Contemporary Chinese art on WeChat and its utilisation to promote artists and their artworks

Abstract

Abstract Social media are becoming increasingly popular in China. This trend is also observable in the art world. Besides specialised websites promoting art and artists, there are also many new ways of sharing information about artists, exhibitions, publications and the art world. Almost all Chinese artists use the WeChat application as a means of communication. There are also other social media outlets, such as Weibo and TikTok. This paper focuses on the use of WeChat by Chinese artists. Apart from its primary functionality, WeChat has become a vital medium for sharing information about recent exhibitions, articles or just to share artwork. WeChat allows artists to distribute and provide a space for new creative content. Artists and galleries can post photographs, links to articles, interviews and video promotions of exhibitions. The 798 Art Zone is an example of quite advanced promotion ranging from information about artists and exhibitions to even the sale of artworks. To illustrate the wide range of content on WeChat, this paper will look at visual artists such as Gu Wenda, Zhang Yu and the art critic Xia Kejun, and compare them with the public accounts of galleries and 798 Art zone (Beijing), the most famous art district in China.