Walked through the remaining section of Gangxia and noticed the strong contrasts of a sunny day: bright and dark, sun and shadows smack in the middle of Shenzhen’s Central axis. Check it out:
Category Archives: photos
houhai / xuefu rd
Today, I went to the Software Incubator Area and what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a landmark tried and true and watched for the past decade. It’s true and unexpected, but for years I have been documenting the land reclamation area east of Guimiao and north of Binhai (first impressions, here), and today on an errand to meet someone about the upcoming Maker Faire, I realized the road I was on–Xuefu Road–was in fact the road I had walked while documenting the emergence of New High Technology Park. Anyway, some before and after pictures:
handshake with the future: shenzhen’s maker plus culture
The world has glommed on to Shenzhen’s Maker culture, but what is often left undetected is just how Maker Plus the city actually is. Yesterday afternoon at Handshake 302, we held the opening for projects by interior design students from the Guangdong Xin’an Polytechnic College. During the opening, the conversation about their work focused on bridging the distance between design and implementation. A key thought came from Lei Sheng, Handshake 302’s master craftsman (seriously, he can make anything): in an information age, information isn’t the most important element for creativity. Instead, the knowledge of making things with our hands–craftsmanship–is the key to a successful design career.
grass and flowers: dalang
Yesterday at the Dalang Youth Dream Center, we created a large mural/graffiti image on the public steps/bench. It is a two-picture work: from the front it simply says “youth”, but from the upper levels of the dormitory, it is possible to see the larger images of flowers and cartoon monsters playing in the grass. Walking the steps gives even more chances for discovery. We were amazingly lucky with the weather; just as we finished, the skies let loose a major thunder storm. Below, a slideshow that documents the process.
handshake with the future
opens on Sunday and students from Guangdong Xin’an Polytechnic are hard at work!
boardwalk shenzhen: jiaochangwei booms
Almost one year ago, I posted on the development of Jiaochangwei, which is probably best understood as Atlantic City or Coney Island on speed, Shenzhen speed. Continue reading
the artron art centre / book wall
Today I joined the opening for the Atron Art Centre, which boasts the largest book collection / book display in the world. Still under construction, the building glitters, as do Atron’s ambitions to promote and propagate knowledge and culture. Impressions, below.
opening ceremony of the first annual dalang graffiti culture festival
So. Today, Handshake 302 extended its reach and joined hands with the Dalang Street Office to curate the first annual Dalang Graffiti Culture Festival. It rained, so not much painting happened. Nevertheless, we had a great time with balloons, handprints, and a short “WeChat” play. I made the emoji box masks!
Impressions of event, below.
the dalang graffiti festival
Today we held the design workshop for the Dalang graffiti festival. 27 people attended the workshop, which involved creating designs for manhole covers. With the exception of one individual, none of the participants admitted to having taken any art classes outside of school; none admitted to sending their children to art classes. All were immigrants and during their self introductions, they mentioned their hometowns; one made a joke that her hometown was “too small to have English names”. Next week, participants will take their designs and begin painting manhole covers at a workers’ dormitory, a neighborhood, and a school.
impressions, futian
The other day, I walked from Huaqiangbei through Gangxia and Xinzhou, where I hooked back to Shuiwei via Huanggang Park, a wonderfully unexpected urban oasis. Today, I’m uploading impressions of the diverse complexity that characterizes Futian Distict, which is home to Huaqiangbei, the central business district, and some of the most well-planned urban villages in the city.
Shenzhen Noted 