It's our last day. After the morning session, I leave the group for lunch and run to the Sanlitun an hip area full of bars and night clubs that is in full swing development. I pass hordes of construction site workers having their midday meal.
Before leaving Brussels I contacted Els Silvrants, a Belgian who's been living and working in Beijing for a few years now. We meet in the bookworm cafe, a cozy place with lot's of secondhand english books, friendly ex-pats and wireless internet. Els tells me about her project Theater in Motion, a non profit organization that aims to build a context for the performing arts in China. Through TIM, Els has set up a research and residency space that offers international artists a place to work and meet other artists. Focusing on process, multidisciplinarity and the local context, TI also occasionally arranges workshops in the local academies, performances, as well as think tanks around problematics facing China's artistic community today. TIM is part of BeiLAB, itself a hybrid of organizations and individuals that functions as a hub and meeting place for artistic, architectural and scientific exchanges. Els tells me about the difficulties she faces running an independent structure in Beijing with little-to-no government support - a frustrating situation, but on the other hand, one that comes with the least amount of strings attached.
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