Mark Zhang

island6 Arts Center

Liu Dao 六岛 (pinyin: Liù dǎo) is a Shanghai-based art collective of tech-geeks and creative talents driven by innovation and interaction. The collective produces cutting-edge art that constantly contemplates the future of Asia, engages sights and scenes from old and new China, and elevates the skills of new talents by working from a communal forum. Liu Dao's art is visual, interactive, conceptual, humorous, and somber - but always striking, always involving fresh takes on modern technology, and always the product of collaboration. The group places emphasis on interaction in order to engage artists, curators and technicians in the process of creating and experiencing art focusing on collective rather than individual values, with the direct aim of benefiting a young Chinese contemporary art scene promotionally and creatively. An appealing comparison is to the film industry: the island6 gallery acts as the producer for the artists (actors), curators (film directors), while utilizing the skills of cameramen, set designers, choreographers, scenographers, and writers. The digital artworks produced by island6 also use post-production editors, such as Affect Effect experts or sound designers. Each artwork and exhibition has a cast with credits for people of different skills. The art collective is sponsored by island6 Arts Center, an art gallery and production studio in Shanghai's Moganshan Road art district, M50. The Arts Center provides all materials and hires the necessary skilled labor or technicians to assist art production. At island6, all the work exhibited is made on site and specifically for the theme of a trimestral show.