Arts and Misc.

By Sarah Hammer, Apr 22nd, 2009 | In Art

So many arty things going on in Shanghai these days it's enough to make your top hat zing right off your head in astonishment -- ZING!

Most of the listings for art exhibitions, plays, performance arts, weird electronic sound installations, and other unclassifiable fodder are buried in the SmartShanghai listings, behind stuff going on at Sin and The Shelter, so this article is just to throw a few things up top here. Hit it.

Ongoing Exhibitions

Matters of Faith @ James Cohan Gallery

The "Matters of Faith" exhibition at the James Cohan Gallery closes on May 30, so you should mark that one in your calendar if you haven't had a chance to check it out. The exhibition include works by Anslem Kiefer, Nam June Paik, Bill Viola and Xu Zhen -- a bevy of differing artists working from different vantage points and in different mediums examining the concept of the sacred and the spiritual.

Dance This Mess Around @ am space

The first Shanghai show for locally-based American artist Sarah Blakeman, "Dance This Mess Around" opened at the am space last weekend, and the simmering description by the artist of the installation has us intrigued: "China has tested my creative process. I embrace some aspects and struggle with others, and I've transformed this wonder and frustration into paper construction..."

Upcoming Exhibitions

Get Real! -- Group Exhibition

The Get Real! - Group Exhibition features surreal artworks by Du Meng, Du Xinjian, Feng Dakang, Xue Jiye, Zhou Fan and Zhou Weihua. All manner of absurdity and surrealism at Art Scene.

I'm looking forward to this one because I never grew out of my collegiate affection for surrealism.

Theatre

EastWest Theare presents "Waiting for Godot"

Taking a divergence from the more populist fare of their earlier productions ("Our Town", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and "A Christmas Carol", among others), is EastWest Theatre with their production of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot".

Bring you Coles Notes.

One Act Play Festival

Slightly more under the radar is this One Act Play Festival organized by Zuloo Theatre Productions. They're doing a series of One Act plays penned by local writers spanning a gamut of genres. It takes place this Friday at 7:30pm at the British International School Pudong Campus (600 Cambridge Forest New Town 2729 Hunan Road, Pudong). Tickets and info, email tickets@zuloo.co.uk or call 13818379554.

Film

"Up From the Underground" -- Hard Queen Documentary

Daedalum Films screens their documentary of local indie band Hard Queen on May 9 at the CANART gallery on Dingxi Lu: "The film looks at the origins of this up-and-coming band, profiles its members, and examines the challenges of making it as an independent group in China." The full info of that project is on their webpage here.

That one's at 9:30pm on May 9, with a performance by the band after the screening. Tickets are 88rmb.

Misc. Misc. Misc. Misc.

The Golden Room: TIMEANDSPACE @ Island 6 (April 25)

Island 6 in 50 Moganshan amps up the esoteric with "The Golden Room", a multimedia collaboration performance by four artists. It's "an abstraction of 4 conversation videorecorded and left as original garbage between a writer and a urban planer about "Sex", a father and his daughter about "Family", a psychologist and a artist about "Death", and two artists about "Love" ...

"Four different fields: Music, Script, Animation, Photography and Wine ... on a sunny Saturday afternoon." Starts 4pm on April 25.

Blender Festival @ River Arts Center (April 25-26)

You've probably heard about the big Blender electronic / digital festival this weekend at the River Arts Center. The first day is the big DJ bonanza, with every locally-based DJ playing (12pm until late on Saturday), but the second day of that this Sunday is a more laid-back exhibition. If you want to avoid the party aspect of that and just check out the digital art and installations stuff, make sure you check it out on Sunday (12pm-6pm). Specifics about the exact nature of the exhibition are a little hard to come buy, so maybe you'll just have to go with no expectations.

Live Love @ Art Lab MOCA (April 30)

Art Lab is really throwing it all against the wall these days. Next Thursday they are hosting "Live Love," which is a 20-person live music jam. Here's the press release:

"Live Love is an audiovisual experiment, exploring rules and games within art and interpretation of process. Every Live Love has it's own concept, personality, this time inviting John to orchestrate live 20 musicians from different backgrounds to play and create within a jam, to discover when it is that jam becomes art."

Click on the event listings to see the list of the 20 musicians. Cover: 80rmb. Starts 9pm.

***

Tagged: Stage Live Music Event Previews Concerts Clubbing Art Activities