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The starting point for the next stop: Porsche "Young Chinese Artist of the Year" wrapped upThree final winners revealed

・ The final three winners of the Porsche “Young Chinese Artist of the Year” programme were announced at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre;
・ Discussing topics generally concerning the art ecosystem, the art seminar took the programme to a new academic level;
・ The wrapping-up of the programme saw further progress in Porsche’s support of young Chinese artists in collaboration with ART021.

Shanghai – On November 9, the three winners of the Porsche “Young Chinese Artist of the Year” programme were revealed at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. Wu Junyong, Yao Qingmei and Zhang Ding, were the final winners, and impressed with their creative expression and critical thinking on historical, cultural and social issues. A large number of art professionals attended the high-end art seminar session. They conducted in-depth discussions on topics generally concerning the art ecosystem, taking the concept of the programme to an academic level.

Demonstrating diversified styles

The biggest highlight of the press conference was undoubtedly the announcement of the final three winners. Wu Junyong, Yao Qingmei and Zhang Ding expressed their intense thoughts on relevant social phenomena through different art forms and unique expressions such as images and installations. Wu Junyong's animated video reveals many existing issues under the guise of "humor," “absurdity” and creative ideas. The jury believed that he has a deep insight into tradition, history, and the contemporary era, and integrates other disciplines into his artistic practice, forming the depth and scope of his work.

Yao Qingmei is a female artist who is mostly self-taught and does not belong to China’s art institute system. She has relied on theatrical performances with a unique sense of humor to construct the conflict between people, ideology and the social order, inspiring the audience to think about, and question, the various power mechanisms at play in history and reality.

Zhang Ding's recent collection of works highlighted the various problems people encounter when growing up in contradictory and misplaced scenes. For example, his two-screen image installation "Boxing" shows a character fiercely hitting a sandbag made of three prickly cacti. The jury commented that he adopted an idealistic narrative to intuitively create a chilling ridicule, ensuring that such straightforward forms of expression no longer seem crude and simple.

Searching for future possibilities

What role do art awards play in the art system? How will they influence the artists’ future creation? With Ms. Zhou Ying, Executive Committee member of the Porsche "Young Chinese Artist of the Year" programme and Art Director of ART021 as the moderator, the art seminar held heated discussions on art awards, bringing the press conference to its peak. At the seminar, Associate Editor of The Art Newspaper (Chinese version) and jury member of HUGO BOSS Asia Art Award for Emerging Asian Artists, Mr. Li Qi; art historian and member of the Porsche “Young Chinese Artist of the Year” Nomination Committee, Ms. Yu Miao; Deputy Director of Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Mr. You Yang; as well as the sponsor of Powerlong Art Awards, Ms. Xu Hualin expressed their opinions.

The guests present unanimously agreed that obtaining academically significant and influential art awards will greatly encourage artists, especially young artists who have just started their career. Recognition brought by the awards will enhance their faith in artistic creation, and thus, help them stick to their own path of artistic development. In addition, art awards should pay more attention to the development of art itself. By identifying artists with independent creativity, they can provide diverse perspectives on the future of art. And that's exactly why Porsche launched the “Young Chinese Artist of the Year” programme in the first place.

Staying true to its commitment

As one of the core practices of Porsche's "Empowering the Future" CSR programme, the “Young Chinese Artist of the Year” programme is a new platform that is based on Porsche’s successful seven-year experience of cultivating young artists. The programme, jointly organised by Porsche China and ART021, aims to tap and support young Chinese artists, who are innovative and experimental, to promote the present changes and future development of China’s contemporary art.

The programme comprises three phases: nomination, art exhibition of nominated artists and announcing the winners. From its official launch in May to the exhibition of the art works of 15 nominated artists that began on August 31, the Porsche “Young Chinese Artist of the Year” programme has attracted the attention of the artistic community and the general public. Until now, online and offline coverage of the programme has gained more than 22 million views, including over 4.70 million views of the video introducing the 15 nominated artists, in only ten days on major video websites, and WeChat and Weibo platforms.

"I am delighted to see the Porsche “Young Chinese Artist of the Year” programme come to a successful end, and congratulations to the three winning young artists." Franz Jung, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche China, said: "This is a perfect ending. This new programme has taken Porsche’s 'Empowering the Future' corporate social responsibility programmes a step ahead in the development of young art talent, and we believe that the outcome of this year’s event will establish a higher standard for subsequent programmes."

11/9/2017

Further information and pictures for journalists and media representatives can be found on the Porsche press database at http://presse.porsche.de/.