Celebrate Hutong Resilience With Screenings and Exhibitions as Part of 'Hutong Art Project,' Jul 20-29

Though it's been a tough year for hutong dwellers – what with the endless closure of various quirky, creative, and beloved alleyway businesses – a new art project should help cheer up anyone with an unwavering affinity for offbeat happenings in Beijing's aged courtyards and twisty corridors.

Fittingly titled Hutong Art Project Vol. 1, a series of events will take to the hutongs and span both this and next weekend, featuring documentary screenings, photo exhibitions, open mics and poetry readings, and other such works that celebrate the vibrancy and volatility of these bohemian Beijing neighborhoods. Participants include established scenesters like Lance Crayon (who will talk about graffiti culture and screen his related doc Spraypaint Beijing); spoken performances by members of Spittoon and Loreli; ‘zine showcases by the girls behind Hole in the Wall; and art exhibits by a range of up-and-comers. 

Hutong Art Project founder Liu “Jady” Qilin (who also kickstarted the Beijing Hutong Team as a platform as a collective for such events) hails from Chongqing, and is currently enrolled at Beijing Normal University. He spends much of his free time at alt-rock gigs, doc screenings, cafés, and trawling through what remains of the city's hutong haunts.  

“As a newcomer in Beijing and art and culture enthusiast, I'm very glad I can collect many creative people to join the Hutong Art Project. Every participant has the freedom to record and express hutongs in their own perspective,” he tells the Beijinger about the series of events he coordinated this month, adding that he’s already planning a follow up of four more events for the Hutong Art Project Vol. 2 in September.

Liu was inspired to put on this series of celebratory events back in April when he heard rumblings about Fangjia Hutong’s widespread chai-ing. The series of events kicks off this afternoon (Jul 20) with the Vitality Remains exhibition at 27 Yard, which Jady curated personally. The exhibition features an array of photos that amount to a “before and after” account of alleys that were bricked over, and how people keep going about their lives despite even after the dust literally settled. “I wanted to convey the message that although the hutongs are being renovated, vitality still remains.”

A similar exhibition of photos and paintings will be put on at Luo Space on July 29, marking the end of the initial rendition of this project.

Jady hopes the themes of, and talent partaking in, these events will be relatable to many an artsy hutong regular. However, he will also look to broaden the scope of future projects. “At first I suggested them try to record different hutongs and interview different parties affected by the renovation such as residents, shop owners, customers, and tourists, but later it appeared that participants preferred to voice their own opinion. So, we decided to make the project a specific and focused one rather than being exhaustive but broken.”

Until then, downtrodden Beijingers can be heartened by this uplifting group of events about all that make the hutongs such an exciting place to be.

The Hutong Art Project: Vol. 1 runs from July 20-23 and July 29, with each day’s event kicking off at 3pm. Below is a list of the venues and events scheduled for each day:

July 20 - 27 Yard
July 21 - Yue Space
July 22 - NC Space
July 23 - Camera Stylo
July 29 - Luo Music Space

More specifics can be found here, or scan the QR code below to join the project's group chat:

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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle

Photos courtesy of The Beijing Hutong Team