Open call: 6th Beijing International Art Biennale

Beijing International Art Biennale (Beijing Biennale for short) initiated in 2003, with the ratification of the State Council and funded financially, is jointly sponsored by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Government of Beijing Municipality and the China Artists Association, and it is also a key name-brand cultural project under the National Program on Cultural Development during the 11th Five-year Plan. We have so far held the Beijing Biennale successively for 5 times in 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012. The participating countries have reached from 45 to 84, the participating artists have totaled more than 3000 and the visitors have reached 1 million during the past 10 years. As a platform for international cultural exchanges, Beijing Biennale adopts the cooperative mode of the Chinese Curatorial Committee and the international curators. We adhere to the idea of making efforts to build a specific international platform, and the exhibits mainly consist of paintings and sculptures. Through the conception of promoting the global harmony by the contemporary artistic exhibition and respecting the variety of the international culture and advice of equal conversation between the orient and occident culture, Beijing Biennale has obtained the approbation and the support from more and more artists across the world.

Ⅰ. The Designation of the Exhibition

The 6th Beijing International Art Biennale, China, 2015 (The 6th Beijing Biennale for short)

Ⅱ. Duration, Venue and Sum of Exhibits

Duration：In the Autumn of 2015 (to be determined)

Venue: Beijing, China

Sum of Exhibits: 600 or so

III. The Theme of the 6th Beijing Biennale

Memory and Dream  

The memory is the inscription on people’s hearts, accumulation of the history, treasure house of the spirit and space to be explored by art. Every nation in the world has their unique historical and cultural memory. The time-honored historical and cultural memory of the Chinese nation is as rich and precious as that of other nations in the world. All nations can communicate with each other and share their unique soul experience and fragrance of the spirit. Dreams are beautiful ideals of people, hopes which put an end to disasters, visions for pursuing happiness and goals which call for relentless efforts. People in every country in the world have their own dreams. To achieve the Chinese Dream of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the dream of peaceful development and win-win cooperation between different countries in the world is the shared goal of us. The dream stimulates the vitality of us to create miracles and a bright future. Memories and dreams combine the history and the reality, connect the past with the future, and are best placed to reflect the humanistic care of artists, arouse their passion to paint and give full play to the aesthetic imagination of artists so that art works can be as lasting as memories and as magical as dreams. 

Explanation:

Memory is the inscription of the minds, the instruction of the history, the accretion of the culture, the brilliant rays of the tradition, the unbreakable national bond, the unforgettable spiritual home, the precious treasure house of reflexion and thoughts of culture, the great space of artistic excavation. Chinese nation is a great nation having a continuous history of 5,000 years, getting along well with other nations on mutual benefit and win for all. All nations in the world have their own memory and their distinctive history and culture. The memory of Chinese nation reflects the precious experience, the excellent intelligence, and shows the communication with other nations. 

The dream is the ideal, the hope, the prospect, the goal of struggle, the vision to be realised after the untiringly struggle. The formation and the realization of the dream reflect the initiative, the activity and the creativity for opening the futur of the individual and the group. Every nation and country has their own dream; the Chinese Dream is to realize the renaissance of Chinese nation. The Chinese Dream is the national dream, and the dream of every Chinese people, the Chinese Dream is not only a dream of realizing the prosperity of the country, the vigorousness of the nation, and the happiness of the people, but also a dream of the cooperation, the developpement, the peace, and the win-win. The Chinese Dream communicates with the American Dream, and the dream of the people from all over the world.

That is to say: the memory and the dream, could reflect most the relation between the past and the futur, could think most about the relation between the nature and the human being, could realize most the imagination of the artists, could present most the humanistic concern, so the memory and the dream are suitable to be the key word of the current biennale.

Ⅳ. Requirements for Participating Artists and Works

    Works for this Beijing International Biennale are to come from all over the world, and influential artists and their representative works will be selected from various participating countries. The works to be exhibited would be mainly composed of paintings and sculptures. However, a certain amount of graphic images, mixed media, and installation works are also acceptable.

1. Participating artists of this Beijing Biennale, domestic and international, consist of specially invited ones and free ones. The Curatorial Committee is to make the decision on the list of the invited artists, and freely participating works are welcome from all over the world.

2. As a rule, participating works should have been completed in the last 5 years and should be of high aesthetic taste and artistic quality. If the works are at certain agencies or collected by other people, the artists generally should be obligated to contact these agents and collectors, if the failure of contact results that the works could not participate in the biennale, the artists will lose his selection qualification. The author should not change the works without authorization; otherwise the Curatorial Committee would refuse the substitutes. Mixed media works printed on paper will not be accepted.

