VIRTUAL: Prague Heritages

Abstract

This thesis examines the history of Songzhuang Arts Village, the biggest arts village in Beijing China, exploring its origins, development over time, and current state. Based on Pierre Bourdieu’s concept, Songzhuang Arts Village will be seen as an art field. Through a narrative inquiry approach, this research will use Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to describe the social relations and experiences of the artists within Songzhuang arts village through historical memory. To this end, 4 artists who used to live in the arts village Songzhuang at least one period (1993-2003, 2004-2009, 2010-2019, 2020-now) will be interviewed. Sources such as interviews with local artists, historical documents, and media reports are used to understand the present changes of China’s largest arts village—Songzhuang and its relationship with the artists, and to explore the preserve and vanish of Songzhuang arts village. At last try to draw conclusions about the potential for the village to become a model for other art communities in China and around the world.