Monthly Program Of 2011 August

Mon 1, English Corner – Minor Yours and His Music
Sat 6, Minor Yours Live in Kunming

Mon 8, English Corner – Tone Leksbø and Her Art
Sat 13, Movie Night – Movie Dinner – “Across the Universe”

Mon 15, English Corner – Talk About Charity
Sat 20, Movie Night

Mon 22, English Corner – Kunming Inpression
Sat 27, Folk Music Concert

Mon 29, English Corner – Talk About Education

All activities start at 8pm

Red Dragons A Performance to Benefit HomeAIDS

Date:the 29th of July Friday 8pm
Price:25RMB

Ticket Sales Location:
Mai Tian Bookstore (Wen Lin Street)
Yi Sa Bookstore (Chun Yuan Xiao Qu )
San Lou (Xi Chang Road)
TCG Nordica
Tel: 4114691,4114692

Come and enjoy the “(RED) Dragon” Charity Event on Friday July 29th, put together by a team of American students. The show will feature a number of great acts, including a flute solo, rap song and dance performance. All the proceeds of this evening will be given to Home Aids Charity Organization, so join us in contributing to this important cause.

Minor Yours: Live in Kunming

Date: the 6th of August, Saturday 8pm
Price:35RMB
Ticket Sales Location:
Mai Tian Bookstore (Wen Lin Street)
Yi Sa Bookstore (Chun Yuan Xiao Qu )
San Lou (Xi Chang Road)
TCG Nordica
Tel: 4114691,4114692

Wherever in the world we may live, our heart is still the same. Many of us have loved and lost, and maybe loved again. Others are still searching – for love, for deeper understanding, for the true meaning of life. Minor Yours is an indierock artist from Norway. He deals with many of these important issues in his songs, often with a melancholic, but also humorous, touch. On stage he is usually alone, only with his voice, his guitar and sometimes his computer to accompany him. Inspired by great western songwriters like Bob Dylan, Nick Drake and Thom Yorke, he has developed his own original sound. It can probably be labeled indie-folk-rock, but to Minor Yours categories are less important. What matters, is making music that appeals to both heart and mind. The artist is looking forward to playing his songs to a Chinese audience. From one heart to another – music know no boundaries.

Changing places

Changing places

Norwegian Artist Tone Leksbø Solo Exhibition

Opening: 30/ Jul/ 2011, 8pm
Duration: 30/ Jul – 3/ Sept
Gallery Opening Time: 11am – 10pm, Close on Sunday
Place: TCG Nordica, Xiba Road NO.101/LOFT
Tel: 4114692

Norwegian artist Tone Leksbø, TCG Nordica’s artist in residency from 9th of Jul 2011 to 13th of Sept 2011, will have her solo exhibition ”Changing Places” on 30th of Jul 2011 at TCG Nordica gallery. This exhibition is composed of various art forms including installation, photography and video, etc. Tone travels a lot and tries to express inspirations that collected from the changing of places and spaces. Tone had joined TCG Nordica’s Chinese culture course in Kunming from 2006 to 2007, some of the work were made at that time, and means a lot to her.

Tone Leksbø’s residence supported by Oslo city council.

Changing places
A contemporary art exhibition by Norwegian artist Tone Leksbø

As an artist who has spent much time travelling the world, Norwegian contemporary artist Tone Leksbø is interested in the concept of changing places. The ancient Greek philosopher Heraklit said that you can’t step twice into the same river. Likewise, you can’t come back a second time to the same place. Both you and the place itself have changed since last time you were there.
This is a truth especially true regarding China, including Kunming, where old buildings are tore down and new ones erected every second. Kunming is changing, as China is changing from day to day. The rapidly growing Chinese economy, which is about to turn China into the world’s greatest superpower, is also a symbol for a growing worldwide consumer culture. Almost all countries in the world buy goods from China, ranging from food and electronics to clothes and toys.
As the growing economy is good for China, the worldwide consumer culture is still questionable. In one of the main works in her exhibition, Tone Leksbø asks what will happen to all the toys after they’ve been played with a couple of times. The changing process from new and colorful toy to filthy garbage is often very fast. The dumped doll and thrown away teddy bear symbolize a lost generation, to which happiness and innocence fades all too quickly.
In her work, Leksbø also plays with materiality. The lost objects, once so familiar, are found and presented not in the children’s room, but in the art gallery. The changed place makes us see the objects in a changed light. To some extent, Leksbø draws inspiration from the Afro-American artist Marita Dingus and here transformations of thrash into art.
In another work, Leksbø also combines a playful and an existential view, making the audience interact with her art. Photographs taken in different places such as Mali (Africa), Norway (Europe) and China (Asia) covering big «dices», make us think about the shifting nature of progress. Europe has had it’s time of economical and political dominance. Asia is just about to take over. Could there once be a time also for Africa? It is up to each visitor to «roll the dice», or mount the boxes according to the visitor’s own preferences.
The work also reflects on the fact that the artist’s homeland, Norway, fifty years ago was one of the poorest in Europe. Then Norway found oil, which changed it into the richest country in the world. Fifty years from now, the oil will probably be gone. Will Norway once again be thrown back in poverty?
Another work, a collage of photographs showing photographers, discusses the idea of fixing a person, a situation or a place into a two-dimensional representation. Still playful, with a humorous meta-aspect, Leksbø shows us amateur photographers from all over the world, taking pictures of whatever may have awakened their interest. Focusing on the act of photography itself, Leksbø adds a new thought to what establishes a picture. Herein also lies a hidden critique of her self. What do the artist really do when she takes a photo?
Like her other interactive work, Leksbø also invites the audience to take part in the act of photography. In a separate work, «Changing faces», anonymous face shapes cover the wall. By using a polaroid camera, the spectator is encouraged to take a photo of his own face and put it up on the wall, covering one the face shapes.
Beside other interesting photography works, the artist also exhibits three videos. One shows the changing conditions for the animals in Kunming Zoo. Another gives time to what Kunming is especially renowned for – the flowers. In the shortest of them, Leksbø brings the voice of a minority Chinese woman from Yunnan back to Norway – as we can hear the woman’s spellbinding singing overdubbing an airport express ride into Oslo. With the video now being shown in Kunming, Leksbø finds yet another way to the exhibition’s main theme, changing places.
Step into the gallery now. As Heraklit told us: It will never be the same ever again.

