Beijing's Largest Art District's Take on the Olympics

I knew sports and entertainment public relations were similar – both involve obtaining sponsorships and managing perceptions of personalities, for starters. But I had failed to notice the direct connection the Olympics has with the arts. This is especially apparent to me, as I work in and live right by the Beijing 798 Art Zone, which has been compared to New York's SoHo.

In terms of how this affects my daily life, my neighborhood, despite its distance from any major Olympic venues, is clad in Olympic fever. Every shop directly across the street from the 798 Art Zone has a large Chinese flag hanging from next to its door. The streetlights are decked out in Olympic banners. There’s an Olympic-themed graffiti ad, a brilliant one I blogged about earlier, a five-minute walk from my work and apartment. Olympic volunteers sit on basically every corner, some with subway maps and the major buses in the neighborhood listed on cardboard. There’s a public bathroom sign on the corner near my apartment, new for the occasion. You can see buses specifically for the Olympics drive by.

The entire city is flooded with tourists, my work, T Space, being no exception. It seems like every gallery in 798 but mine is presenting an Olympic-themed exhibition; however, everyone has a different take on presenting the Olympics. Galleria Continua’s response is to host “Unmoved,” which forces you to take longer than you usually would to look at works in a Beijing that’s becoming more and more rushed to prepare for the Olympics. “International Kebab” at Tang Contemporary is about how everyone wants a piece of China. Faurschou’s direct approach is to host a solo Andy Warhol show that includes his Athlete Series. “Chinese Contemporary” at ArtSide is supposedly about the Olympics as well, but I’m not sure I see the connection. I think the timing of the opening a week ago is more relevant to the Olympics than the incredibly famous artwork in it. I wonder if some of these galleries are presenting the same shows they normally would, but connecting them to the Olympics as a marketing ploy.

And why wouldn’t they? The New York Times reported that the Olympics will bring 10,000 guests a day to 798, three times the typical number. One of my coworkers told me that half the diplomats visiting Beijing are expected to visit the district. So far, I haven’t seen much of a spike in T Space’s visitors, maybe because we don’t heavily advertise. However, I have seen a spike in Western visitors and a higher percentage of Americans. Normally, most of the foreigners I meet in Beijing are Europeans.

Media coverage of 798 shortly before the Olympics:
New York Times
China Daily

Have you observed any connections between art and sports? What are your thoughts on art's relationship to the Olympics? I welcome your comments.