 Whose Village? (Mai Corlin)....Pages 169-188 Conclusion: The End of Utopia? (Mai Corlin)....Pages 189-196 Epilogue: Guanxi Aesthetics or the State as Artistic Director (Mai Corlin)....Pages 197-205 Back Matter ....Pages 207-225 1. Introduction : Radical Rural Intellectuals -- 2. Fields of Socially Engaged Art -- 3. Imagining the Commune -- 4. The Great Leap Into Utopia -- 5. Trojan Horses or the Artist as Realtor -- 6. "Whose Villiage? -- 7. Conclusion : The end of Utopia? -- Epilogue : Guanxi Aesthetics or the State as Artistic Director