Written by Alf Walgermo

 

photos from the opening

 

Artist CV

Tone Leksbø
Oslo, Norway
Female artist, born 1981
Blog: http://toneleksboe.posterous.com/

Exhibitions
08-09.11 «Changing places», solo exhibition, TCG Nordica, Kunming, China

10.09 «Herremenn», exhibition and video installation, cooperation with Maria Sundby, UKS (Young artists’ association), Oslo, Norway

10.08-11.08 «The Wealth and Poverty of Nations», solo exhibition, Lyngdal Kultursenter, Lyngdal, Norway

07.08 Outdoor project «Liket på kaia», cooperation with Maria Sundby, Svolvær, Norway

11.07 «Blendverk», solo exhibition, Galleri Kiellands Fabrikker, Tøyen, Oslo, Norway

06.05 Bachelor exhibition, The National College of Art and Design, Seilduken, Oslo, Norway

Bibliography
Mona Larsen, «Byoriginaler i fredete hus», Dagsavisen 23.10.09: http://www.dagsavisen.no/kultur/article447479.ece
Maren Thorsen Blekestad, «Halléns hemmelighet», Østkantavisa 23.10.09: http://www.ostkantavisa.no/kultur/hallens-hemmelighet-1.4989386
Morten Michelsen Berg, «Liket var ikke dødt», TV2 Nyhetene, 22.07.08: http://www.tv2nyhetene.no/innenriks/liket-var-ikke-doedt-2083469.html

Gabrielle Graatrud, «Kulturkanal fra opera til Skrik», Aftenposten 30.11.07; http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/oslo/article2115911.ece

Studies
08.08-06.09 Pedagogics (art), art teacher, adjunct, Telemark College University
08.07-12.07 Spanish, University of Oslo
08.06-06.07 «Culture course in China», Hyllie Park FHS, TCG Nordica, Kunming, China
01.06-06.06 Psychology (1 year course), University of Oslo
08.02-06.05 Bachelor in Fine Arts, The National College of Art and Design
01.02-06.02 Philosophy and methodic, University of Oslo

Work
08.09-07.11 Art teacher, Øraker skole, Oslo
08.06-06.07 Voluntary work at the gallery of TCG Nordica, Kunming

Scholarships
2010 Oslo city’s cultural exchange scholarship
2008 Bildende kunstneres vederlagsfond, Maria Sundby and
Tone Leksbø
2005 Lyngdal city’s cultural scholarship
2003 Margit og Karl Kvaviks legat, Lyngdal

Creative Jianghu – The 6th 943 Kunming Loft Creative Fair

Creative Jianghu – The 6th 943 Kunming Loft Creative Fair

Time: 11:30am-19:00pm, July 23 – 24, 2011
Location: TCG Nordica, Loft, Xiba Road No.101, Kunming
Host by: 943 Studio, The Campo Group (Tai Wan), TCG Nordica
Tel: 0871-4114691, 4114692

This time, 943 Studio will invite CAMPO LIFE, the famous Taiwanese Creative Fair, to join in. Campobag is the earliest and the most popular Creative Fair in Taiwan. There will be nearly 40 participants come from many different fields in Taiwan, representing the most creative young groups. Despite it is located in such a marginalized city in the creative culture, 943 Creative Fair still drew a lot of attention and was encouraged on the annual conference of Chinese national wide Creative Fair for its fine and independent position. A variety of amazing talent and the entertainment spirit which involves all just happened to be similar to that “high” Taiwanese Creative Fair. It is really an excitement and an encouragement that Campobag chooses “us” as a partner when they come to the mainland for the first time. So, all the creative talents, are you ready for this coming wonderful Creative Fair?

Out of Recognition: Yunnan contemporary photography art exhibition

OUT OF RECOGNITION
Yunnan contemporary photography art exhibition

Curator: Luo Fei
Artists: Adam Lik Lui, He Yingyun, Lin Di, Sheng Chunyu, Wang Yuhui, Wang Rui, Yang Xiaoxiang, Zhang Yongning

Opening time: 20:00, Sat, 9th of July, 2011
Exhibition Duration: 9th of July – 22nd of July, 2011
Add: TCG Nordica Gallery, Xi balu 101, Kunming, Yunnan, China
Tel: 0871-4114692
Website: www.tcgnordica.com

TCG Nordica will present a photography exhibition by a group of Yunnan photographers. The works reflect on Chinese contemporary photography in several major directions: digital, landscape, portrait, documentary, concept and private photo, etc. The themes mainly focus on China’s urbanization process and individual identity and status.

The exhibition will open on 9th of July, 20:00, until 22nd of July, welcome to visit the exhibition and communicate with photographers. Thanks!