Manchester’s Chinese Arts Centre (CAC) is getting a new gallery space. Kind of. For one night only on Thursday 6 September, High Street Gallery will become home to the work of Luke Ching, current artist-in-residence at CAC.
Ching’s practice is characterised by spontaneous responses to his immediate surroundings. The ‘gallery’ marks the culmination of a project that has seen the Hong Kong-based artist conducting interventions across the city, ranging from five-minute performances of accidental trips and falls, to gifts of dollar notes in phone boxes.
Elizabeth Weiwora, programme and engagement co-ordinator at CAC, explains: “A white wall on a high street in Manchester will be transformed for one night into a gallery environment. It is actually part of a construction site wall; the exhibition works reflect the theme and context of this idea of ‘construction work’.”
The exact location is being kept secret until just before the event, which will see Ching displaying a collection of Hong Kong safety posters under the exhibition title ‘Your Safety is our Safety’.
Established in 1986, CAC promotes contemporary Chinese art in the UK through its programme of exhibitions, residencies, engagement projects, festivals, international projects and events. “The West has had a considerable influence on Eastern art,” Weiwora notes, “but equally the East is continually influencing the West, allowing for new and exciting arts practice to develop on an international level.”
‘Your Safety is our Safety’ takes place at High Street Gallery, Manchester, Thursday 6 September, 6.30-8pm. www.chinese-arts-centre.org
