Rockbund Art Museum 上海外滩美术馆

From September 29 to November 20, 2022, Rockbund Art Museum (RAM) will host the fifth edition of its special annual program RAM Highlights: The Good Life (tgl). In addition to the space of RAM, this year’s RAM Highlights will extend its presentation and events to two other historic buildings on the Bund, namely the Ampire & Co. building and ZA · Andrews & George building located within a one-block radius of the museum. It’s an attempt both to trace and activate the shared histories and memories of the city contained in the three buildings and, in line with the vision and composition of the program, to look for more possibilities to experiment with museum space and diversify audience experience.

Conceived during the spring lockdown, tgl intends to reconsider the sociality of art museums and their relationships with different communities in the face of global turbulence. The concept of “the good life” is not new; rather, it’s somewhat oversaturated and arguably dated. But the extended lockdown has pushed people to reconsider and reflect upon it. By interrogating the utility of this foggy concept in contemporary rituals, life practices, and social theories, this year’s RAM Highlights hopes to foster dialogues with different communities, inspiring new narratives of what a “contemplative, productive, or otherwise satisfactory life” is.

Participants of tgl include artists, designers, scholars, writers, poets, dancers, musicians, and chefs. Apart from local participants, we also invite practitioners from 16 other localities. According to X Zhu-Nowell, chief curator of the program, “Participants question the integrity of ‘the good life’ from culturally and geographically divergent points of view. No two works will engage exactly the same visions, assumptions, or critiques about what ‘the good life’ is, [or where it’s located], grounding the vague, socio-democratic promises often associated with this idea to specific ethical and economic cross-currents, which flow, frenetically or systemically, at this moment in history.”

“Installations” and “Happenings”

Unlike previous editions, RAM Highlights 2022: The Good Life is divided into two parts: installations and happenings. Ampire & Co. building will mainly stage installations, and happenings will take place primarily on the first floor of ZA · Andrews & George building. X Zhu-Nowell, consulting curator of RAM, is the chief curator of The Good Life. Installations is made possible with the assistance of curator Xu Tiantian, curatorial assistant Karen Wang and senior exhibition specialist Wang Chao. Happenings is co-curated by curator Xu Tiantian and education manager Zheng Peihan, with the assistance of curatorial assistant Karen Wang and education specialist Yu Liaochang.

Through different perspectives and approaches, 16 installations will unfold in 16 chapters throughout the buildings. In the chapter Eye to Eye, Brazilian artist Jonathas de Andrade’s Out Loud staged a video installation based on a series of improvised performances on the streets in collaboration with the homeless community of Recife, Brazil, a powerful testimony of contemporary Brazil. It functions as an exercise in meditating on gaze, invisibility, and agency, shifting the context and conditions of discussions around the “good” life. Guangzhou-based NZTT Sewing Co-Op is interested in the power of sewing. The collective recommends that individuals sew early, sew often, and “sew sew everything, sewing all my desires together, poking new gaps.” Their sewing exercises are intended to be an “intimate forum” that brings mothers, children, and families together in a context that departs from the traditional Chinese nuclear family unit. For “tgl,” NZTT Sewing Co-Op collaborated with the New York-based artist Hugh Hayden and Shanghai-based pet product company littlecub for the Balancing Act chapter. Collectively they created an interactive space that challenges the norms of utilitarian thinking and seduction of toxic individualism. For the Night Shift, the lobby of RAM will be transformed into Eclipse Books, a bookstore presented by Singapore-based artist Heman Chong. Eclipse Books will open every Friday from 10pm to 4am for business. It is a space built for people who can’t sleep at night, a temporary home for insomniacs. The project is based on a list of 50 books selected particularly for the theme of “the good life”, including Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe, Ways of Escape by Graham Greene, and many, many more. 

Happenings will take place during the seven weeks of the program, and over 30 events will be presented, such as performances, workshops, and lectures. OO ZONE is a collective project created for tgl and brings together a heterotopic community. During the duration of the project, OO Zone will activate a series of happenings, including performances, interactions, discussions, sports activities, and music parties. Led by the core members of Zhang Xian, Xiao Ke, Zihan, and Zhihao, OO ZONE asks: Is there a boundary between theater and daily life? When we become more bonded with the community, is our understanding of "the good life" still personal? Khek Dhang Ke project will also organize workshops, potluck talks, performances, and other collective learning activities with local collaborators, such as Urban Archaeo (independent urban research group), Visible Divine Air (Shen Qi Xian Xing artist collective), Li Hao (chef), Huang Wei (scholar), Xu Cheng (sound artist), Gregorio Samsaro (photographer) , Sun Qifang (sound artist) , and Xu Jie (photographer). Through the topics of field recording, reconstruction of urban spaces, personal stories, and historical missionary recipes and cookbooks, these events draw attention to the neglected things, shifting the focus to the cultural changes within the area and the relationship between the community and its residents.

