Maybe you still remember the artist talent show held by Mango TV last year, and got to know many young artists through the program. But in fact, every autumn in Beijing, over a thousand artists go through an open selection process, with 100 finalists ultimately participating in a nationwide touring exhibition. This youth art fair, which resembles a talent show, has actually been running for 12 years.

"Young Art 100" has received plenty of praise along the way, but has also faced misunderstanding and skepticism. Since its very first edition, the selection committee—composed of well-known artists, curators, and academy professors—has been in place, similar to many other juried exhibitions or award systems. Its existence ensures a baseline of quality for the exhibited works. However, some have criticized its choices as being overly academic (a common criticism directed at many juried art committees). “Though many artists come from academic backgrounds, they don’t necessarily stick rigidly to academic styles. Young Art 100 has always aimed to be more inclusive and open,” says Peng Wei, the director of Young Art 100, emphasizing this principle as something the project has upheld for the past 12 years. “Many artists from the first edition were not considered promising at the time — for example, those working in abstract or new ink painting styles... they all faced skepticism and criticism.” But the art market has its delays; time eventually provides the answers.

Many of today's well-known young artists had once exhibited with Young Art 100 early in their careers. For example, artists like Tong Kunniao and Ge Yulu, who attracted much attention during their graduation exhibitions, also drew wide attention when they participated in that year’s Young Art 100. Others, such as Chi Qun and Xu Hongxiang, who joined in the early years, have now reached mature stages of their professional careers. Emerging during the golden period of Chinese contemporary art, this youth-oriented art fair has accompanied the growth of a whole generation of young artists, offering many opportunities for exposure, helping art institutions and galleries discover new talents they want to work with.

Exibition Site

Among the many large-scale exhibitions once dedicated to promoting young artists, Young Art 100 has become one of the few survivors. It’s like a final escort for students as they graduate, but unlike academy graduation shows, it provides these emerging artists with a completely market-oriented yet curatorial-driven environment to test themselves. Their works are also given more room to breathe and develop. For example, Chen Zhaocheng’s work Trapped Beast left a strong visual impression when it was displayed at the center of the CAFA Sculpture Department's graduation show last year. In this exhibition, however, it appears in the section Salt in Life, where the dark space and cohesive curatorial presentation give the piece an even more chilling and hair-raising effect.

Exibition Site

Within its exhibition structure, Young Art 100 continues to experiment with new approaches each year. For example, the “Exhibition Curator-in-Residence” program invites young curators—who are equally eager to showcase their own abilities—to realize their curatorial ideas, bringing fresh concepts that resonate more with the tastes of the younger generation. The role of exhibition agents, while somewhat similar to traditional gallery volunteers, offers them opportunities to interact directly with collectors and develop their networking skills. Perhaps it is precisely this inclusive, constantly evolving approach that has allowed Young Art 100 to sustain itself for 12 years—and counting.

This year’s theme, The World Is Round, evokes a sense of déjà vu: while everything seems to be changing, some things still retain their original form. In this edition of 798Arts, we interviewed Ms. Peng Wei, Director of Young Art 100, to talk about the project’s original mission over the past twelve years—and also about her own youthful journey.

Interview

Peng Wei

Director of Young Art 100, President of Mingtai Culture

798arts: 

“Young Art 100” is known as the leading promotion platform for young artists. After 12 years of practice and observation, how has "Young Art 100" changed compared to when it first started?

Peng Wei: 

In the first three years, “Young Art 100” was held in 798. Back then, we weren’t well-known, and young artists didn’t receive much attention as a group. As the name suggests, ‘Young Art 100’ initially featured about 100 selected artists. At that time, we could only secure less than a week’s exhibition time by gathering support from several institutions in 798 to present the works of these emerging artists. Looking back now, we often joke that we were like monks going around asking for alms from institutions and spaces, such as Yue Art Museum, Saint Art Space, 798 Art Factory, and so on. So we feel a deep emotional bond with 798.

