Ye Yongqing’s LOFT

“Art districts are never just clusters of studios where artists live and work，”remarks ye yongqing， a painter from Yunnan Province. “As cells of the city， they should fulfill some social and cultural functions. This is universally true throughout the world.” Ye defines art districts as neighborhoods where various artistic activities happen amidst the daily life in the city.

In 1999， Ye， who had just been ranked one of the twenty most active and leading avant-garde artists of the past two decades by Asian Art News， set up an art club inside an old-fashioned villa in Kunming， Yunnan Province， and named it “Upriver Club.” Serving as a restaurant， bar， tea house， gallery and even an art museum，“Upriver Club” presented various exhibi- tions for both individual artists and groups including Xu Zhongmin， Xin Haizhou， Fang Lijun， Zeng Fanzhi， Yue Minjun， and Zhang Xiaogang. While the concept of art galleries was still new to China， “Upriver Club，” China’s first art club operated by an artist， was considered a crucial place for artists to hang work for sale， which in turn made “Upriver Club” Kunming’s only art gallery to sell contemporary experimen-tal art. With increasing popularity due to interaction with so many artists， curators， entrepreneurs， art enthusiasts and collectors， “Upriver Club” was successful in selling art to both enterprises and individuals， acquiring considerable funds to enable its further development and inspire others to launch businesses in cultural industries.

A year later， upon returning from a trip to Shanghai， Ye Yongqing decided to set up an art warehouse in Kunming. Supported by Triangle Art Trust， an international arts organization in the UK， Ye began negotiating with Kunming Machine Molding Factory and rented the factory’s abandoned buildings to artists， to be transformed into studios， galleries， bars and restaurants. Based on this concept， “loft Art Community Motif” gradually developed， becoming the first of its kind in China. One year before the appearance of 798 Art Zone in Beijing， LOFT accomplished the idea of “an open contemporary art district”in Kunming， an internationally obscure city compared to Beijing and Shanghai.

Within a year after its establishment， LOFT became a multifunctional com- munity housing more than 30 painting workshops， four galleries， two restaurants， four bars， a bookstore， a cultural exchange company and a badminton hall along with several design and photography studios. Works from Fang Lijun， Zhang Xiaogang， Luo Xu， He Sen， and Chen Wenbo were all seen hanging for sell at LOFT. Evidenced by Zhang Xiaogang， whose work now sells for up to $10 million but went for only$10，000 in LOFT’s early days， the community was considered an important art marketplace which benefited both artists and buyers. Generally speaking， the operating mode of LOFT was achieved by combining artists’ willingness to interact with the public and modern urban life along with public and private enterprises’ efforts to improve their images through the power of contemporary art. Since its establishment， LOFT has held myriad art exhibitions and cultural communication activities， which facilitated artists’ interaction with the outside world. Following Ye Yongqing’s definition of an art district， LOFT had developed into a lifestyle zone with unique social functionality， wherein housing individual work was still considered its basic duty despite avantgarde features and building style.

As LOFT became a stylish place to visit， the rental costs in its neighborhood skyrocketed to the highest in Kunming. After a bar was rented by the Swedish government to facilitate their native artists’communication with Chinese counterparts， LOFT began being regarded as an art communication hub domestically as well as globally. Embraced by overseas and native artists alike as an inspirational place to live and work， LOFT has become an unexpected draw for the city.

Not until 2004 did Ye leave for Beijing， at which time LOFT ceased holding nationwide art exhibitions. As some key artists chose to follow Ye， LOFT began to decline as a gathering place. Dotted with a few remaining studios and galleries， LOFT is now occupied by many types of restaurants， tea houses， and clubs. However， for Ye Yongqing， who is now living in solitude in Dali， Yunnan Province， LOFT’s early days remain clear in his memory. Although dozens of similar zones have popped up throughout China， none can rival its legacy.