Deciphering the world of Chinese modern art

Demystify the Chinese modern art world with a couple of clicks, just in time for its rise to international glory.

Being a Chinese art buff just got a little easier. ArtSpeakChina, the Wikipedia of the Chinese modern art world (the layout of the articles is very similar) now speaks in two tongues as it officially launches its new bilingual site (English and Mandarin) at www.artspeakchina.org and www.tanyishu.cn. 

Based on the principals of online, collaborative knowledge, the site is no hippie hub, but the ultimate reference for Chinese artists and the world of Chinese contemporary art. Where was this when we were in college? At a time when Chinese modern art and its stars are on the rise around the world, this site might just be what budding art aficionados have been looking for. 

At the time of launch, ArtSpeakChina had over 300 articles, a multi-media timeline of historical and arts events since 1949 and a pretty easy to navigate search function for those who just want to go straight to what they’re looking for.

In true open source style, Art Daily reports that, “ASC users are encouraged to create and edit content in either language, to assure that ASC grows to cover the full depth and breadth of today’s dynamic Chinese contemporary art community. Content can be added or edited by anyone with an Internet connection and is promptly reviewed by ASC editors for accuracy, notability and readability before publication.”

Although ArtSpeakChina is a basic encyclopedia, look out for the launch of ASCArchive.org where artists will be able to upload primary source materials (such as photographs and diaries) as reference materials.

A borough-bred Manhattanite, Jessica Beaton has lived in Shanghai for three years working as a magazine editor and freelancer writer. She's now the Shanghai city editor at CNNGo.

Read more about Jessica Beaton