On June 27, 2017, the Three Shadows Photography Art Center in Beijing ushered in its 10th birthday celebration. More than 260 guests, including artists, curators, collectors, foreign embassy o cials and Sanjiantang partners attended the celebration.
The Three Shadows Photography Art Center founders, photography artists RongRong&Inri, began the ceremony with a powerful speech. They thanked all the distinguished guests for coming from all over the world to gather together at Three Shadows. RongRong remarked that the 10-year-old Three Shadows is still in its infancy and that it will continue to work towards being more open, more diverse and even more energetic. He noted that he hopes in the next ten years Three Shadows will continue to grow and attract capable people to join the community. In her speech, Inri shared that the name " Three Shadows " was taken from "Dao Te Ching " and she was very pleased to see that Three Shadows and its emphasis on photography has indeed became a place for connection and communication over the past decade.
Subsequently, Mr. Fan Di’an, Dean of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Wu Hung, the renowned curator and art historian, Kazuhiro Kuboi, the general manager of SHISEIDO China Co., Ltd., Mr. Takumi Suzuki, the director of Benrido Atelier, and artist Huang Rui took the stage for individual speeches to express their heartfelt congratulations to Three Shadows.
Mr. Fan Di'an noted that the 10th anniversary of Three Shadows is an exciting and important moment in the development of contemporary Chinese art. Mr. Wu Hung spoke about the history of Three Shadows over the past decade as a remarkable and historical achievement made all the more notable by the relatively short history of contemporary Chinese photography. The existence and establishment of Three Shadows also represents the continued and collaborative development of contemporary Chinese photography. Mr. Kazuhiro Kuboi shared a blessing with Three Shadows on behalf of Shiseido. Shiseido has sponsored 9 years of the Three Shadows Photography Award, in support of the love of creative photography and motivated by a passion for young artists. Shiseido’s purpose in the future will continue to be to “find the beauty to create the beauty,” working closely with Three Shadows to further inspire artistic progress in China. Mr. Takumi Suzuki greatly appreciated the honor of being invited to participate in such a celebration on such a memorable occasion. He praised the dedication of RongRong&Inri and expressed deep respect for the founding of Three Shadows. Suzuki’s atelier, together with Three Shadows, co-produced the 10th anniversary Three Shadows photographic album. The collected works record the history of Three Shadows over the past ten years as well as the story of "Ruins and Rebirth." He hopes that through photography culture, the promotion of Chinese - Japanese cultural exchange will take a new step forward. Finally, Huang Rui spoke of Three Shadows as the shadow of time and as a space that prompts artists and curators to work towards an ideal of close connection between life and art. Together in this space, artists play together, enjoy creation together and grow together.
During the evening of the 10th anniversary celebration, guests were treated to a special documentary about the history of Three Shadows Photography Center and to a wonderful performance by the Nencol band. In addition, a public auction was held.
Three Shadows Photography Art Centre is an institution full of idealism that relies upon personal capital investment. Each step has been full of uncertainty, and yet, we have never deviated from the course of our goals and we have not given up faith. In order to sustain and further develop the future of Three Shadows, we organized a public auction on the occasion of the 10th anniversary celebration of Three Shadows Photography Art Centre. We sincerely thank the artists and art institutions for their donations. The auction was a great success and we raised more than 2 million yuan, with a turnover rate of 100% on 45 auction items including photography, painting, ink, calligraphy, sculpture, installation and arts of di erent forms. These donated works have all ended up with major arts organizations and several important collectors both at home and abroad. All the proceeds of this auction will be used for non-profit academic projects of the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre.
In the next tens years, the Three Shadows Photography Art Centre will, upholding our ideal and academic position, strive to do more and better. We are now trying to convert our ideal into a reality and your support will be essential in order for us to continue moving forwards.
We sincerely appreciate the following artists and art organizations for their donation support (in alphabetical order)
Cai Meng | Chen Danqing | Chu Chu | Ding Yi | Feng Mengbo | He Yunchang | Hou Shuai | Huang Rui | Jiang Pengyi | Jiang Zhi | Lin Tianmiao | Liu Heung Shing | Liu Na | Lu Yanpeng | Luo Yongjin | Miu Xiaochun | Mo Yi | RongRong&inri | Ruan Yizhong | Sun Yanchu | TAKA SUI | Wang Dongling | Wang Huangsheng | Wang Jingsong | Wang Ningde | Wang Wusheng | Weng Fen | Wei Bi | Wu Jian’an | Xia Nan | Xie Nanxing | Xing Danwen | Yan Lei | Yang Fudong | Yuan Yuan | Tim Yip | Tsai Meng | Zhang Kechun | Boers-Li Gallery | Blindspot Gallery | Chambers Fine Art | Hive Center for Contemporary Art | Star Gallery | Three Shadows +3 Gallery
Special Thanks
Ken Kitano | Eikoh Hosoe | Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation
