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Artists

Ma Yongfeng was born in Shanxi, China in 1971 and is a new media artist currently based in Beijing. He has exhibited widely across Europe, the United States and China - most recently in Chinese Video Now at P.S.1, New York, Becoming Landscape at Platform China, Beijing, and The Cretaceous Period at ArtSway, UK. He was selected for the Production Residency Scheme by ArtSway and Chinese Art Centre in UK from an exceptional shortlist of artists nominated by Chinese curators and professionals in 2007. Ma came to international attention in 2002 with The Swirl, a video depicting six Koi carp being subjected to a 15 minute wash cycle in an upright washing machine. The piece was exhibited at MOCA at Los Angeles and PS1 in New York. Ma has continued to explore additional alternative realities between order and disorder in many of his video, animation, photography and installations.

Yam Lau was born in Hong Kong and is currently based in Toronto, Canada. He received his Master of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Alberta. His creative work explores new expressions and qualities of space, time and image. His most recent works combine video and computer-generated animation to re-create familiar spaces and activities in varied dimensionalities and perspectives. Also, Lau publishes regularly on art and design and is active in the local art community. Certain aspects of his art practice, such as using his car as an on-going mobile project space, are designed to solicit community participation.

Lau has exhibited widely across Canada, United States and Europe. He is a recipient of numerous awards from the arts councils in Canada. Currently Lau is a Professor of painting at York University, Toronto. In addition to his teaching and research, Lau also serves on the board and advisory committee on two public galleries. His work is represented by Leo Kamen Gallery in Toronto and Yuanfen New Media Art Space in Beijing.

Jean-François Côté was born in Québec City in 1976. He earned an MFA and a Ph.D. in visual arts and art history at Université Laval with grants from the Fonds québécois de recherche sur la société et la culture and Fondation Desjardins. Solo exhbitions include La symétrie des différences, shown at the Studio d’essai of Méduse (2002 Prix René-Richard); L'Ombre survivante at VU; Personnes at Galerie Le 36; Cités at the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo in the context of the 8th Bienal de Video Y Nuevos Medios de Santiago, Chile; and The Image in the Mois Multi festival. He lectures in photography and media arts at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. He is also artistic director of La Bande Vidéo, centre de création en arts médiatiques and of the festival Vidéaste Recherché•e. He received support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Li Zenghui, born in Qingdao in 1983, relocated in Beijing in 2007. He is the most promising star in China’s free music/avant-jazz realm.Saxophone player, poet, voice experimenter.He had found indie/experimental rock band “the Tipsy Verse” in 2001. Afterwards he held a concurrent post as the keyboard player in “Pipedream Princess”. found “Walnut Room” with Feng Hao in 2007.
李增辉，1983年出生，青岛人。2008年水陆观音最惊艳的新星。前卫萨克斯演奏者，人声乐手。怪诞诗歌与微型戏剧践行者。
参与的乐队有：核桃室没谱四重奏乐团跨国乐队“屎”

Neville Mars The body of work Neville Mars has achieved in the last ten years is both diverse and highly characteristic. The projects he has initiated range from commercial architecture and urban planning, to documentaries, art installations, urban research and creative writing. His work is widely published and his installations have featured in international art exhibitions around the world. The red thread that runs through his work, from the beginning at OMA until today as director of the Dynamic City Foundation (DCF) in Beijing, is a profound passion for the evolution of the metropolis and the emerging urban lifestyle it fosters. He is the creator of the Dynamic Density hypothesis, a tool to map and plan fast changing environments and the author of the book The Chinese Dream - a society under construction (010 Publishers, Rotterdam 2008).
http://burb.tv

CHEN, XINPENG works in video and scultpure. He recieved his BFA from the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts, Shen Yang, Liaoning and his MFA from the University of North Texas, USA. Chen has exhibited widely including China, USA and Chile. In 2003 he participated in the University of Texas at Dallas South Side Artist Residency.

