Art villages in metropolitan Beijing: A study of the location dynamics Xin Liu, Sun Sheng Han * , Kevin O’Connor Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia Keywords: Art activity Art village Location Spatial dynamics Beijing abstract Despite the rapid transformation of art villages in Beijing, an understanding of their location dynamics has been lacking. This paper will supply that insight by exploring three interrelated questions: What are the location characteristics of Beijing’s art villages? How has economic transformation shaped their location? Is there anything unique about the evolution of Beijing’s art villages? Analyses of information gathered through field reconnaissance and secondary sources reveal that these art villages have expanded rapidly in the urban fringe of metropolitan Beijing. Major factors influencing its location and relocation include the cost of rental properties, the quality of the creative environment, attributes of the transitional land and art markets, and public policies for Beijing’s metropolitan development. Rapid economic transition and urban growth in China have shaped a trajectory of art village evolvement distinctive from that in Western metropolises. The fate of art villages in Beijing is determined by the transitional characteristics of urban development, art markets and state policies. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Art Village or Artists’ Village, which is popularly known as Yishu Cun or Huajia Cun in Chinese, is a new spatial outcome in China’s economic and urban transformation. Since China’s economic re- form started in 1978, ideological and political control over art and culture have been gradually loosened, allowing exposure of West- ern avant-garde art to art enthusiasts (Chen, Liao, & Gu, 2004; Wang, 1999). The rise of self-employment and easier migration has further allowed Bohemian artists to practice in their preferred cities. As such, China’s art villages started to take shape in the 1990s. Some well-known art villages, such as Songzhuang in Bei- jing, Moganshan in Shanghai, Xiaoguwei in Guangzhou, Landing (The Blue House) in Chengdu, Factory 501 and Tankeku (Tank Loft) in Chongqing, Mufushan in Nanjing, have become artistic and cultural symbols in these cities (Yang & Wei, 2008). Anecdotal reports on this new urban outcome reveal that art villages accommodate art studios, artists’ residences and galleries, where artists create, exhibit and sell their works (Rables & Fan, 2008). Visual artists, especially those working on contemporary art rather than traditional painting, dominate the resident population. 1 Further, in the early 1990s, art villages evolved in a rather hostile environment because self-employed communities with a Bohemian lifestyle were not readily accepted by society (Cao, 2007; Keane, 2011). It is only over the last 10 years or so that art villages have flourished with supportive state policies that try to foster cultural and creative industries. Against the above backdrop of art village development, this paper addresses the following research questions: what are the location characteristics of art villages in China? How has economic transformation shaped their location? Is there anything unique about the evolution of art villages in the context of China’s urban transformation? There are many dedicated areas or districts for artists discussed in the western literature. Greenwich Village in New York City, for example, is home to visual artists as a majority, but also plays home to dancers, writers, and others (Beard & Berlowitz 1993). A similar term used in describing these areas is art or artists’ colony. The earliest art colonies were observed in rural Europe in the late 19th century, when artists left cities in order to prevent the decline of true artisanship in the processes of urbanization and industriali- zation (Jacobs, 1985). Modern art colonies are found in cities. The Brewery Arts Complex in Los Angeles and Hoxton in London are other examples. The locations of art activities and art colonies are extremely unstable, as shown by their frequent relocation and shift of sites (Pratt, 2009; Zukin, 1982). The evolution of SoHo in New York City, Venice and Ocean Park in Los Angeles, SOMA in San Francisco, the East End in Great London, Balmain and Newtown in Sydney illustrates such location dynamics (Gibson et al., 2002; * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ61 3 8344 7055. E-mail addresses: x.liu18@pgrd.unimelb.edu.au (X. Liu), sshan@unimelb.edu.au (S.S. Han), kevin.oconnor@unimelb.edu.au (K. O’Connor). 1 It is observed that performing artists such as rock and roll performers also cluster in cities in China (Chen et al., 2004). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Habitat International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/habitatint 0197-3975/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2013.04.005 Habitat International 40 (2013) 176e183