3. The minimum size of drawing work should not be smaller than 1.2×1.2m (including frame) in principle, or larger than 3.0×3.0m (with frame). The minimum size of a sculpture is 50×50×50cm, and the maximum size is 200×200×200cm; the weight of a single work should not be over 150 kg (including foundation), with all parts jointed firmly, and the whole item should be non-fading, keep its shape and of solid quality. The details for works of other forms are to be discussed or negotiated separately. If any special request arises, participants should contact the Organizing Committee in advance.

4. The Organizing Committee has the right to refuse to exhibit works which are not in accordance with the instructions, oversized, overweighed, noisy, smelly, easy to leak liquid, difficult to transport and arrange for exhibition or dangerous to visitors.

V. How to Participate and Related Schedule

1. All artists should each submit the photos within 5 works of theirs to the Curatorial Committee for selection, and should send Registration Form for Participating Artists of the 6th Beijing International Art Biennale, China 2015 and Caption of Works for the 6th Beijing International Art Biennale China 2015. You can download the forms from the website of the Beijing Biennale (cf. XII. Contact Information) or get them from the Beijing Biennale Office (for free).

All participating artists, while filling in the forms, are requested to be legible and leave no items unfinished. Generally, international artists (except for overseas Chinese) had better fill in the forms in English. Materials will not be accepted beyond the deadline.

Participating artists are each requested to attach 2 personal color photos at the size of 2 inches with the registration forms. Meanwhile, an electronic image of the same personal photo no smaller than 1M(in compact disc) is also required.

2. The deadline is  December 25th, 2014.

Please send the forms filled in by hand with signature, color photos of the works (The size of the photo is supposed to be 12 inches, and each sculpture should be matched with 3 photos from different perspectives. On the back of the photo there should be the following information: name of the artist, title, size, materials, creating date and so on. Assembled works should be attached with detailed installation diagram), compact disc (the electronic image of the works is suggested to be no smaller than 4M) to the Beijing Biennale Office before  December 25th, 2014 for the curators’ selection. (cf. XII. Contact Information)

All materials related with the participating works are in principle to be kept in the archives and would not be returned.

3. No registration or participating fee.

4. The curatorial committee will select exhibits from all the works by virtue of their photosin late January of 2015. The result will be declared later at the official website of the Beijing Biennale. Meanwhile, the Organizing Committee will send the noticing letter to the selected artists to clarify the duties, rights and obligations of both sides.

5. The Organizing Committee reserves the rights, such as freely exhibiting the selected and prize-winning works, freely taking photos of these works and making use of these photos free of charge, freely and publicly making use of the artists’ personal information in the registration forms and at the website without concerned expenses to the artist.

6. The Organizing Committee will cover 4 days’ accommodations and food in Beijing only for foreign selected artists who participate in the symposium (The companion should pay all his/her cost by himself/herself).

VI. Mounting, Packaging, Shipping and Insurance of Art Works

1. The Organizing Committee covers the cost of round-trip transportation of foreign works. For the domestic exhibits, we cover only the returning cost.

2. The artists are responsible for installing frames for their works. Oil painting should be firmly fastened on the external frame, and nails and other sharp objects should not be protruding from the internal or external frames. Prints, watercolors and pastels should not be mounted on frames with glass surface. However, organic glass or transparent plastic board can be used. The participants should prepare by themselves if special need of displaying table. Works created with materials will be discussed individually.

3. The participating artists should cover the cost of round-trip insurance of transportation by themselves for their works. The Organizing Committee will be responsible for the insurance of their works during the exhibition. 

4. The Organizing Committee will timely inform international artists the transport company we are to have designated. Before May 31st 2015, overseas participants should deliver their packaged works according to the requirements of the transport agency we designated (We will inform your address and telephone number to the transport agency in advance). The packaged box should bear clearly-written participant number we are to inform on it, and its cost should be paid for by the owner. In principle, transport agents do not pick up works directly from an artist’s house or gallery.

Before August 31st 2015, domestic participants should send directly door to door packaged works to the designated address of our transport agency in time (about the specific time, we will inform), with participant number we are to inform on the box. The participants should cover the arrival cost of the works. The return cost of the works will be covered by the Organizing Committee.

Selected participants should send the works that we selected to the transport agent in time. If they change works without getting agreement from the Organizing Committee, we have the right to refuse the works. If works cannot be transferred to the agent or to the Organizing Committee timely, we are not responsible for their missing the exhibition.

