MoCA of the Month
As an innovative and comprehensive art center, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) consistently demonstrates a compelling and unique way of engaging with the public. UCCA offers artistic experiences interwoven through different exhibitions, programs, events, dining and shopping. As a non-profit art center, all revenue generated is used to support the UCCA’s arts and education programs.
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art
4, Jiuxianqiao Lu 798, Chaoyang District Beijing 100015, POBOX 8503 P.R. China
TEL:
+86 (0) 10 6438 6675
FAX:
+86 (0) 10 6435 1444
E-Mail: info@ucca.org.cn
Tel: +86 (0) 10 8459 9269
Fax: +86 (0) 10 6431 4867
Jean-Michel Wilmotte (Paris), concept design: A master of museum renovation, Jean-Michel Wilmotte is an expert at fostering cultural projects and sympathetically restoring historical buildings in a modern context. His museum work includes: renovating the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon (1991-1998); restructuring Lisbon’s Chiado National Museum after it was devastated by fire in 1994; and designing the beautiful Pavillon des Sessions rooms dedicated to the Primitive Arts in the Louvre in Paris. He is currently working on the restoration of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, due to reopen in 2009.
Ma Qingyun (Shanghai), detailed design: Ma Qingyun founded the leading Chinese architectural practice, MADA s.p.a.m. His leadership of the debate around Chinese cityscapes has made him one of the best known figures in contemporary architecture, and he is a frequent exhibitor, curator and publisher.
The Building
Made of two gigantic “naves” side by side, the building has a combined surface area of 8,000sqm, with ceilings that reach up to 9.6 meters in height. The interior design is based on the intrinsic qualities of the industrial building. Stripped back to its original structure, the factory shows off its perfect proportions. Large concrete gantries support the structure, and a large brick chimney soars 50 meters above the ground.
In the first nave, the ground floor includes two exhibition halls (200sqm and 280sqm), a shop and cafe, and a 130-seat auditorium built around the imposing chimney. The second floor, two mezzanines connected by a pair of transverse footbridges, houses a reference library and a multifunctional suite. The second nave has been completely stripped of decoration to allow the space to be used in any number of configurations. It is an open hall (2,500 m2) for temporary exhibitions and performances.
Linked to gradual, indirect lighting, natural light coming through the center of the roof is controlled and diffused on both sides of the central axis.
Throughout the interior and exterior of the building, UCCA is paying tribute to the work of leading and emerging Chinese artists by dedicating its entire space to their creations: from the entrance to the café, lobby and store, artist’s works are being displayed, extending the duration of presentations also shown in the exhibition halls. The Ullens Center calls this semi-permanent program Super Fengshui. The UCCA building has 8000sqm of display space including three exhibition halls, and was redesigned to international standards by one of the world’s most renowned museum architects, Jean Michel Wilmotte, and one of China’s most prominent architects, Ma Qingyun.
Mission Statement
UCCA’s mission is to develop a multi-disciplinary site for contemporary art, both from China and abroad. UCCA’s exhibitions, events and educational programs provide audience with a platform for dialogue around current social and artistic experiences.
About the UCCA
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in Beijing is a not-for-profit, independent art center, one of the first to be developed in China. Recognizing multiple geographic and cultural perspectives, UCCA is creating a platform for dialogue around current social and artistic experiences.
A public program offers access to film, music and performances, and wishes to create dialogue with artists, academics, curators, and critics through seminars and conferences, while UCCA’s education program brings audiences into regular contact with the people and stories behind the art through lectures, hands-on workshops, and guided tours. In the UCCA Research Room — the first contemporary art reference center of its kind in China— visitors can access a wide range of art books, catalogues, and journals, as well as see changing displays of artists’ editions and related materials, including ‘zines, archival documents, ephemera and digital media.
Collection
Working in conjunction with the Ullens Foundation, which oversees the Ullens Collection of more than 1,500 works by several generations of Chinese artists, UCCA regularly presents exhibitions that explore the collection from different perspectives, as well as showcasing new acquisitions and commissions.
Collection Focus
History
During frequent visits to China for the last 25 years the Belgian art collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens have built up a considerable collection of Chinese art, which they have frequently exhibited and lent to others. The Guy & Myriam Ullens Collection, one of the largest in the world, comprises more than 2,000 pieces by several generations of artists working in diverse media, including masterpieces of sculpture, painting, installation and video. The inspiration behind the collection stems from Guy Ullens’s deep interest in the local art scene and his captivation in the unique creativity of Chinese artists, as well as his fascination in China since his childhood. The collection began with Chinese classical paintings – but was broadened through his interest in the mid 1980’s Chinese avant-garde movement.
The Ullens long-term goal of promoting the image of contemporary Chinese art both
within China and around the world inspired them to conceptualize an international
contemporary art center in the country. The Center opened its space in November 2007 in the heart of the 798 area in the Dashanzi District in Beijing. The opening exhibition ‘85 New Wave. The Birth of Chinese Contemporary Art was curated by Fei Dawei who had emmigrated to Paris in 1989 where he introduced members of the Chinese Avantgarde to the hallmark exhibition Magiciens de la Terre at the Centre Pompidou in the same year. He has been fundamental in establishing the Ullens Center as the institution’s founding director. Since March, 2008 Jerome Sans, co-founder of Palais de Tokyo, has taken over the position of director of the UCCA.
Information compiled from press material provided by the institution.
