Spring Festival Programme 2016
Nine hundred and fifty visitors came to China Exchange during our 2016 Spring Festival programme as we welcomed the Year of the Monkey. Events included:
Circle Lines Exhibition: The Hurun Art Foundation launched at China Exchange with Circle Lines, a 10-day exhibition of contemporary Chinese artists. Nine of the artists featured attended the show from China and an artists’ talk gave the opportunity for members of the public to learn more.
Deb8 China: Our short form debate format designed for a young professional audience featured lively discussion of sex in modern China, economic policy, the environment, attitudes to education and censorship in art. Young Professionals in Foreign Policy were our partners for the event.
New Cola Project: Andy Leung and the New Cola Project rocked the Exchange when they launched their album with a startlingly cool performance at 32A Gerrard Street. With electro beats, bass riffs and virtuoso erhu solos, the trio – part of our Cultivate programme – showed the cutting edge cultural exchange and introduced a young crowd to a classical Chinese instrument in an unexpected way.
Opera roots presented by the National Opera Studio: Young artists from the National Opera studio led by Chinese soprano, Wu He performed a gorgeous recital of music from their respective home countries, a selection of Chinese songs, and well-known opera pieces.
Screening of Oriental Silk: We showed a documentary by Xiaowen Zhu about the fortunes of family-run silk shop in LA (the first to import silk to Hollywood) along with a small exhibition of vintage Chinese silks from the shop featured in the documentary. A beautiful and pertinent story reflecting changing styles, standards and communities.
#SnapCNY in partnership with London Instagrammers: We challenged Londoners and visitors alike to submit their photos of Chinese New Year incorporating elements from a China Exchange produced interpretation guide. Eight images were selected for display at China Exchange in a small public exhibition.
