The China Space: Alternative Art Space in Beijing and New York, 2017

The project examined the emergence and development of alternative art spaces in both New York and Beijing. It analyzed key themes in their definitions, including mutual support, artistic autonomy, openness to experimental practices, resistance to commodification, and radicalism. Our working definition emphasized the alternative art space as a site for contextual approaches to art grounded in social and political responsibility. A comparative framework was used to explore how such approaches took shape within distinct social and political environments.

The research found that alternative art spaces first emerged in New York during a period of artistic and political dissent, when civil rights and identity politics dominated the American cultural landscape. These spaces offered artists greater independence and autonomy, and critiques of museums and commercial galleries evolved into new forms that foregrounded social and political engagement.

In Beijing, alternative art spaces began to appear in the 1990s, though the term itself did not gain currency until around 2010, when more Chinese artists had received art education and professional experience abroad. The study also identified key strategies and modes of production and presentation that characterize alternative art spaces in both contexts.

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