As for the selection mechanism for young artists, structurally it hasn’t changed much over the past 12 years. It has always been grounded in academic standards, following a professional approach. Each year, after a global open call, about 100 artists are selected. This number fluctuates slightly — we no longer rigidly stick to the number 100. It’s always about the quality of the works; we’d rather let the art speak for itself than forcefully fill a quota.

Opening Scene of the 2022 Young Art 100 Annual Exhibition

798arts: 

How is this year’s theme for “Young Art 100” reflected in the exhibition? What are the major characteristics of the young artists’ works presented this year?

Peng Wei: 

The inspiration came quite unexpectedly. One night, I suddenly felt memories of old friends and past events flooding back all at once, which made me deeply moved — it felt like the world is a circle. Once we proposed this theme, everyone resonated with it. This year marks the 12th anniversary of “Young Art 100,” and in traditional culture, 12 years is a cycle, so we chose this idea of recurring cycles as the theme.

We didn’t require artists to specifically fit their works to this theme, but many naturally shared a sense of recognition toward it. In the selection of works, including the exhibition I curated on the second floor, you can actually see responses to the theme — the ongoing exchange between newcomers and veterans gradually forming a closed loop.

Guardian Art Center, 2nd Floor Exhibition Hall — Look at Me: Young Art Exhibition Exhibition Site.

798arts: 

This year, the exhibition on the second floor of Guardian Art Center is quite special, as many of the artists have previously participated in “Youth Art 100.” What kind of opportunities do you think Youth Art 100 has brought to them?

Peng Wei: 

Over these 12 years, with all the ups and downs, we’ve met many different kinds of people, and there have been artists who have truly advanced together with us. I wouldn’t go so far as to say we’ve cultivated particular artists, but quite objectively, at least 90% of the artists who are now relatively active have participated in “Youth Art 100.” Here, our main role has been one of accompaniment, walking alongside them as they progress. Through this process, I’ve also grown and matured, and I’ve given my own youth to this project. Likewise, they’ve grown through our program, and then may eventually leave this platform — because we’re not meant to accompany them for a lifetime. The role we play is that of a “1.0 level” value discoverer — we help present them to the public, so that more galleries, institutions, and sectors of the art market can take notice of them — and that’s enough.

Curator Liu Fangfei explaining the exhibition to the audience.

798arts: 

What changes do you think introducing young "curators" and "exhibition managers" has brought to "Young Art 100"?

Peng Wei: 

This is something I've always wanted to talk about. "Young Art 100" is about passing the torch — every generation of young people grows up with it. It belongs to each new generation of young people, and everyone works together to support young art. It truly is a project for young people, constantly welcoming fresh blood into the team — whether as artists, art agents, curators, or collectors. In terms of curatorial work, at the very beginning, we didn’t really have a curatorial concept. But as times have changed, and with the increasing diversity of artistic media and expanded ways of thinking, or the deepening of expertise in specific fields, we wanted to give young curators a chance to take the stage — to curate exhibitions for their own peers. This, in turn, draws even younger groups into the conversation and gets them engaged in discussions about art.

2022 “Art Jingyang” site

798arts: 

In addition to the annual exhibition, Youth Art 100 also organizes year-round projects, such as nationwide touring exhibitions and rural revitalization programs that take young artists beyond Beijing. What kind of system do these projects form? And how does this system contribute to the promotion of young artists?

Peng Wei: 

When we first started the project, we never thought about making a profit. It was during the financial crisis, and the idea was simply for everyone to support each other. The role of art management is to help artists with their creative planning and exhibitions. Once we took this seriously, we found that more and more opportunities and resources started coming our way. The new projects we later developed were natural progressions. But after we did the 1.0 version of the exhibition at Hong Kong’s K11 commercial complex, we suddenly realized that we didn’t have to limit ourselves to professional art museums or institutions — we could engage with the public and create broader connections. Artists also realized that these crossovers could bring them very different feedback and experiences.

