798: Inside China's Art Zone

In China, if you have exhibited at 798, you have “made it” as an artist. Relatively little-known outside of China until very recently, 798 is now mentioned in nearly every travel guide on China. It has captured the attention of the international art world and is developing into a major cultural phenomenon.

As this book shows, 798 is the result of a unique cultural paradox: as China increasingly embraces individual artistic freedom, it is being combined with China’s long, collectivist history of “doing work together.” For the artists who have exhibited at 798, their association has become a badge of legitimacy within the art world and often a passport to worldwide acclaim (i.e. Song Dong’s recent installation at the Museum of Modern Art). This book offers a revealing first look behind the artistic and cultural phenomenon that is at the vanguard of contemporary Chinese art.

Wenya Huang is a photographer whose work has been published in Oriental Arts, China Gallery, and Conceptual Photography.

Kaixuan Cui is an art critic and curator. He is a member of the Beijing University of Technology faculty. Cui was instrumental in setting up the exhibitions Beijing 2008, You and Me and Everything in Between, and Home Workshop—Beijing Olympics Series.