The Long March at Apex

January 15, 2003
18:30-21:00
Apexart Curatorial Project, 291 Church Street, New York

The Long March's first public happening of the new year, this presentation, arranged by New York art critic Lilly Wei and delivered by Long March's Chief Cuartor Lu Jie and Assistant Curator Philip Tinari, looked to familiarize art insiders and other interested New Yorkers with our activities in the first twelve sites on our journey. Our host and organizer was the venerable Apexart Curatorial Project in Tribeca.

It was in this gallery that we showed the first of our Long March documentaries, a thirty-minute account of our work in Maotai, Guizhou province, the ninth of our twelve completed sites. Major curatorial themes on this site included the relationship between individual and society, and the notion of the genius. The film, shot by Shen Xiaomin, edited by Qiu Zhijie, told the story of the Long March's arrival in the riverside town, the curatorial decisions and preparations made on-site, and finally the art happening in which villagers consumed the famous local spirit, watched the movie "Pollock," and tried their hand at Abstract Expressionism. The viewers, who included art critics, investment bankers, and graduate students, seemed to enjoy.

The heart of the presentation followed: a site-by-site, Power Point account of the project's work in July and August, 2002. Lu Jie cycled through 150 slides containing more than 300 images, taking turns with Tinari to illuminate the background behind each of the myriad works and projects. The slideshow ended at 20:10, when the two took the presenters' table and fielded questions from the floor. The meeting broke at 21:00.

Turnout reached about 40 at its height. Important work was done in terms of creating a skeleton for future presentations and continuing to circulate the Long March message. We have come to see the "Long March Lecture" as a critical element of the project, a chance to spread our message to audiences far beyond the realm of Chinese contemporary art.

For further information please visit the website www.longmarchfoundation.org