Ullens Center for Contemporary Art
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| Established | November 2007 |
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| Location | 798 Art Zone, Beijing |
| Coordinates | 39°59′21″N 116°29′17″E / 39.989057°N 116.48793°E |
| Director | Philip Tinari |
| Website | http://www.ucca.org.cn |
The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) is a comprehensive, not-for-profit art center serving a global Beijing public. As a platform for contemporary art linking China and the world, UCCA offers exhibitions and public programs which focus attention on the cultural situation in China, stimulate the development of the arts, and advance the public cultural sensibility.
UCCA: A Catalyst for Contemporary Culture in China
The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) located at the heart of the 798 Art District, it was founded by collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens and opened in November 2007. Through a wide array of exhibitions and programs, UCCA promotes the development of the local artistic environment, fosters international exchange, and showcases the latest in art, design, and other fields. UCCA’s cultural and educational programs bring the public into close contact with cutting-edge thought in art and the humanities, advancing the public cultural sensibility and bringing new experiences to its audience.
Exhibitions
UCCA’s four main spaces play host each year to around fifteen exhibitions of varying scale. A rich complement of educational and interpretive programs expand the reach of these displays, bringing viewers into closer contact with the ideas behind the work on view. As an international museum operating on Chinese soil, UCCA maintains a special focus on recent developments and historical movements in Chinese contemporary art, pairing this expert engagement with exhibitions devoted to major trends and figures from around the region and the world. Through the rigor of its curatorial standards, UCCA aims to further the development of the art world in China and bring public attention to the very best work being made.
Past highlights
Since its opening in 2007 till now, UCCA has presented more than a hundred exhibitions and attracted more than 4 million visitors. Beginning its curatorial program with “85 New Wave: The Birth of Chinese Contemporary Art”, UCCA has continued to make real contributions to the field of art historical research through the large-scale group shows “Breaking Forecast: 8 Key Figures of China’s New Generation Artists” (2009), “ON | OFF: China’s Young Artists in Concept and Practice” (2013), and “Hans van Dijk: 5000 Names” (2014); while the solo exhibitions “Liu Xiaodong: Hometown Boy” (2010), “Wang Jianwei: Yellow Signal” (2011), “Gu Dexin: The Important Thing Is Not The Meat” (2012), “Wang Xingwei” (2013), “Xu Zhen: a MadeIn Company Production” (2014), and “Liu Wei: Colors” (2015) are also considered critical to the discourse of contemporary Chinese art.
Acting as a catalyst in the development of contemporary culture within China, UCCA has also presented the international surveys “Inside A Book A House of Gold: Artists’ Editions for Parkett” (2012), “Indian Highway” (2012), “DUCHAMP and/or/in CHINA” (2013), and “The Los Angeles Project” (2014), bringing to light the latest in global art trends.
UCCA has also served as a platform for the works of Olafur Eliasson, Tino Sehgal, Tatsuo Miyajima, Taryn Simon, and Sterling Ruby, introducing China to these significant figures in contemporary art.
Public Programs
Though its public programs, UCCA offers a meeting place for exchange, communication, study, and the sharing of interest, knowledge, and passion. Offering a wide range of events including talks and forums, art cinema, live performances, workshops, and family and school programs, UCCA’s Public Programs Department takes art as a starting point to provide content in many fields and on different levels, turning the Center into an open classroom for its visitors and an indispensable public space in the city.
UCCASTORE
UCCASTORE maintains China's leading program of limited editions, having collaborated with more than forty artists to produce specially commissioned works. It also showcases the work of cutting-edge designers, offering a wide range of original products found nowhere else. All UCCASTORE proceeds support the Center’s programs and operations. Currently UCCA has two stores as UCCASTORE @ DESIGN and UCCASTORE @ ART.BOOKS.
Education, Creative Studio
The UCCA Creative Studio is a flagship art education program for children 2 to 11 years old. Rooted in UCCA’s status as a leading Chinese contemporary art center, the studio’s curriculum incorporates three main components: Regular Classes, Creative Workshops, and the Discovery Area. The curriculum takes a comprehensive approach to cognitive development through learning about perception, reflection, creation, and expression in the arts. At Creative Studio, kids not only learn about art; they learn how to perceive, how to reflect, and how to realize their ideas.
Site and History
Spread over three factory chambers built in the early 1950s to Bauhaus-influenced designs, UCCA's spaces maintain traces of their industrial past. Fully renovated by architects Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Qingyun Ma in 2007, it is a space capable of hosting international exhibitions of the highest caliber. With a total area of 8,000 square meters, it encompasses four main exhibition spaces including the signature Great Hall, the Central Gallery, the Nave, and the Long Gallery, all of which boast professional lighting and climate and humidity control and support exhibitions of the highest caliber.
Founders
UCCA founders Baron and Baroness Guy and Myriam Ullens de Schooten are among the world’s leading art collectors. Their deep affection for China led them to build one of the world's most comprehensive collections of Chinese art, and in turn an art center that would promote the development of this art. Having retired from a forty-year career with his family's business in 2000, Mr. Ullens devotes his full energies to charitable initiatives. Together they also maintain a series of projects in Nepal including orphanages, child-nutrition centers, and the Ullens School. In 2004, Mrs. Ullens founded the Mimi Foundation, which helps to ease the suffering of cancer patients at hospitals throughout Europe.
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