DICA Manifesto 驢子當代藝術協會宣言
Manifesto Exhibiiton and Location Images Artists Contact
Manifesto The Donkey Institute of Contemporary Art (DICA) is an initiative dedicated to supporting experimental contemporary art on the back of a donkey. Established in the Beijing summer of 2009, DICA demonstrates a donkey's spirit of steadfast oblivion. The DICA and the donkey counter all forms of calculated intelligence, promotion and profit making within the market place of contemporary art. They do so with the slowest possible speed, the most idle tactics and wandering work ethics. Obstinate, dumb and proceeding on blind faith, DICA meanders throughout cities to meet its potential audience, whoever that might be. Yet, DICA makes no claim or appeal for recognition in these encounters. The institute lives by the charm and rhythm that is unique to the donkey's soul. In this sense, DICA is the most inhuman and radical fulfillment of the avant-garde. It posits an almost complete sort of “standing-still” that refuses to concede to anything. For its inaugural meandering exhibition, DICA will present video works on portable monitors attached on the back of the Donkey. DICA is established by Yam Lau + Michael Yuen Amongst our many supporters, DICA would like to especially thank: CPUPRO, Yuanfen New Media Art Space, REJON, Kate Lu, Bao Xiao, Laoban Soundsystem and our donkey.	驢子當代藝術協會致力於在驢背上為當代實驗藝術提供支援。此協會於2009年在北京成立，宣導驢子所具備的一成不變的遺忘精神。協會及其驢子採用盡可能慢的速率、以最為懶散的策略以及游離不定工作規則來反對在當代藝術市場中的各種形式的蓄謀、促銷及盈利行為。帶著倔強、木訥以及盲目的信仰，驢子當代藝術協會穿梭於城市之間，去邂逅其潛在的觀眾，不管其觀眾為何人。然而，協會並非要尋求邂逅者們的認可，它所賴以生存的魅力與韻律是驢子靈魂中所獨有的。從這個意義上來說，協會卻是最野蠻與激進的先鋒派。它幾乎是在用一種“原地踏步”的方式來拒絕任何讓步。在這場創始巡迴展中，協會將在由驢子背負著的可擕式顯示器上展示出視頻作品。 DICA 由藝術家任鈞與 Michael Yuen 共同創辦。 DICA 謝謝: CPUPRO, Yuanfen New Media Art Space, REJON, Kate Lu, Bao Xiao, Laoban Soundsystem and our donkey.
Exhibition and Locations DICA at 798 Biennial, Beijing :: 15 August 2009 4.30-6.30pm Saturday 15th, August 09 Near 798 Space Gallery + travelling inside the 798 art district. Video by: Chen Xinpeng, Neville Mars, Yam Lau, Jean-François Côté, Ma Yong Feng, Li Zeng Hui DICA will be travelling through the streets of Beijing. If you can't find us, please call our special hotline 15201010954 www.donkeyinstitute.net	DICA的首場展出 :: 2009年8月15日下午 4:30－6:30, 2009年8月15日周六大山子： 798时态空间 + 在 798 内部巡迴影像製作： Chen Xinpeng, Neville Mars, Yam Lau, Jean-François Côté, Ma Yong Feng, Li Zeng Hui DICA 將遊歷於北京的大街小巷，如果你找不到我們，敬請撥打電話15201010954 www.donkeyinstitute.net
4.30-6.30pm Saturday 15th, August 09 ..........................................................................................................................................

First Exhibition, Beijing :: 4 August 2009 4.30-8.30pm Tuesday 4th, August 09 Alley across the road from 798 front gate. Cross the Juixinqiao Rd bridge and walk east. Near post office. Video by: Chen Xinpeng, Neville Mars, Yam Lau, Jean-François Côté, Ma Yong Feng, Li Zeng Hui DICA will be travelling through the streets of Beijing. If you can't find us, please call our special hotline 15010986621 www.donkeyinstitute.net	DICA的首場展出 :: 2009年8月4日下午 4:30－8:30, 2009年8月4日周二大山子： 798 门对面。邮局附近。影像製作： Chen Xinpeng, Neville Mars, Yam Lau, Jean-François Côté, Ma Yong Feng, Li Zeng Hui DICA 將遊歷於北京的大街小巷，如果你找不到我們，敬請撥打電話15010986621 www.donkeyinstitute.net
4.30-8.30pm Tuesday 4th, August 09 ..........................................................................................................................................