Visiting Experience

RAM designed a series of unique viewing experiences for the audience, with the guidebook as the primary support material throughout the project. Additionally, guided tours will be provided every day, with a specific focus on tgl and its relationship to the architectural histories of the Bund. The RAM team will lead the Walk and Talk series with invited scholars and media personnel every Friday, offering intimate and personal takes on the project. Fridays from 10 pm - 4 am, Night @ RAM will happen throughout the museum, creating a cozy and welcoming space for the night visitors

Participants

_ao_ao_ing ensemble, 44 Monthly, Adrián Villar-Rojas, BallaD, Dong Longyue, Every Ocean Hughes, Farah Al Qasimi, Fong Fo, Frederick Cruz Nowell, Goutam Ghosh, Heman Chong, Hugh Hayden, Hu Jiayi, Irena Haiduk, Jason Havneraas, Jonathas de Andrade, Khek Dhang Ke, L-square Performing Arts (Lian Guodong and Lei Yan), Li Shuang, littlecub, NZTT Sewing Co-op, OO ZONE, Saodat Ismailova, Sun Xun, Xu Zhe

Special Support: ROCKBUND

Experience Support: JNBYHOME

上海外滩美术馆年度特别项目RAM Highlights第五季“The Good Life”（美好生活）（以下简称为“tgl”）将于2022年9月29日至11月20日面向公众隆重呈现。除上海外滩美术馆建筑本身外，本次RAM Highlights将展览与活动范围拓宽至附近的安培洋行以及美丰大楼，使之共同成为本年度特别项目发生的重要空间。这一做法既追溯了这三栋位于外滩的历史建筑所承载的城市历史与共同记忆，也在契合本年度特别项目整体构想与布局的同时，对美术馆固有空间及观众参与体验进行更多延伸与尝试。

对于“tgl”项目的思考和讨论自今年春天特殊期间开始，以近几年面临的全球动荡为背景，重新思考美术馆的社会性以及它与不同社群之间的关系。对于“美好生活”的讨论并非一个新话题，但长时间封控的经历促使了每个人重新审视这一已然饱和的概念。在反观“美好生活”及其图景在生活实践、当代仪式和社会理论等多维度的应用后，我们希望通过今年的RAM Highlights来进行一次与不同社群的对话，重新思考什么是“有深度、有收获且令人满意”的生活，以及人们对于这样的生活的向往是从何而来的。

“tgl”的参与者有艺术家、设计师、学者、作家、诗人、舞者、音乐人和厨师等。除了上海本地的参与者以外，我们还特别邀请了来自16个不同地区的实践者。正如主策展人朱筱蕤所说：“本次项目的参与者们从文化和地理的不同角度质疑了‘美好生活’这一概念的完整性。没有两部作品会针对‘美好生活’是什么（或它位于何处）提出完全相同的愿景、假设或批评，因为与这一想法相关的模糊的社会承诺植根于历史上某一时刻流动的特定伦理和经济思潮。”

“装置”和“发生”

RAM Highlights第五季与往年的不同之处在于，今年我们将以“装置”和“发生”两个主体部分共同构成“tgl”的全貌。其中，“装置”部分的主要空间位于安培洋行的一楼和二楼，“发生”部分则会呈现于美丰大楼一楼。本次项目由上海外滩美术馆顾问策展人朱筱蕤（X Zhu-Nowell）总策划，“装置”项目由策展人徐天天，策展助理王馨茹和高级展览专员王朝协助。“发生”项目由策展人徐天天和教育主管郑佩菡联合策划，策展助理王馨茹和教育专员余漻畅协助。

