Gallery Week Beijing

At Gallery Weekend Beijing 2024, we participated in planning and designing the annual dinner. This dinner was not only one of the most significant art events of May’s Beijing Art Week but also the first large-scale outdoor dinner held in the public square of 798, accommodating nearly 400 guests. It was a vibrant celebration of contemporary art, requiring meticulous attention to every detail to reflect the unique artistic and cultural ambiance of the gallery weekend.

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Background:

The venue for this dinner was the Creative Plaza in Beijing’s 798 Art District. The 798 Art District was one of the largest projects in the national strategic plan of the 1950s, originally housing the state-owned 798 Factory and other electronic industrial plants. Built in 1952 with Soviet assistance and East German design and construction, it features a distinctive Bauhaus architectural style, which is rare in Asia. The district stands as a testament to the industrialization of New China.

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Inspiration:

If there is one phrase that can summarize the spirit of modernist design, Louis Sullivan’s “form follows function” is certainly at the top of the list. For this reason, at the Gallery Weekend Beijing 2024 dinner, we aimed to address functional challenges in our design and creativity, rather than merely creating simple shapes. This approach allows us to honor and reflect the unique setting of this extraordinary dinner within the context of Bauhaus architecture.

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Concept:

Using a modular trapezoidal design to engage with the Bauhaus heritage of 798, we broke away from traditional round or long table layouts to create a flexible, “decentralized” dinner setup with no head table or designated seats. This innovative design maximizes the social, communal, and interactive aspects of the dinner, fostering an environment where people can connect with one another seamlessly.