696 WEIHAI ROAD
696 courtyard and map
From April 2008 till April 2011 stage候台BACK was located at "696 Weihai Road", the then so called "newish underground artist enclave. "696" an old warehouse that at one time was an opium den build in the 30ties of last century and most recently an auto parts warehouse. It hosted a handful emerging galleries and around 70 artist studios. Beginning of 2011 the government announced the eviction of all 696 studios by May 2011 to make space for more sophisticated real estate projects.
3rd floor roof top
This was a widely discussed and criticized in the local and international press. The Art Newspaper reported:
SHANGHAI. Following the demolition of Ai Weiwei's Shanghai studio in the city's outskirts, other artists in the city are also facing the loss of their spaces. An old factory in downtown Shanghai, which has survived for more than four years as a dissident artist colony, and is only a few hundred meters from Shanghai's main luxury fashion street Nanjing Road, which hosts the Louis Vuitton China flagship store, Prada and numerous other big-name brands, now faces its final shutdown as the local government has moved in to evict the tenants of its 72 sub-divisions.
Building 19, 3rd floor corridor
The colony, known by its address "Weihai Road 696" has become a cornerstone of the less commercial, avant garde art scene in Shanghai. The space has an ever evolving blend of tenants, a mix of numerous professions from the more traditional painters, sculptors, photographers and print makers, to fashion designers, animators, documentary makers, performance artists, theatre practitioners, and even a Chinese cooking school. There are also a handful of experimental galleries, such as AroundSpace, Stageback and Dohjida from Kyoto, Japan.
Rolf Kluenter, Limbo Grid, installation view, November 2008
Despite some local and foreign media coverage of the expected evictions, there has been no discernible effect on local government officials. A Chinese artist, a long term resident in Shanghai's other noted art zone, M50, said that that area also faced demolition in its early days: "All the artists used their connections. We even found the retired teachers of all those government officials, the reform and development office and so on, and [we] called them up and shouted at them, that was how we survived." However, as Weihai Road 696 is mostly occupied by artists from outside Shanghai, they do not have the local connections to mount such a campaign.
Thomas Palme, Madness, Booze and social Phobia, installation view, October 2008
There are many rumours as to what the authorities plan for the space, and the adjoining block of old, red-brick lanes. It may be that the area will be redeveloped into a gentrified tourist spot, like Xintiandi, or will be turned into expensive architect studios, or simply become office space, similar to Shanghai's other "creative zones".
Thomas Palme, Madness, Booze and social Phobia, installation view, October 2008
Junker and Palme, Madness, Booze and social Phobia, October 2008
"There are 31 creative zones in Shanghai and not a single one suits me," resident artist Ma Liang said. His Weihai Road studio was recreated in the Shanghai Art Museum for the recent Shanghai Biennale. Rents in the creative zones, usually in outlying areas, are around 1$ per meter per day, compared to 20 cents per meter per day at the Weihai road site.
Krisitian von Hornsleth, Deep Storage, performance, installation view, May 2009
In the adjoining lanes, local officials send in security squads and officials to silently stare at tenants and visitors. The owner of a small coffee shop in the lanes said Chen Guan ("City officer", a lower-ranking member of the security police) were regularly coming into his shop to stare at his customers "until they become uncomfortable and leave".
Gordon Chandler, wear objects, installation view, March 2010
Thomas Rusch, BEHIND, installation view, June 2010
Susanne Junker kicking off grid that was put by authorities during the world expo 2010, September 2010
Barbara Anna Husar, artist in residence, cord of rexa, September 2010
There are concerns that once the tenant leases expire in March there will be trouble. "There are three groups," one artist, a printmaker, explained. "Those who will die before they leave, those who don't know what to do, and those who are already leaving."
Weltschmerz, Chris Gill + Terence Lloren, December 2010
German artist Rolf Kluenter added: "Shanghai will lose its heart when this place closes, doesn't Shanghai want a heart?"
Susanne Junker, myspace, last installation at stageBACK at 696. April 2011
