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Dafen Oil Painting Village
Dafen Oil Painting Village
I. Current status
Located in Dafen Community, Buji Sub-District, Longgang District, Shenzhen City, Dafen Oil Painting Village has attracted more than 1200 galleries of various sizes, more than 60 famous companies, and about 8000 workers in the oil painting business in the core area of only about 0.4 square kilometers. Moreover, totally there are about 20000 workers in the business if the surrounding communities are included.
The galleries and companies in Dafen are mainly engaged in the production and trading of oil paintings and relevant items. They also produce and trade traditional Chinese cultural items, such as traditional Chinese paintings, calligraphic works, seal cuttings, embroidery, etc. , as well as other art works, such as art crafts and abstract art items.
As the National Demonstration Base of Cultural Industry, Dafen Oil Painting Village is one of the first in its kind in the country, and the first one at the national level in Shenzhen City. It is the forerunner as the
ICIF branch, and moreover, it keeps the record of the most times of hosting ICIF（Shenzhen International Cultural Industry Fair）branches. Since 2004, the village has received more than 3000 Chinese and
foreign visiting groups. More than 10 top CPC or national leaders have visited the village, including Wu Bangguo, Zeng Qinghong, Li Changchun, Liu Yunshan, and Wu Yi.
Dafen is known as the First Oil Painting Village in China, because it is not only the largest base for production and trading of commercial oil paintings, but also an important global trading center of oil paintings. According to statistic data, 70% commercial paintings in European and American markets come from China, and among them, 80% are imported from Dafen. As the end of 2017, Dafen realized an annual output of RMB 4.15 billion yuan, and domestic sales and export accounts for 50% respectively.
World famous media have reported Dafen Oil Painting Village for many times, including New York Times, BBC, Financial Times, Sky News, and NHK. On May 1st, 2010, Dafen was recommended by Shenzhen City to participate in Shanghai Word Expo as the case of the Urban Best Practice Area, where the Monalisa art installation built by 507 Dafen art workers made a gorgeous debut.
Dafen today, is not only for oil paintings, but also for a colorful variety of arts. Various kinds of artistic forms co-exist in the Village harmoniously. And a complete and vigorous industrial chain has developed in the place, such as the art derivatives development as well as the supporting services of painting mounting, frame installation, painting materials, logistics, etc.
II. History
(I) Beginning
In the past, Dafen was a rural village in Buji Town, with an area of 0.77 square kilometers as well as a population of merely 300 or so. The local villagers lived on growing rice, earning an annual income of not
more than RMB300 yuan per capita.
In 1989, an oil painting dealer from Hong Kong, named Huang Jiang, settled down in the village. He began to copy, replicate, purchase and sell oil paintings by using the cheap villagers’ houses and labor force. Thus he introduced the special oil painting industry into Dafen. Along with the expanding market and growing fame of Dafen, more and more art workers, skilled artists and dealers came and began the scale production and sales of oil paintings in the village. This is the beginning of the oil painting industry in Dafen.
(II) Industrial cluster
In the late 1990s, thanks to the growing number of art workers and artists, the sales of oil paintings began to break the single channel of dealer purchase. Some dealers and artists decided to sell paintings directly to the public. They opened galleries in the houses that looked over the street. As time passed by, several large specialized markets have emerged, such as Huangjiang Oil Painting Trading Square, Maoye Trading Square of Calligraphic and Painting Works, Dafen Oil Painting Trading Square, Dafen Louvre, etc. Naturally, news media discovered the special village and began to report intensively. From then on, Dafen was named as Oil Painting Village.
Media reports drew the attention of the local government. From 1998, the governments at Longgang District level and Buji Town level started to instruct the oil painting industry and upgrade the environment in the village. Gradually, old rural landscapes disappeared,urban styles and artistic features were introduced into the village. After the first round of upgrading, more than 100 new galleries of oil paintings opened business, which helped to form a quite large scale of specialized trading market in the village.
In the history of Dafen Oil Painting Village, the year of 2004 is the milestone in its development. In the year, Dafen was elected as the only ICIF branch. The 1000 artists’ on-site oil painting show made a world
Guinness Record. Thanks to hosting the first ICIF branch, the unique industrial model of the village is extensively reported by the media. Also since then, Dafen Oil Paintings have rapidly gained reputation and
influence as a new cultural industry. Dafen’s story becomes well known. More and more media organizations and visitors have flocked to the village, which quickly adds to Dafen’s credit.
