On April 27, 2024, one of the key activities of the Nanshan branch of the 2024 Shenzhen Design Week, the "Fun Community Public Art Project - PLOT City Corridor" was officially opened in Qiaochengfang. The event was hosted by Shenzhen Qiaochengfang Creative Park Cultural Development Co., Ltd., and cooperated with the China Public Art Research Center of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the Public Art and Space Design Studio of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, aiming to organically integrate art with community life, explore a new model of "community building", and fully stimulate the potential of the community with the help of art, and inject new vitality into community development.
The event was also supported by the Propaganda Department of the Nanshan District Committee of the Communist Party of China in Shenzhen, the China Construction Culture and Art Association, the Public Art Professional Committee, the School of Urban Design of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the School of Architecture, Art and Design of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, the Faculty of Humanities and Arts of Macau University of Science and Technology, and the Shenzhen Graphic Design Association.
Explore new possibilities for community building and create a new landmark for urban public art
The "Fun Community Public Art Project" has created a number of highlight projects in Qiaochengfang Park, such as a 600-meter urban corridor, a 150-meter urban reception table, and 7 public artworks. It creates a field that integrates artistic creativity, functional facilities and public interaction, and opens a profound exploration of art, community and life.
Among them, the "PLOT City Ring Corridor" is inspired by "first-line life" and creates a circular dot-like ground corridor about 600 meters long, which cleverly connects all corners of Qiaochengfang Park. This dotted corridor is like a clue that leads the public to explore and experience the wonderful moments and wonderful corners of daily life that are often overlooked.
Five groups of 150-meter-long city reception tables are interspersed in the city corridor, and these undulating reception tables have also become the core clues of more than 30 wonderful urban activities, perfectly integrating art design and community life scenes, creating an all-age friendly "urban living room" for citizens.
In addition, the event also invited seven artists to create public artworks in combination with the special space environment of Qiaochengfang and local conditions. With their unique artistic perspectives, the artists have injected a fresh artistic atmosphere into the public space of Qiaochengfang, and also stimulated the public's thinking about art, design, community, life, nature and other issues.
"If the city corridor is compared to a necklace, then the seven works we created together are like the various colored gemstones that adorn the necklace. Li Zhen, an associate professor at the School of Urban Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, described it vividly. In his view, the existence of these works will become the focus and center of people's gathering, catalyzing more clever integration of people and the environment, and further stimulating the vitality and creativity of the community.
The guests talked about community building and imagined the future blueprint of urban development
On the opening day, Qiaochengfang also held a rambling academic seminar with the theme of "Qiaochengfang Let's Chat - Art Shapes Community Life". The event focused on how to build a sustainable community ecology and attracted the participation of artists, scholars, designers, entrepreneurs and citizens.
Community Co-construction, Neighborhood Interaction, Social Design, Tomorrow's City, Art Sharing, Reshaping the Neighborhood, Creative Industries...... In order to enrich the content of the discussion, the event specially set up a number of introductory words for the guests to choose. Panelists can choose the corresponding topics for in-depth elaboration according to their interests and expertise, and at the same time, other guests can also express their opinions on the same topic and have a lively discussion. This kind of free communication greatly promoted the exchange of ideas and wisdom among the participants, and a variety of new ideas and unique insights emerged one after another, drawing a blueprint for the sustainable development of the community.
Professor Wang of the Central Academy of Fine Arts chose the guiding word "Tomorrow's City", and he pointed out that today's urban renewal should no longer be limited to superficial beautification, but should really touch the core of the community and the actual needs of residents, and be built by the public with the participation of the public.
Wang Zhong further mentioned that today's public art needs to be redefined. He believes that the value and meaning of public art have changed, and it is no longer the art of public space, but the public space of art. Art and design are only the "primer of medicine", and the appeal of the crowd is the core. Public art needs to be rooted in the soil of the community, guide residents to interact and participate, promote the natural growth of culture, and enhance the cultural value of the space.
"This event is another innovative social practice carried out by Qiaochengfang in the field of public art in the commercial community space. Wu Jiena, head of Shenzhen Qiaochengfang Creative Park Cultural Development Co., Ltd., mentioned in the exchange that Qiaochengfang has insisted on building the park with aesthetic concepts since its construction. In the later day-to-day operation, Qiaochengfang also continued to follow the concept of design aesthetics and public service, not only providing high-value office space, but also constantly trying to integrate with art, sports, trendy toys, catering and other cross-border integration, providing residents in the park with a rich and colorful lifestyle and realizing a symbiotic and co-prosperous community ecology. During this design week, it was a bold attempt to carry out the multi-dimensional integration of industry, university, research, government, business and enterprise in such a broad field.
Li Zhen, associate professor of the School of Urban Design of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, served as the moderator of the event, who not only added color to the event with his profound academic background and rich practical experience, but also created a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere for the whole seminar with his humorous hosting style.
The public art project was launched at the same time to create a co-created and shared art community
On the opening day, the "Let's Table" public art series was also launched. It is reported that from April 27th to June 30th, Qiaochengfang will invite a number of communities to carry out more than 30 themed activities that citizens can participate in, including painting, graffiti, flower arrangement, handicraft, and photography. It aims to create a colorful urban canvas through a variety of themed activities and art performances, so that citizens can create and share a vibrant art community.
In the "Flower Table in the Workshop" activity, artists and citizens painted handmade flowers together. Participants can not only exchange their handiwork for a flower to take home, but also leave their own artistic mark in the community public space.
In addition, under the guidance of Yangmeihong's art education teacher, the citizens also participated in the drawing of the city's reception table, presenting the details of life on the table in the form of art. Artist Zhang Yiming created exquisite graffiti on the table, a girl drew her beloved pet rabbits, parrots, turtles, hamsters, etc., vividly and cutely, and a student painted the sign of the lo mei shop that he can see every day on the table, full of life. These works are not only left in the public space, but also become the common memory of the citizens.
The "Plant Dyeing" activity allowed the citizens to feel the color art of nature. Citizens use canvas bags as canvases and plants as pigments, and through repeated patchwork and beating, they create a unique romance of spring.
The pickleball racket design contest kicked off by PICKLEHEAD was also lively. Under the leadership of illustrator Daihito, the citizens used their creativity on his original IP "Egg" to design a unique pickleball racket.
That night, a vinyl party hosted by the Personal Issue brand brought the atmosphere of the whole event to a climax. Citizens released their emotions to the rhythm of music and immersed themselves in the beautiful atmosphere of art and community.
Under the guidance of professional teachers, citizens can learn how to use their mobile phones to capture the beauty of art and the details of life while browsing artworks in the park.
Design is not just for artists or professionals, every citizen is a participant and creator of urban design and placemaking. Qiaochengfang's practice presents us with a public-centered and artistic life-oriented urban design and community building model. Through diversified activity planning, art and design are effectively closely integrated with the daily life of citizens, so that more people can intuitively contact and participate in design, experience the charm of design and the fun of co-creation and sharing. This not only strengthens the citizens' sense of belonging and pride in the city, but also injects more diverse and innovative thinking into the field of urban design.