Rockbund Art Museum 上海外滩美术馆

I spend a lot of time walking around the city… The initial concept for a project often emerges during a walk. As an artist, my position is akin to that of a passer-by constantly trying to situate myself in a moving environment. My work is a succession of notes and guides. The invention of a language goes together with the invention of a city. Each of my interventions is another fragment of the story that I am inventing, of the city that I am mapping. --- Francis Alÿs

The Rockbund Art Museum, in collaboration with Fudan Poets Society, will hold a unique event for improvisation of poems under the theme of “Walking around the City,” a signature approach of creation by the Belgian artist Francis Alÿs. After admiring the artist’s works at his first solo exhibition in China held by RAM, members of the Society will walk along different streets near the museum for inspirations and improvise poems based on any of the key words that RAM will provide.

From the Bund packed with tourists to Huqiu Residential Community showcasing everyday life of the Shanghainese, from the East Beijing Road full of hardware retail stores to the Yuanmingyuan Road famous for historic buildings, what inspirations will the poets draw from these diversified urban blocs?

“我花了很多时间在城市的各个角落溜达……很多作品的概念就在步行的时候蹦出来。作为一名艺术家，我的身份就等同于要在移动的环境中安置自己。我的作品是成功的记录和指南，语言的创造和城市的创造是并肩的，我的每一次介入都是我另一个正在创造的故事碎片，是我试图绘制的城市地图。”——弗朗西斯·埃利斯（Francis Alÿs）

本次活动上海外滩美术馆将与复旦诗社合作，以弗朗西斯·埃利斯常用的创作方式——「行走」为主题，举办一场非典型诗歌即兴创作活动。观展后，诗社成员将选择美术馆周边不同街区分散行走，即兴创作诗歌。我们将提供若干关键词，诗社成员可以进行任意选择，并围绕创作。

游客众多的外滩、生活市井的虎丘小区、“五金一条街”的北京东路、圆明园路上的历史建筑群……这些气质迥异的街区围绕在上海外滩美术馆周边。当诗社成员们游走其中，穿梭边界时，这些街区会给他们带来什么样的诗性灵感？