Governing Art Districts: State Control and Cultural Production in Contemporary China*

Abstract

Abstract Contemporary Chinese artists have long been marginalized in China as their ideas conflict with the mainstream political ideology. In Beijing, artists often live on the fringe of society in “artist villages,” where they almost always face the threat of being displaced owing to political decisions or urban renewal. However, in the past decade, the Chinese government began to foster the growth of contemporary Chinese arts and designated underground artist villages as art districts. This article explores the profound change in the political decisions about the art community. It argues that, despite the pluralization of Chinese society and the inroads of globalization, the government maintains control over the art community through a series of innovative mechanisms. These mechanisms create a globalization firewall, which facilitates the Chinese state in global image-building and simultaneously mitigates the impact of global forces on domestic governance. The article illuminates how the authoritarian state has adopted more sophisticated methods of governance in response to the challenges of a more sophisticated society. 摘要 当代艺术家在中国社会长期处于边缘地位, 因为他们的观念往往与主流意识形态相左。在北京, 当代艺术家一度聚居在位于城市边缘地带的 “画家村”, 并且常常面临被迫拆迁的命运。这种情况在过去的十年中发生了巨大转变, 政府开始扶植当代艺术的发展, 并将处于 “地下” 状态的 “画家村” 命名为 “艺术区” 。本文对这一重大政策变化进行了探讨。作者指出, 在全球化背景下, 中国社会日益多元化, 然而, 中国政府通过一系列新机制保持着对当代艺术群体的控制。这些机制在中国社会与外部世界之间设置了一座 “防火墙”, 它使得中国国家机器在树立了一个更为开放的外部形象的同时, 削弱了全球化力量对其内部治理的影响。本位以当代中国艺术为切入点, 揭示了威权政体如何通过运用更为微妙的管理机制, 实现着对一个更为多元、复杂的社会的治理。