[Press Release]

The city border in flux, where seats Guangdong Times Museum, sees the shaping of the archetypal suburban landscape of the Pearl River Delta enabled by hybrid forms of urbanization and complex demographics. Diverse communities coalesce in this land of variegated attributes: native rural populations, the new middle-class drawn by real estate development, and migrant workers gathering around small manufacturing concerns, all growing in symbiosis—such is the surrounding and context of the museum.

In the new round of urban planning, the Huangbian community that houses the museum is under renovation to be the Design Capital of Guangzhou, one of the largest industrial clusters of design in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Undergoing a process of swift gentrification, how would the museum and art witness, engage in and respond to such a zealous social transformation?

Aerial view from 19th floor at Guangdong Times Museum, 2018
时代美术馆周边社区鸟瞰图，摄于2018年

Diagram of the Design Capital of Guangzhou, from Baiyun Land Resources and Planning Bureau
广州设计之都项目规划设计范围示意图 图片来自白云区国规局发布

Banyan Commune is a unique phenomenon of community life and civil culture in southern China, a gathering place traditionally served as a community center for the neighborhood. The Banyan Commune is a community art project initiated in 2016, which space has witnessed the seasonal changes, day-and-night alternate of the surrounding neighborhood while serving as the window for connecting the museum to public.

MyVillages, International Village Produce, 2017
榕树头第四期：MyVillages “国际村落生产”

The artist will act as a host of this temporary public space, using theHuangbian neighbourhood as research subject to foster continuous dialogue, understanding,and communication about the actual context of the museum. Reflecting on the role of the contemporary art museum in a residential community while constructing organic relations between the institution and the surrounding place, Banyan Commune intends to generate a trace for the ever-changing region of South China in the process of urbanization.

The Banyan Commune welcomes proposals by local and international artists and collectives for bi-annual, month-long residencies. Proposed projects should be visual, participatory, and public engaging in nature, including installation, video, sounds, performance,and events among others.

The selected projects of 2017-2018 were Henry Tan “What It Meant to Me Will Eventually Be a Memory” and Ye Hui “We Are Singing The Song of Our Time”.

Henry Tan, What It Meant to Me Will Eventually Be a Memory, 2017-2018
榕树头原址旅行团工作坊，2017

Ye Hui, We Are Singing The Song of Our Time, 2018
第一期驻地项目：叶慧“我们唱着，时间的歌”，敬请期待

Selected artist or artist collective will be provided with:
- Accommodation and workspace with basic living facilities
- Round-trip economy-class flight or train tickets to Guangzhou
- Living expenses during the residency
- Production budget of up to 50,000 RMB (appox. 7500 USD)
- Assistance with applying for extra grants or sponsorships
- Project assistant, support for academic research and translation, etc.