通过截然不同的视角与方式展开对“美好生活”这一概念的思考与重构，16个装置将在三个建筑中通过16个章节展开。在“眼对眼”一章中，巴西艺术家乔纳塔斯·德·安德拉德的全新力作《大声说出来》是与巴西累西腓的无家可归者社区合作，把街头的一系列即兴表演制作了一个视频装置，这是当代巴西社会现状的有力见证。同时也是对于凝视、隐形和能动性的冥想，改变围绕“美好”生活讨论的背景和条件。位于广州的艺术小组女子天团对“缝纫的力量”很感兴趣。该集体建议个人尽早缝，经常缝，并“缝缝所有东西，将我所有的欲望缝在一起，创造新的差距”。他们的缝纫练习旨在成为一个“亲密的论坛”，将母亲、孩子和家庭聚集在一个脱离中国传统核心家庭单元的环境中。此外，女子天团将与纽约艺术家休·海登和上海宠物用品公司 littlecub 合作打造“平衡动作”章节。他们共同创造了一个互动空间，挑战功利主义思维规范和有毒个人主义的诱惑。在“守夜”一章中，上海外滩美术馆的一楼大厅空间将被新加坡艺术家张奕满改变为《日食书店》，每逢周五从晚上10点开放至次日凌晨4点，对外售卖书籍。这是一个为晚上睡不着觉的人建造的空间，是失眠症患者的临时家园。其中售卖的书籍均来自于艺术家此次特别为“美好生活”这一主题精选的50本书目清单，包括所罗门·诺萨普的《为奴十二年》、丹尼尔·笛福的《瘟疫年纪事》、格雷厄姆·格林的《逃避之路》等。六楼则会呈现美术馆长期社区项目“客堂间”开启的“记忆博物馆”展陈计划，通过征集与陈列有关“外滩记忆”的物品，将记忆挖掘、拼凑、连接，完成与个体与时代的对话，记录并分享这些逐渐消失在城市发展进程中的人群和故事，关注在这个区域内工作生活的普通人。

“发生”部分将在7周的展期内频繁亮相，三十余场丰富内容使得“tgl”更具可参与性。包含表演、工作坊、行为、讲座等多元化的实验性探索，在延续RAM Highlights项目所呼唤的挑战、突破与重构的同时，回应我们对于“美好生活”的共同敏锐感知，并与观者发生更多新的共鸣与碰撞。特别为“tgl”成立的OO区汲取“007”的谐音，为疫情后的上海集合起一个向往中的异托邦生活社区。以张献、小珂、子涵、志豪为核心成员，晨练灵修、下午茶歇·故事分享、OO区游园会、OO区充电站、彼岸派对、深夜情感热线，多样的现场在这里展开。游牧式的集体创作方式形成的累积与流动，让OO区的实践模糊着表演与日常生活的关系，循序构建一个群体对于“美好生活”的想象共识。社区项目“客堂间”发起小组将联合独立城市研究团体城市考古、艺术团体“神炁现形”，以及李浩、黄薇、徐程、格里高尔·萨姆纱罗、孙奇芳、徐捷等不同身份的实践者，带来与声音采集、重构城市空间、分享个人故事、融合食谱等多个工作坊及“茶话会”分享活动。在对于“美好生活”的想象中，“客堂间”希望能够鼓励观众关注容易被忽略的身边事，探索这片区域背后的文化变迁与居住区域与身边人群的关系。

参观体验

伴随“tgl”，RAM还设计了一系列独特的参观体验，其中包含一本精心设计的《美好生活指南》，拿起这本导览手册，开启这段探索之旅。每周五，我们将带来“游读”系列，邀请RAM团队、跨学科学者或专业媒体人，从个人及不同专业的视角，为观众提供更多进入项目的语境和解读的可能性。同时，在《日食书店》开放期间，“夜猫子计划”将占领美术馆，夜读、小酌、交流分享。RAM将为观众打造一个舒适的夜间休憩和阅读空间，你可以或躺或坐甚至在美术馆待到看日出，收获夜间参观新体验。

参与者名单

老妖精ensemble （_ao_ao_ing ensemble）、44月报（44 Monthly）、阿德里安·维拉·罗哈斯（Adrián Villar-Rojas）、白乐小组（BallaD）、董龙跃（Dong Longyue）、众海·休斯（Every Ocean Hughes）、法拉赫·阿尔·卡西米（Farah Al Qasimi）、冯火（Fong Fo）、弗里德里克·克鲁兹·诺维尔（Frederick Cruz Nowell）、古坦·高希（Goutam Ghosh）、张奕满（Heman Chong）、休·海登（Hugh Hayden）、胡佳艺（Hu Jiayi）、伊莲娜·海杜克 （Irena Haiduk）、杰森·哈夫纳拉斯（Jason Havneraas）、乔纳塔斯·德·安德拉德（Jonathas de Andrade）、客堂间（Khek Dhang Ke）、直角尺独立表演（连国栋与雷琰）（L-square Performing Arts）、李爽（Li Shuang）、littlecub、女子天团（NZTT Sewing Co-op）、OO区（OO ZONE）、绍达特·伊斯梅洛娃（Saodat Ismailova）、孙逊（Sun Xun）、徐喆（Xu Zhe）

特别支持：洛克·外滩源

体验支持：JNBYHOME