Art21: Season 10

A city with a history of more than two thousand years, Beijing has recently become the center of shifting politics, rapid urbanization, and an economic boom, making it fertile ground for art and artists. Beginning in the late 1980s and continuing into the 1990s, a new generation of artists emerged in the city, marking the birth of contemporary art in China. Amid Beijing’s dizzying economic, urban, and cultural transformation, artists have responded to its relentless evolution with urgency and ambition, all the while contending with many centuries of Chinese cultural traditions. This film witnesses the maturing of a unique contemporary-art hub and follows a multigenerational group of artists who grapple with memory, modernization, their roles in the global art world, and art’s place in their own ever-changing society.

DIRECTORS: Bryan Chang and Vicky Du
PRODUCER: Vicky Du
EDITOR: Bryan Chang
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Bryan Chang
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Tina Kukielski
SERIES PRODUCER: Nick Ravich
PRODUCTION SERVICES: Meerkat Media