On the afternoon of August 22, 2018, Dr. Zhou Jinfeng, the Secretary-General of CBCGDF, who was attending the 67th UN DPI/NGO Conference at the United Nations Headquarters, visited the “The Shed” Art Center in New York. Alex Poots, the artistic director and CEO of “The Shed”, and other senior staff, all attended the meeting with Dr. Zhou and his team.
In addition to attending a summit meeting of global NGOs under the UN framework, Dr. Zhou gave a detailed introduction to all the guests gathered at the visiting spot of “The Shed” art center. As a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development for more than three decades, as well as a public fund social organization with sense of responsibility, CBCGDF has been engaged in a series of fruitful work in the fields of culture and art. Including: in the spring of 2017, CBCGDF and the French Embassy successfully cooperated to host the “Exhibition of the 19th Century Bird Art”. In the summer that is about to pass, CBCGDF hosted a sculpture art exhibition by the Canadian artist Matti Dubee, who concerns about the present and environmental protection, using waste paper with marble texture, “Dali Paper”, in Dali, Yunnan. CBCGDF is cooperating with International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) to develop the cultivation of willow products handicrafts and eco-cultural tourism in Funan County of Anhui Province of China, to promote the ecological poverty alleviation and green development together. At the same time, CBCGDF organizes the annual competition of the Nature Photography Public Welfare jointly with the Enterprise Photography Nature Fund (EPNF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), to promote image public welfare and biodiversity conservation while simultaneously promoting “lifesaving through the lens” as well as inspiring people to have a deeper understanding of nature. Recently, CBCGDF becomes a partner of the world’s top “Wildlife Conservation Film Festival” (WCFF) originated in New York and its Wildlife Photography Exhibition.
Dr. Zhou (centre) and his team at "The Shed" Art Center, the right one is its artistic director and CEO Alex Poots
Located on the shores of the Hudson River in New York, “The Shed” is a new organization of innovative and architecturally significant art and cultural center. The executives of “The Shed” presented Dr. Zhou and his team the planning, design, and architectural concept that will be completed in April 2019. The performance team from the art center will travel to Beijing to participate in the Beijing International Music Festival in October 2018 and will present a special performance.
During the meeting and visit, the executives from “The Shed” particularly mentioned that in June 2019, the art center will launch an innovative stage play featuring dragon and Chinese elements. Reportedly that this jointly special creative futuristic kung fu musical will be directed by the acclaimed Chinese director Chen Shizheng and written by the duo who penned the Hollywood animation series “Kung Fu Panda”. Its working title is “Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise”. It will be a representative of the essence of Chinese traditional cultural imagery and western pop culture. Sia, the world-renowned musician will do the performance. Ye Jintian, who won an Oscar for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, will serve as the artistic director and costume designer for the stage play. Dr. Zhou suggested that the play could promote the exchange of Chinese and western culture by adding more actors and artists from China to the production team and injecting Chinese elements into the creation.
The Art Center under Construction (Photo: Ed Lederman)
From the south (Photo: Timothy Schenck)
From the north (Photo: Timothy Schenck)
During this visit to New York to attend the 67th UN DPI/NGO Conference, Dr. Zhou felt that all the speakers who attended the conference mentioned China and mentioned China’s efforts in green development and sustainable development. At the moment of global integration and advocacy of diversification, China’s efforts to promote ecological civilization and build a shared future for mankind are also witnessed by the world. The opening of the “The Shed” art center will be an extremely important moment in the cultural life of New York City. The combination of multi-element culture and art, especially the infusion of the Chinese elements of the East, which will intoxicate the world, will make “The Shed” become the world’s leading experimental creation center with artistic form and content. Its mission to test, produce and present all forms of performing arts, visual arts and pop culture, combined with its hardware and software, will make it the touchstone of exploratory art in the 21st century.
(Photo courtesy: The Shed)