Launch of IAS Map 2019 affirms cohesion, resilience of capital’s alternative spaces  

 Independent Art Spaces (IAS) is pleased to announce its fourth edition from 6 – 8 September 2019. The largest edition to date, participants include 24 domestic spaces and 10 international spaces hailing from Germany, Australia, Switzerland and Japan. This year, IAS festivities begin at Aotuspace on 6 September with the launch of the IAS MAP 2019, and continue over the weekend (7 – 8 September) with a series of professional development workshops hosted at I: project space.

Foregrounded by China’s decades-long imperative to urbanise, the topography of contemporary art remains in constant flux throughout Beijing. Offering an up-to-date snapshot of the landscape, the IAS Map 2019 is an indispensable bilingual research tool, profiling the locations and backgrounds of participating institutions. Far from claiming to the represent a “complete” picture of such a dynamic scene, the IAS Map 2019 stands as an interactive reference guide, inviting users to add spaces that are omitted, have since disappeared or in the future have the potential to be. Post-launch, the IAS Map 2019 will be available in museums as well as design and art book shops across Beijing and internationally.

Alongside the launch, a series of workshops is hosted at I: project space, focusing on the exchange of knowledge around operational strategies across geographic lines. Workshops are separated into morning and afternoon sessions from 7 – 8   September. Attendance is free, but spaces are limited. Further reservation information below.

IAS Founders Antonie Angerer & Anna-Viktoria Eschbach state, “Through the IAS Map and accompanying workshops, we hope to encourage the exchange of knowledge and strategies capable of building resilience within our regional scene. The IAS is operating on an international solidarity fund, which in turn provides sponsorship for the local Beijing scene. Through the solidarity fund, IAS strives for ‘mutual benefit’ that break down stagnant modes of cultural funding.

IAS 2019 is accomplished with funding from partners that include The Japan Foundation, Beijing; Pro Helvetia Shanghai, Swiss Arts Council; Australia Council for the Arts and German Embassy Beijing. LAVA Beijing provides visual design for IAS 2019. Sinclair Arts is the communication partner. Other sponsors include Greatleap Brewing (大躍啤酒) and BigSmallCoffee (大小咖啡).

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Independent Art Spaces 2019

Program

September 6^th       Official opening IAS 2019 at Aotuspace at 19:00

September 7^th   Workshop series at I: project space from 9:30 – 19:15

September 8^th   Workshop series at I: project space from 9:30 – 19:00

September 9^th to 30^th features of spaces and events on social media

Please use the I: project space official WeChat (search ‘iprojectspace’) to reserve seating for workshops.

About Independent Art Spaces

Independent Art Spaces (IAS) is a network that seeks to unite Beijing’s patchwork of alternative, non-profit and non-commercial galleries in the spirit of sharing knowledge and purpose. Each year, Independent Art Spaces selects a different theme for public events towards the end of summer.

Beijing is the petri dish for a growing network of new and alternative art platforms in all sorts of environments: From the small alleyways in the city’s hutongs, to programs in artists’ studios, to exhibitions in private apartments and spaces in residential buildings in various parts of the city. Characterized by strong conceptual approaches, open dialog and by incorporating parts of the city in which art could flourish away from the predetermined art zones, these spaces have merged into a network of dynamic art exchanges making new contributions to the progress of the discourses of contemporary art in China. This broad spectrum of programs is mirrored, archived and made publicly accessible by Independent Art Spaces.

www.iasbeijing.org

About I: project space

I: project space is a platform for international art discourse and exchange and was founded 2014 by the two curators Antonie Angerer and Anna-Viktoria Eschbach.

Dedicated to build support structures for artists and open possibilities for long-term dialogues between artistic, curatorial, research and other modes of knowledge production, I: project space is operating completely non-profit. The space is located in the old Hutong area of Beijing and is combining an exhibition space with a residency studio for visiting artists from China and abroad. Taking its location in the centre of Beijing but outside the art districts as a premise, I: project space engages in bringing an interaction with art back into the daily life.

I: project space aims to encourage innovative and investigative approaches, crossing borders between different creative disciplines, cultural identities, geographical locations, political economies, crafts and new technologies. By placing emphasis on the open dialogues, I: project space looks to foster experimentation, collaborations and inter-disciplinary exchange.

www.yi-projectspace.org

For more detailed program and related events to IAS 2019, please follow our official websites and our official social media channels:

Instagram: @ias_festival_beijing; @iprojectspace

WeChat: iprojectspace