The document summarizes a series of performance workshops held in Shanghai in 2008 to develop new collaborative artworks for the eArt Festival and Transart. The workshops brought together artists from different disciplines including music, dance, visual art, and architecture. Over the summer, they explored new techniques and generated artistic content for a multi-media performance. The presentation combined live music, dance, and visuals on a stage designed specifically for the event. The workshops aimed to foster more interdisciplinary collaboration between artists in China.

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19.10.08

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PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP: EART
FESTIVAL AND TRANSART
Arthub is producing a series of new collaborative artworks for Shanghai eArt festival and
Transart. Patience for the Man is born, following a number of workshops to explore the
possibility of an open creative interdisciplinary production, where the “actors” could come
to know each other and generate new artistic content, meaning and directions.
These workshops went on all summer in three steps:
The firstThe first one saw the artists working together from May 23rd to May 30th in the BizArt
center, Shanghai.
The secondThe second one was done in June at the Shanghai Conservatory. The artists were able to
work in the Conservatory thanks to the support of eArt Festival. At the end of a 3 day
workshop the artists gave a full rehearsal in H Space for two nights.
The thirdThe third one just finished in preparation for the first presentation on the 19th of October
2008. This will take place at 8:30 pm on a stage specifically created for the occasion in
Xujiahui park.
Alizia Borsari introduced a new dramaturgy to the dancers. Select visual artists were
asked to go beyond their medium and to experience new techniques of expressions more
affiliated to “decontextualized emotions.” The result is a multi-media presentation–a live
performance within a musicscape. Both B6 and Aaajiao performed live together with the
dancers on a stage created by the architect duo Wang Zhenfei and Wang Luming.
The presentation still requires further development, which the performers hope improve
upon in the future.
This collaborative way of working in a multi-disciplinary context is fairly new in China.
Only few experiences like this one where usefully put in place in the last decade. As Els
Silvrants of Theatre in Motion writes: “In this respect this program, will create a localized
partnership with artists from various disciplines that traditionally are not communicating
enough at a creative level. The projects presented are interested in creating connections
and clusters in China that are able to go beyond themselves to the public in other places.”
Els Silvrants continues, “Working with the right partners, in a collaborative effort, establish-
ing in effect a network based on artistic integrity, quality standards and an equal sense of
professionalism provides artists, curators and the audience in China and Europe with an
important point of reference. It allows for a context to grow in China, while events and ex-
hibitions in Europe about China, can draw upon a solid knowledgable framework rooted

3. in the local scene. Providing this will allow for a more in-depth image of the situation in
China than we unfortunately often come across in larger Chinese festivals and exhibits in
Europe.”
Participants:Participants:
B6, music composer; Alizia Borsari, art director/performer, Beijing; Aaajiao, new media
artist and computer programming, Shanghai; Nunu, dancer, Shanghai; Ling Xi, Dancer,
Shanghai; Wang Zhenfei and Wang Luming, architects and concept designers, the Nether-
lands; He Yiming, graphic designer, Shanghai