So, when we actively started thinking about connecting with design, brands, fashion, automobiles, and so on, we realized we had to walk on two legs — purely relying on idealism isn’t sustainable. Young people can’t spend their whole lives giving selflessly in this environment. There needs to be a business model. While we continue to develop academically, we also explore commercialization. Some of our projects are relatively commercial, but even within a commercial framework, we stick to our unique core values and style.

Exhibition Site

798arts: 

The works presented by “Youth Art 100” generally have two characteristics: on one hand, they reflect the new thinking of contemporary young people; on the other hand, they apply many new media. In 2019, “Youth Art 100” introduced virtual life forms appearing through augmented reality. In the future, what plans does “Youth Art 100” have in terms of "art + technology"?

Peng Wei: 

After 2018, more and more of our selected works have incorporated media like sound, light, and electricity — more cross-disciplinary, cross-professional media interventions. When people walk in, they might feel a bit dazzled; even our long-time collectors often don’t know what to buy. The forms of expression are very lively, full of youthful energy — it’s absolutely blood-pumping.

Exhibition site, "Children 100" project workshop

798arts:

Besides launching one of the earliest exhibitions focusing on young artists, you’ve also very forward-thinkingly initiated projects like Children 100 and Art Therapy.   What kind of value do you hope to achieve through these projects?

Peng Wei:

Children 100 reflects more of an intergenerational relationship. The young artists we’ve grown together with have now grown up and started to have their own children.   We hope to create a platform where children can develop an awareness and understanding of art from an early age.

When we do these projects, our hope is that people will feel that art can bring spiritual joy and satisfaction.This naturally extends to art therapy. In fact, this isn’t something new — these resources have always existed, but no one has really integrated them or advanced them through a dedicated platform or cutting-edge academic research.Many visitors ask me: why should we visit art exhibitions? Why should we participate in art-related activities?   In fact, it’s a kind of self-liberation through art. All these projects have one shared goal: we want to promote the image of young people in various ways, so more people can experience the value of art.

798arts:

As a woman, you’ve also participated in many projects and activities supporting female artists. Do you think there are still unhealthy phenomena regarding women in the art world? How can we help female artists gain more exposure and discourse power in the art ecosystem?

Peng Wei:

Personally, I never had that kind of comparison growing up. I never thought I was weaker than boys. My friends joke that I’m almost gender-neutral — I never feel like something is only for boys to do and not for girls. Before I start anything, I don’t weigh gender — I focus on my own capability. I have confidence in myself.

When it comes to creativity itself, I don’t think there’s any gender difference. In fact, many female artists produce content that can be even more challenging than their male counterparts. However, because of certain entrenched societal views, women often face two big hurdles: marriage and childbirth. The question is whether to continue creating art or shift focus to family life — and whether this will impact her career development going forward.

Exhibition scene — Peng Wei guiding visitors through the artworks.

The second point about childbirth and its impact is overall positive for artists, but the process itself can be very painful, sometimes even destructive to their artistic creation. This reality also makes people feel that female artists have to put in much more effort than others to achieve what’s called a successful career. We don’t avoid or overly emphasize this, but the current situation is just like that. Over these 12 years, we have witnessed many female artists go through the transition of identities and roles. On the whole, the outcome has been positive — most have not abandoned their creative pursuits because of these changes; some have even thrived, finding ways to coexist and build symbiotically with their children and family. We are very pleasantly surprised to see them in such a state.

During this process, what we can do is to call for more attention and support, helping them complete this transition and strengthen their development direction. That’s also why I organize some women artists’ exhibitions — because people need mutual communication, support, self-reflection, and the strength gained from seeing others’ experiences.

Interview | Larry Z

Text | Larry Z, Ng

Editing | Larry Z

Photo Credits | Youth Art 100

提交审核 预览