If artists send works which have not been selected to the Organizing Committee or to the venue of the exhibition, the Organizing Committee will refuse such works and have no obligation to maintain or return them.

5. If works are damaged due to inappropriate package or deformed because of their instability and infirmity during transportation, the Organizing Committee will not be in a position to compensate for the loss. 

6. The Organizing Committee will be responsible for returning the works. If the selected artists abroad send their works to the Organizing Committee without the assistance of the appointed agents, the Organizing Committee will not be responsible for returning their works. If really necessary to return the works, the artists should negotiate with the Organizing Committee before May 1st 2015.

VII. The Album of Works and Publicity Materials

1. The album: 635mm×965mm 1/8 color format. In addition to all participating works, it includes brief introductions to artists, and short explanation of the art works. Each participating artist will be presented with one copy of the album.

2.  Exhibition Guide, Hand Book for Help

3.  Color Poster 

4.  Invitation Cards

VIII. Symposium and Proceedings

1. An international symposium with simultaneous interpretation (in English) will be held on the day after the opening ceremony.

2. The Curatorial Committee members, exhibition participants, influential art critics, curators, scholars, editors and so on will be invited from both home and abroad. 

3. Discussion will focus on the exhibition theme, for instance,  “Memory and Dream” or “World Art Conversation of China Dream”.

4. The collection of the papers or speeches will be published in both Chinese and English after the symposium.

Ⅸ. Awards

The international jury consisting of artists, curators and critics from China and international community will decide on the Awards for Best Work, Excellent Work, and Outstanding Chinese Young Artist’s Work before the inauguration of the exhibition. The result will be declared through media.

Ⅹ. Certificate

The Organizing Committee will issue Certificate for Selection, Certificate for Winning Prize.

Ⅺ. Organizations

Sponsors:  China Federation of Literary and Art Circles;  The People’s Government of Beijing Municipality;  China Artists Association. China Artists Association will be responsible for concrete implementation.

Supporting Organization: (to be determined)

Co-organizations: (to be determined)

Coopration Organizations : Chinese Embassies in Participating Countries, Embassies of Participating Countries in China, Cooperative Organizations from Participating Countries

Organizing Committee:

The Organizing Committee of the 6th Beijing Biennale, composed of honorary director, executive director, deputy directors and committee members, coordinated organizations, supporting organizations, co-organizations and related departments, and is responsible for the preparatory and exhibition work of the 6th Beijing Biennale.

Curatorial Committee:

The Curatorial Committee of the 6th Beijing Biennale (Curatorial Committee for short), composed of directors of the organizations involved and artists invited and international curators, undertakes the academic work of the Biennale’s preparation and exhibition, including recommendation of specially invited artists, selection of art works, planning for the symposium and editorial work for the album of works as well as the publication of the collection of papers and speeches at the symposium, etc.

Counselors (4): Jin Shangyi, Shao Dazhen, Yuan Yunfu, Qian Shaowu

Chief Curators (5): Zuo Zhongyi, Liu Dawei, Feng Yuan, Wang Mingming, Wu Changjiang

Curatorial Team (20) (in the order of Chinese surname strokes):

Ding Ning,  Ma Shulin, Wang Yong, Lu Yushun, Tian Liming, Liu Jian, Liu Jin’an, Li Xiangqun, Wu Weishan, Yang Feiyun, Zhang Xiaoling, Hang Jian, Hu Wei, Xu Li, Tao Qin, Zhu Di, Chao Ge, Dong Xiaoming, Tan Ping, Xue Yongnian

International Curators: Beate Reifenscheid、Christian Saehrendt 、Lin Xiangxiong

Beijing International Art Biennale Office, as well as the International Department of the China Artists Association will be responsible for all the organizing work.

XII. Contact Information

Address: Beijing Biennale Office of China Artists Association.

Room B1701, Building 32, 1 Beishatan, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China 

Postal Code: 100083 Tel:  86-10-59759381   59759382   59759383

Fax:  86-10-59759381

Website: www.bjbiennale.com.cn (in both English and Chinese)

E-mail:  bjbiennale@163.com

Notes: The artists applying to participate in this Beijing International Art Biennale are all regarded as agreeing with the above regulations and the content of the forms. The Organizing Committee of the 6th Beijing International Art Biennale 2015 has the sole right to explain the regulations.

With respect to the selected artists of overseas Chinese and from Hong Kong and Taiwan, their rights and obligations are the same as their counterparts in the mainland of China.

(Source: The Organizing Committee of Beijing International Art Biennale)

* Please find the registration form in the brochure  (in English and Chinese).