Greening the What!? Greening the Beige
Yes, I know, “greening” is not a correct use of the present continuous tense. However, Greening the Beige is a wordsmith’s eccentricity used to encapsulate a project I started back in 2007. The name is no less a play on words than its Chinese translation: 点废成绿 (dian fei cheng lv), derived from a well known chengyu reminiscent of “turning over a new leaf”, and most cleverly transformed into “it’s time to turn the city’s trash into green.”
Started in 2007, Greening the Beige is an annual event that connects innovative “green” artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers, researchers, and local business owners, and seeks to promote environmental awareness through the arts.
The event’s roots stretch back to December 2006, when I was on the hunt for 5,000 used plastic bags to construct an interactive art installation for the Burning Man Festival in the U.S. My aim was to illustrate the blight of white pollution in China (and beyond), while at the same time offering a solution through art.
Reaching out to environmental groups and green-minded folk, I discovered an entire new world in Beijing that was concerned with, and active in, addressing pollution problems in the capital of world’s most environmentally damaged country.
The Chinese university students, volunteer groups, and artists I met along the way kept asking if they could see the trees featuring plastic bag “leaves” that I was making for Burning Man. Given that they were five life-sized installations, the best I could offer was photos. But their interest moved me to set-up a prototype installation, and share my art in a broader exhibition featuring Chinese and foreign artists. We invited musicians, DJs, and the NGO groups and experts I was beginning to meet, and put out a call for creative action to “green” Beijing.
Our first event back in May 2007 lasted for a full day and was a collaborative effort comprising more than 50 artists, organizations, and volunteers. The reaction was so positive I decided to try it again the following year.
In 2008 we stretched our activities to last for a full week across three different venues. 2008 was also the year we started to develop our website (www.greeningthebeige.org) as a tool to post news, information, events, artwork, and even job listings focused on green living in Beijing.
In 2009 we’ve kept the green ship afloat through a series of pre-event happenings, starting with the WWF’s Earth Hour in March, a buffet dinner and film screening event with Future Generations/The Green Long March for Earth Day, bike escapades hosted by the China Charity Challenge for Roots & Shoots – Jane Goodall Institute China, as well as an awareness-raising event focused on desertification for Burners Without Borders and the Environmental Education Media Project.
Most recently, Greening the Beige made some pretty big media headlines on September 21 for the TckTckTck.org “Global Wake Up Call” and the October 24 International Day of Climate Action run by 350.org.
So what’s next? Greening the Beige’s third annual event, Re-Energize Beijing!, is rapidly approaching, focusing on the city’s use of energy and the creativity that fuels it.
Events are scheduled from November 21-28, starting with a group exhibition from Beijing-based artists Qiao Wanhua, Chenfei, and Hu Guidong, and special “green” performances from Beijing Dance/LDTX and Beijing Improv. Ticket proceeds from this event will go to support the Hua Dan Project, an organization that offers empowerment workshops for young victims of the Sichuan Earthquake.
Stay tuned to The Beijinger blog for more details on Re-Energize Beijing! events from November 21-28.
Greening the Beige: Re-Energize Beijing! Opening, 7.30pm, Saturday, November 21; Cable 8 Creative Culture Center (尚巴北京市朝阳区建国路郎家园8号), west of Wanda Plaza, www.cable8.cn, tel 65951111; RMB 60/30 (advance tickets can be reserved here); proceeds to benefit The Hua Dan Project (www.hua-dan.org)