【Intro】 Inside the Chengdu Times Art Museum, a conversation titled “Handshake & Joy” just blew the lid off 40 years of Chengdu’s underground art history. From the 1986 “Red, Yellow, Blue” movement to the 2026 “New Species” exhibition; from the gritty early days of the North Village Independent Factory to world-class installations fit for the Venice Biennale—curator Wei Yan and critic Zhao Huan went deep into the memories that the internet and big capital have tried to “delete.”
Missed the livestream? No worries. Here are four “hardcore anchors” from the talk that make this one-hour deep dive worth your time.
📍 Anchor 1: The “Wild Hybrid” — From Rice to Fine Art Believe it or not, curator Wei Yan spent two years obsessively studying hybrid rice. “Why use wild rice to activate domesticated crops?” Wei reveals that this is exactly how “New Species” works. Contemporary art has become too “tame” and hit a bottleneck. To break through, we have to go back to the streets, the ruins, and the overlooked scraps of everyday life to find that raw, “wild gene.” 💡 Video Highlight: Listen to Wei Yan break down the “Origin of Species” for the art world.
📍 Anchor 2: Chengdu’s “Amputated” History Zhao Huan dropped a heavy question: Why is our history being erased? Even in recent retrospectives of the last 20 years, key DIY spaces like the North Village Independent Factory and re-C art (Langqiao)—the very places that actually supported experimental youth culture—are being left out of the archives. While galleries are getting bigger and exhibitions more “corporate,” the platform for local artists is actually shrinking. 💡 Video Highlight: Zhao Huan and Wei Yan get real about the “spectacle-ization” trap of the Chengdu art scene.
📍 Anchor 3: A Salute to the “Hermits” of ’85 Marking 40 years of the “85 New Wave,” Wei Yan brought back the pioneers who “vanished.” Think Datong Dazhang holding an exhibition in a coal yard with zero attendees, or Wen Pu-lin’s legendary “Seven Sins” footage. These artists stayed independent while everyone else was chasing the “capitalist shop window.” Their work is a wake-up call to today’s fame-obsessed art world. “When this superficial world rejects you, all that’s left is to look up at the stars alone.” 💡 Video Highlight: Revisit the “epic tragedies” of those who chose dignity over a paycheck.
📍 Anchor 4: Why This Might Be the “Series Finale” “Everything has its own logic—including the logic of disappearing.” Wei Yan admits he approaches every “New Species” with a sense of “end-times” urgency. Every year, they give it everything, treating it like it’s the final goodbye. If you want to know how a Chengdu curator pulls off a $300k-looking show on a $30k budget, and how to keep creating in an uncertain era, the most honest answers are right here.
【Watch Guide】
The academic ambition and the sheer struggle for survival behind this massive cross-media show… it’s all here in this one-hour session.
👇 Click the video below to watch the “Handshake & Joy” replay. Witness the evolution of Chengdu art on the ruins of
Curator: Wei Yan x North Village Independent Factory
Dates: March 29 – August 16, 2026
Venue: Chengdu Times Art Museum (Huaxi LIVE·528)
Livestream Guest Lineup
Wei Yan (Chengdu)
Curator & Artist A graduate of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Wei Yan currently teaches in the Oil Painting Department at the Chengdu Academy of Fine Arts (Sichuan Conservatory of Music). He is the founder of several influential platforms, including the experimental art collective North Village Independent Factory, the academic exhibition IP “New Species,” and the cultural-creative education brand “Baqiangu.” Having represented Chinese contemporary art in numerous international exhibitions and touring shows, his recent work focuses on the theoretical research and writing of The Art of Residues.
Zhao Huan (Chengdu)
Curator & Artist Zhao Huan holds a dual Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the HKU University of the Arts Utrecht (Netherlands) and Royal Free University (UK). She is the founder of re-C Art Space and the He Duoling Art Museum. Additionally, she is the initiator of the “Symbiosis” public art project and the interdisciplinary feminist label “C.sth Art Group.” She has long been a driving force in experimental initiatives that provide exchange, support, and a collective voice for artists.