Images Donkey Institute of Contemporary Art opened on 4th August 2009 in Beijing A crowd forming around DICA in an alley in Beijing. Photo by Shasha Liu. DICA's co-founder, Yam Lau attaching screens to the donkey. Canadian video artist Jean Francios Cote's work The Landscape at DICA. Photo by Ulrike Johannsen Night falls on DICA in Beijing. DICA's donkey and donkey owner waiting to begin. Photo by Michael Yuen. DICA's co-founder Michael Yuen onboard DICA travelling toward opening night. .......................................................................................................................................... Looking for donkeys (June 2009) Swiss critic Samuel Herzog and DICA co-founder Michael Yuen look for donkeys outside of Beijing. Photo by Ewdward Sanderson. DICA's founding moment in the outer suburbs of Beijing. .......................................................................................................................................... Donkey Taxi Our writer and curator friend Samantha Culp sent us this photo of a "donkey taxi" in Xinjiang. ..........................................................................................................................................
Artists Ma Yongfeng was born in Shanxi, China in 1971 and is a new media artist currently based in Beijing. He has exhibited widely across Europe, the United States and China - most recently in Chinese Video Now at P.S.1, New York, Becoming Landscape at Platform China, Beijing, and The Cretaceous Period at ArtSway, UK. He was selected for the Production Residency Scheme by ArtSway and Chinese Art Centre in UK from an exceptional shortlist of artists nominated by Chinese curators and professionals in 2007. Ma came to international attention in 2002 with The Swirl, a video depicting six Koi carp being subjected to a 15 minute wash cycle in an upright washing machine. The piece was exhibited at MOCA at Los Angeles and PS1 in New York. Ma has continued to explore additional alternative realities between order and disorder in many of his video, animation, photography and installations. Yam Lau was born in Hong Kong and is currently based in Toronto, Canada. He received his Master of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Alberta. His creative work explores new expressions and qualities of space, time and image. His most recent works combine video and computer-generated animation to re-create familiar spaces and activities in varied dimensionalities and perspectives. Also, Lau publishes regularly on art and design and is active in the local art community. Certain aspects of his art practice, such as using his car as an on-going mobile project space, are designed to solicit community participation. Lau has exhibited widely across Canada, United States and Europe. He is a recipient of numerous awards from the arts councils in Canada. Currently Lau is a Professor of painting at York University, Toronto. In addition to his teaching and research, Lau also serves on the board and advisory committee on two public galleries. His work is represented by Leo Kamen Gallery in Toronto and Yuanfen New Media Art Space in Beijing. Jean-François Côté was born in Québec City in 1976. He earned an MFA and a Ph.D. in visual arts and art history at Université Laval with grants from the Fonds québécois de recherche sur la société et la culture and Fondation Desjardins. Solo exhbitions include La symétrie des différences, shown at the Studio d’essai of Méduse (2002 Prix René-Richard); L'Ombre survivante at VU; Personnes at Galerie Le 36; Cités at the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo in the context of the 8th Bienal de Video Y Nuevos Medios de Santiago, Chile; and The Image in the Mois Multi festival. He lectures in photography and media arts at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. He is also artistic director of La Bande Vidéo, centre de création en arts médiatiques and of the festival Vidéaste Recherché•e. He received support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts. Li Zenghui, born in Qingdao in 1983, relocated in Beijing in 2007. He is the most promising star in China’s free music/avant-jazz realm.Saxophone player, poet, voice experimenter.He had found indie/experimental rock band “the Tipsy Verse” in 2001. Afterwards he held a concurrent post as the keyboard player in “Pipedream Princess”. found “Walnut Room” with Feng Hao in 2007. 李增辉，1983年出生，青岛人。2008年水陆观音最惊艳的新星。前卫萨克斯演奏者，人声乐手。怪诞诗歌与微型戏剧践行者。参与的乐队有：核桃室没谱四重奏乐团跨国乐队“屎” Neville Mars The body of work Neville Mars has achieved in the last ten years is both diverse and highly characteristic. The projects he has initiated range from commercial architecture and urban planning, to documentaries, art installations, urban research and creative writing. His work is widely published and his installations have featured in international art exhibitions around the world. The red thread that runs through his work, from the beginning at OMA until today as director of the Dynamic City Foundation (DCF) in Beijing, is a profound passion for the evolution of the metropolis and the emerging urban lifestyle it fosters. He is the creator of the Dynamic Density hypothesis, a tool to map and plan fast changing environments and the author of the book The Chinese Dream - a society under construction (010 Publishers, Rotterdam 2008). http://burb.tv CHEN, XINPENG works in video and scultpure. He recieved his BFA from the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts, Shen Yang, Liaoning and his MFA from the University of North Texas, USA. Chen has exhibited widely including China, USA and Chile. In 2003 he participated in the University of Texas at Dallas South Side Artist Residency.
Contact dica[at]donkeyinstitute.net