Introduction

The Xiamen International Art Festival is a biennial contemporary art exhibition that has been positioning Xiamen as an important cultural hub in China's southeastern coast since its founding in 2016. Located in the vibrant port city of Xiamen, the festival takes advantage of the city's unique geographical and cultural position to foster artistic exchange between China and countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

The festival embraces a multidisciplinary approach to contemporary art, featuring a diverse range of mediums including painting, sculpture, installation, photography, digital art, and performance. With its distinctive focus on cross-cultural dialogue, the Xiamen International Art Festival serves as a critical platform for artists to explore shared aesthetic concerns and engage with regional socio-political contexts.

Through its expanding international presence and commitment to showcasing both established and emerging artists, the festival has contributed significantly to Xiamen's growing reputation as a center for contemporary art in China, complementing the city's existing cultural institutions and creative spaces.

Curatorial Vision

The Xiamen International Art Festival operates under a curatorial framework that emphasizes cross-cultural dialogue, focusing specifically on artistic exchanges between China and its neighbors across the Asia-Pacific region. Each edition is developed around a central theme that reflects contemporary social, cultural, and environmental concerns relevant to the region, while also engaging with global artistic discourses.

The festival's curatorial approach emphasizes inclusivity and diversity, presenting works by artists from various cultural backgrounds, generations, and artistic traditions. Through this lens, the festival seeks to highlight both the unique characteristics of regional artistic practices and the interconnected nature of contemporary art in an increasingly globalized world.

As a relatively young biennial, the Xiamen International Art Festival has been steadily developing its distinct identity among China's growing number of art biennials. Its particular focus on maritime connections and coastal cultures—drawing on Xiamen's historical significance as a port city—provides a unique perspective within the biennial landscape and connects to China's broader cultural initiatives related to the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

History & Development

Founded in 2016 as part of Xiamen's broader cultural development initiative, the Xiamen International Art Festival emerged during a period of rapid expansion in China's biennial ecosystem. The festival was established to position Xiamen as a significant cultural destination and to capitalize on the city's unique geographic position as a gateway to the Asia-Pacific region.

Since its inception, the festival has steadily grown in scale and international recognition. Building on Xiamen's existing cultural infrastructure, the festival has contributed to the city's evolving artistic landscape, which has seen the emergence of numerous galleries, museums, and creative spaces over the past decade.

Exhibition Venues

The Xiamen International Art Festival utilizes a diverse range of exhibition spaces across the city, incorporating both established cultural institutions and unconventional venues. This distributed approach allows visitors to experience different areas of Xiamen while engaging with contemporary art in varied contexts.

The festival's main exhibitions are concentrated in several key venues, with satellite events and installations extending throughout the city. This network of sites reflects Xiamen's evolving cultural landscape and the festival's commitment to engaging with both the city's historical heritage and its contemporary urban fabric.

Three Shadows Xiamen Photography Art Centre

A major venue featuring photographic art with 3,600 square meters of exhibition space in Jimei District.

Xinglinwan Business Centre

Contemporary art space housing major installations and multimedia works in Jimei District.

Red Dot Design Museum Xiamen

Featuring design-oriented art exhibitions in a converted terminal of the former Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport.

Luchao Kulangsu Art Park

Exhibition space on the historic Gulangyu Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site, featuring outdoor installations.

Featured Artists

The Xiamen International Art Festival showcases a diverse range of artists from throughout China and the Asia-Pacific region. The festival has built a reputation for presenting both established international figures and emerging talents, with a particular focus on artists whose work engages with themes of cultural exchange, maritime heritage, and regional identity.

The curatorial selection reflects the festival's commitment to presenting a balance of practices and perspectives, creating dialogue between different artistic traditions and contemporary approaches. Through this rich tapestry of voices, the festival offers visitors a nuanced view of contemporary art in the Asia-Pacific region.