On December 4, 2015, the press conference of The Fourth Art Sanya was held at Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, to introduce the framework of the event, the concept of its theme, and the relevant schedule of the Art Sanya 2015 to the public. Vice President of Huayu Group and the initiator of “Huayu Youth Award” Zhao Yisong, the judge of “Huayu Youth Award” and the curator of the shortlisted artist group exhibition entitled “The Scale of the Youth” Sun Dongdong, as well as the Academic Chair of the special project “With the Mountains and Rivers – Chinese Landscape in the Multi-Dimension” Wu Hongliang and the curator Feng Xue attended the press conference. The activities will be held as scheduled in Sanya, Hainan province from December 17, 2015 to March 17, 2016.

Art Sanya 2015 is jointly hosted by the Sanya Municipal People’s Government, Huayu Group, Beijing Jiu He Tu Culture Media Co., Ltd., on the basis of past experiences, Art Sanya 2015 will present more abundant features, composed of “Huayu Youth Award”, “With the Mountains and Rivers – Chinese Landscape in the Multi-Dimension”, as well as the “Invention Ceremony” by Made in Company. During the exhibition, it will also hold an ideological confrontation debate around the “Social Intervention Art”, as well as young artist “Unknown Salon” and other wonderful activities.

“Huayu Youth Award” focuses on encouraging the young artists under the age of 35 who propose new problems of art language and thought, and insist on exploration, to assist the contemporary art system searching for the artistic creative status, which has never been excavated and paid attention to. On the basis of the successful holding of Art Sanya 2013 and 2014, the judges of the 3rd “Huayu Youth Award” 2015 comprise Pi Li, Karen Smith, Philip Tinari, Xu Lei, Zhang Peili, Sun Dongdong, Bao Dong, Lu Mingjun, Li Zhenhua, Venus Lau, and Shen Ruijun, and Pi Li serves as Chairman of the committee. On November 5, the primary selection of “Huayu Youth Award” was finished, and 20 young artists including Chen Tianzhuo, Guan Xiao, Han Bing, Lin Ke, Liu Shiyuan, Liu Xinyi, Lu Pingyuan, Miao Ying, Peng Yixuan, Tan Tian, Tao Hui, Wang Enlai, Wang Sishun, Yang Jian, Yang Peikeng, Yu Ji, Zhan Rui, Zhang Ruyi, Zhong Yunshu and Zhu Tian (in alphabetical order by last name) were selected from numerous nominated artists by the judges. Compared to the previous selections, the referrers and judges turned their eyes to the overseas Chinese artists group. The shortlisted artists will bring their new work to participate in the shortlisted artist group exhibition entitled “The Scale of the Youth” (December 17, 2015 – March 17, 2016), and the awards ceremony will be held in Sanya on December 18, and two artists will be selected and awarded the “Jury Prize” and the “Special Jury Prize” by final judges. In addition to the money rewards, “Huayu Youth Award” will continue to support and subsidize the award-winning artists in the professional field, including the implementation and exhibition of individual works and art projects, and the related planning, publicity and publication of literature, etc.

Director of Beijing Fine Art Academy Wu Hongliang serves as Academic Chair of the special project “With the Mountains and Rivers – Chinese Landscape in the Multi-Dimension” of Art Sanya and the PhD candidate of CAFA Feng Xue serve as the curator. This exhibition will cover the presentation of the masterpieces created by well-known Chinese landscape painters in the 20th century, and the major contemporary artists’ art practices themed on landscape. It presents the thought of the proposition starting from the predecessors’ sticking to tradition and fusion of Chinese and western culture, to the present people with a global vision using the past to bring forth the new, in the multiple-dimensional collision. Wu Hongliang believed that it was a reflection on the subjective consciousness and the modern and contemporary Chinese development context. The exhibition will open on January 17, 2016.

After a long-term preparation, “Invention Ceremony” began its world tour, and the presentation during Art Sanya 2015 is the 5th station for the world tour. “Invention Ceremony” is a new way of live art, innovated for contemporary art presentation. As a ritual, it is not only a symbol of a kind of order, aesthetic and political standard, and the more important thing is that it highly praises all the creativities, imaginations and the revolutionary, and even the contemporary art itself. The whole “Invention Ceremony” is planned and designed by Made in Company together with the artists Lu Pingyuan and Zhao Yao, the about 40-minute event contains the works in different forms by more than 20 artists. The ceremony is the second station for the domestic tour, opening together with Art Sanya at the same time.

The ideological confrontation debate around the “Social Intervention Art” will be held at 10 pm on December 19. Pi Li and Sun Dongdong will serve as the hosts of the debate, and the five participants include the artist Shi Qing, the curator Shen Ruijun, Deputy Director of Ullens Center for Contemporary Art You Yang, senior art media Chen Yiming and artist Li Yifan, all guests will respectively expound the own viewpoints in the 120 minutes, going to debate and discuss around this topic at the same time, and then offering a new perspective for the audience to understand contemporary art.

Photo by Zhang Wenzhi, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO.