:: taken at the Neocha Studio in Shanghai; just a few books I’m reading on my lunch break. // AjS

:: taken in Shanghai, China, just outside the Neocha studio.  // AjS

:: Neocha.com-user HKER is up to his old tricks again, only this time he’s not pulling them in Shanghai. I caught up with him yesterday and he was kind enough to share a few photos of work he’s done over the past couple of years in Wenzhou, Zhejiang – see below. He also told me he’ll be writing more frequently in the coning months – watch this space for photos. Related, last year I featured HKER in a short documentary I did about the graffiti scene in Shanghai, link here to check it out. // AjS

[full disclosure: fifty 5 is a partner at Neocha.com]

:: Neocha.com’s Editor-in-Chief (not China, as printed below) Liu Hao was recently interviewed by City Weekend about the Neocha NEXT player. Link here for the full interview on City Weekend’s website.  // AjS

[full disclosure: 56minus1 is a partner at Neocha.com]

:: recent work by Shenzhen-based Neocha.com-user Kim227. Provocative abstract images with collages of lips, eyes, nipples, vaginas, and penises. I think these images are part of a single larger piece. Link here to see more from this series.  // AjS

[full disclosure: 56minus1 is a partner at Neocha.com]

:: a slideshow of sketches by Neocha.com-user Kim227. Kim is also the artist behind the superb I Wanna Be animation short posted on Fifty 5 a couple months ago.  // AjS

[full disclosure: Fifty 5 is a partner at Neocha.com]

:: Garfield has always been one of my favorite Neocha.com users. Her work is always innovative, imaginative, and inspiring. See below for a few examples of her amazing illustrative creations. At the bottom of this post, I have also shared a slideshow that showcases all of her work on Neocha.com.  // AjS

[full disclosure: 56minus1 is a partner at Neocha.com]

:: I recently featured the work of Neocha.com-user Raindrops (a Chinese illustrator / animator), but what didn’t make it into that slideshow was the below illustration. I ran across it on her profile here. Is this a vagina?

I consulted a female friend. 55: “Is this a vagina or am I perverted?” Female Friend: “Wow, nope, that’s a vag. A new age Georgia O’Keefe if I’ve ever seen one. Ha, I approve, though I’m getting flashbacks of this disturbing Pedro Almodóvar film called Talk to Her where people walked inside a vagina.”

Your thoughts?  // AjS

[full disclosure: 56minus1 is a partner at Neocha.com]

:: the lovely and formidable Mrs. Jenny Zhu recently interviewed me about the Chinese creative community, emerging youth culture, and social media in China. Check it out on her blog. Please pardon the pink  // AjS

:: live-action design knees-up Cut&Paste makes its Shanghai debut this Saturday, May 23.

The Cut&Paste Digital Design Tournament is a globally touring competition that pits designers head to head, in a series of lightning-fast rounds, to prove their mettle. 2009 sees 16 cities on its roster – Shanghai is number 14 – plus a global championship event in June. 2D, 3D and Motion Design are represented, and contestants have a fixed amount of time – 15 minutes for 2D, 20 minutes for 3D, eight hours for Motion – to execute a creative brief on the spot. Their work is projected, live and in real time, on massive screens so the audience can ooh over every creative decision, ahh over every technical move, and get a glimpse into the ever-nebulous Creative Process.

Check the video from the last tour:

Pretty neat, eh?

Shanghai’s 16 contestants have been handpicked from tons of entries collected earlier in the year (they’re listed on the Shanghai event page, under their respective categories). Tournament judges include Chinese contemporary artists Ding Yi and Jellymon creative director Sam Jacobs for the 2D category, Asentio Design founder David Williams and adFunture founder Eddi Yip for 3D; and W+K’s Francis Lam and AKQA’s Johan Vakidis for Motion.
The afterparty – co-hosted by (they who brought Daedelus, People Under the Stairs and, most recently, Modular Records) – sees LA’s in Shanghai, rather fitting given Cut&Paste’s 2009 tour started in LA three months ago. (It’s been moving across North America, Europe and Asia ever since.)

Three audience design contests will allow folks not content just watching to get a taste of what those onstage are up against. Winners of these contests – selected from all global entries – get to go to global championships in June, along with the official winners from each city.
Whether you’d like to see the creative process somewhat demystified, or are just hankering for a good show, head down the Shanghai Sculpture Space Saturday evening.

Cut&Paste Digital Design Tournament 2009: Shanghai. Saturday, May 23. Doors 6:30pm / Show 7:00pm. Shanghai Sculpture Space (570 Huaihai Xi Lu, near Kaixuan Lu). RMB 100 presale (RMB 80 for students) through Ticketmaster / RMB 120 at the door (tickets include entry to the at Yuyintang with Free the Robots). Full details: www.cutandpaste.com or . Facebook event .  // PL

[Panthea Lee is a guest contributor on 56minus1. Full disclosure: Panthea is the producer of Cut&Paste Shanghai, and Neocha.com – of which Adam Schokora (56minus1) is a partner – is a sponsor of the event.]

:: with the growing popularity of independent music in China, musicians, labels, and promoters are all seeking to understand and benefit from various business models. On Thursday (May 14) night, Neocha.com will bring together three representatives from various fields of China’s independent music scene to share their thoughts and experiences in a panel discussion titled “How Can Independent Music Make Money in China?” at the newly opened Factory in Shanghai.  // SL

Panelists:

• Lao Yao (SOMA record label & promoter)
• B6 (electronic musician, co-founder of Neocha.com & Antidote)
• Yoyo (head of PR / marketing at a record label & artist management company)

Date / Time: May 14 (Thursday), 19:30

Language: the discussion will primarily be in Chinese with English interpretation available.

Location: Factory – 1933 Creative Complex  1st floor, building 4, 29 Shajing Rd., Hongkou district, Shanghai

Phone:   Email: 

Event links: | Douban

[full disclosure: Sean Leow is the CEO of Neocha.com]

:: Danwei.org, everyone’s favorite English language Web site on Chinese media, Internet, and urban life, is making an official T-shirt to be produced and sold by Plastered T-shirts.

We are accepting design submissions and holding a competition to choose a winner. The competition is being housed on Danwei.org (English) and Neocha.com (Chinese).

The winning design will be sold in Plastered T-shirt stores in China and on the Internet, and the winner will receive glory, fame, and RMB 888 in crisp bank notes!

If you have an idea for a design, please download a T-shirt template from the links below, make your design, and email it to: (or ).

The design can use an iconic Chinese image, simply consist of text, or be something wholly new, but it must have some connection with Danwei.org’s content, or the meaning of the Chinese word “danwei” (单位). Submitted designs do not need to be production ready: Plastered T-shirts will work with the winning designer to prepare it for production.

The competition closes at 8 AM on Monday, April 13. The entries will be judged by:

Dominic Johnson-Hill founder and chief creative officer of Plastered T-shirts
Jeremy Goldkorn founder of Danwei
Shen Qing Managing Director of FT Rui magazine, known in Chinese women’s magazine circles as the “godmother of fashion”
Dongdong Qiang post 1980s man of letters, student of the classics, and blogger
Mauro Marescialli: Founder of Standards Group, the design firm that created Danwei’s logo and visual identity
Adam J. Schokora (Me): Danwei contributor, Neocha.com partner, and blogger

Don’t hesitate: 888 yuan and glory are waiting for you, download a T-shirt template and send your design to (or )!

Templates (any of these file formats are suitable): ai, jpeg, psd

// AjS

[full disclosure: 56minus1 is a contributor to Danwei.org and a partner at Neocha.com]

[UPDATE: see here for the winner.]

:: Neocha.com recently released the fifth edition of its webzine 放大 (or Blow Up).

Blow Up 5 is available as a free download from the Blow Up homepage or, if you prefer, here are direct PC and Mac download links.

For those unfamiliar with Blow Up, it is Neocha’s flash webzine dedicated to independent youth culture in China. It’s released every few months (or so) and has only one (strict!) rule: all of its content (pictures, music, text, animation, etc.) are 100% original creative works put together specifically for Blow Up. This is not zhuanzai’d content. Previous issues of Blow Up can be downloaded here. For an English summary of the last edition, see Adam’s previous post here. (Just click, the downloads will start automatically.)

The main theme for Blow Up 5 is “十宅记” or “10 Homes.” We visited the homes of 10 young creative people in Shanghai from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. In doing so, we asked each of them to choose 10 objects in their homes and tell us why they are important to them. We documented the visits with pictures and interviews, and even got everyone to draw a map of their home. Good fun.

Below is an brief overview of Blow Up 5 in English, but I highly recommend downloading a copy to get the full experience with music, full-text, animation, interactive flash, and all the great photographs.

Blow Up 5 cover ::

table of content (this is fully interactive in the webzine format, please download to experience) ::

video of Neocha’s two year anniversary party ::

陈洁微 is the founder of a company that places part-time workers (a temp agency of sorts). She used to run a creative shop in Beijing ::

丁冬 is from Guangxi and runs an independent photography studio in Shanghai. He took all the pictures for this issue, he’s an incredible photographer ::

天天 is originally from Sichuan and now lives in Shanghai as a fashion designer ::

郑一 is the founder and lead designer of The Thing, a graphic design company specializing in streetwear clothing and products ::

糖果猫猫 (Popil) is a Shanghai-based “creative extraordinaire” originally from Guangdong. While Popil’s best know for her illustrations and drawings, her photography, graffiti, and music are all impressive. Check out a slideshow of her work here ::

童云 aka 大海盗 (Big Pirate), is a designer who runs the “TYAKASHA Earth Store” creative goods stores in Taikang Lu’s 田子坊 (Tianzifang) area ::

阿郜 is a poet and theatre director. She is the founder of the 测不准 (Uncertainty) independent theatre troupe ::

小季 is one half of the photography duo 鸟头 (Birdhead), which has become well recognized in the Chinese modern art world. Check out their profile on ShanghART Gallery here ::

李悠 is from Ningxia and is now a promoter for musicians in China ::

廖传扬: Sean Leow (that’s me in my apartment!) ::

credits page ::

a (subtle) call for advertisements in the next issue – hey, we gotta keep the lights on :-) ::

Again, Blow Up 5 is available as a free download from the Blow Up homepage or, if you prefer, here are direct PC and Mac download links.

Special thanks to 丁冬 for his superb photography work, Jamhippy for the cover art, and 诺琪 (Noki) for soundtrack through this edition of Blow Up.  // SL

[full disclosure: Sean Leow is the CEO of Neocha.com]

:: a slideshow of photographs taken by Abram Deyo in Shanghai during José González’s China tour. From Split Work’s Neocha page. One last time, hats off to and his team at Split Works for bringing José to China.  // AjS

[full disclosure: 56minus1 is a partner at Neocha.com]

:: a slideshow collection of Bigeye illustrations titled “There is a Problem with my Drawings” (我的画有问题), from Neocha.  // SL

[full disclosure: Sean Leow is CEO of Neocha.com]