(III) Government support
Since 2004, Longgang District has established management organizations in Dafen Oil Painting Village. The Administration Office is responsible for planning instruction, service management, promotion, reception and exchange. And other organizations are formed to support the industry and workers in the trade much more better, including Dafen Association of Art Industries, Dafen Artists Association, and the artists’ floating CPC branch and Communist Youth League.
In 2007, huge investments from the municipal government level and district government level as well were used to build Dafen Arts Museum and the public rent apartments for the artists in the village. With the investment of RMB 100 million yuan,Dafen museum has a floor area of 11000 square meters and a construction area of 16800 square meters. It is not only a museum with the largest exhibition area in Shenzhen, but also the first supporting museum in the art industrial parks in China. Governments have built 268 apartments for rent, which has largely solved the housing problems facing the art labors and artists.
In May 2013, under the strong support of Shenzhen Human Resources and Social Security Administration, two important events settled down in Dafen, namely, Shenzhen Painting Vocational Skills Contest as well as Shenzhen Appraisal Exam for Painting Vocational Skills. According to talent attraction policies in Shenzhen, relevant credits of registered permanent residence will be granted to the people who pass the exam or win awards in the contest. The preferential talent policy, the first one in China, is established solely for the art talents, which will solve the registered permanent residence problems for the art workers in the city, including those in Dafen, in a more convenient and comprehensive way.
For many years, Longgang District People’s Government have actively organized and encouraged Dafen enterprises to Go Out to participate in specialized exhibitions, so as to strengthen exchange and
communication with domestic and foreign markets, and further promote Dafen’s image as well.In the lunar new year of 2015, under the strong support of the government, Dafen Oil Painting Village made its debut as a collective brand in U.S.A.：the village aroused amazing interests in the World Lantern Carnival in Sacramento, the capital of California.
(IV) Transformation like a colorful butterfly
In 2008, the global financial crisis caused a massive shockwave on Dafen Oil Painting Village by markedly reducing export orders. The enterprises in the village were seriously challenged. After 2009, the village has seen an active industrial upgrading initiated by the government: expanding of domestic market, development of products with intellectual properties, promotion of original works, introduction or forming of leading enterprises, etc.
Since 2012,Longgang District People’s Government and Chinese Artists Association have co-hosted the National (Dafen) Oil Painting Exhibition for Young and Middle-Aged Artists every year.The exhibition not only provides a hight-level exchange platform for Dafen original works,but also boosts the industrial upgrading andtransformation for Dafen.From Jan. 6th to Jan. 17th,2017,the National Art Museum of China hosted the 5th National (Dafen) Oil Painting Exhibition for Young and Middle-Aged Artists & National Excellent Oil Painting Works Exhibition for Young and Middle-Aged Artists ,where the excellent art works for the past 5 years as well as the works selected in the 5th exhibition were exhibited .2018,another international high-end art exhibition brand-China DaFen International Painting Exhibition Biennale –will be hold in DaFen.Artists from all over the world will gather in Shenzhen,and DaFen will be a veritable international art urban area by then.Moreover,each yaer on a routine basis,the Administration Office of Dafen Oil Painting Village sponsors local artists to do field sketching,thus to promote their skills in original creation.
Original creation is booming in the village. A growing number of Dafen original artists are emerging in the horizon. According to statistic data, at present, more than 200 original artists live in Dafen. Among them, there are 30 members of China Artists Association, 76 members of the artists associations at the provincial level, and 150-odd members at the municipal level. In the important Chinese art exhibitions, Dafen is seen more and more frequently.In the previous five years,more than 100 fine works by Dafen original artists were selected by the art exhibitions at provincial or national level.
Besides the booming original works, Dafen art dealers also seek transformation by introducing the mobile Internet. Based on the “Internet +”innovation, Dafen industrial model is fusing the comprehensive online and offline development. Some small galleries have gone to the extent of launching crowd-funding and customized orders. E-commerce platforms are rising in Dafen, such as Micro Dafen, Xinling Art Networks, Mobile Dafen, Art Treasure Hunting, Creative Fair, etc. According to incomplete data, more than 60% Dafen art dealers have opened Internet marketing platforms.
III. Outlook
Dafen Oil Painting Village has realized fruitful achievements thanks to the hardworking in the past 10 years. However, challenged by new technologies, new demands, and competition in the trade, Dafen’s best way out is to catch the opportunity of industrial transformation and upgrading as well as the fusing of different business models. In this way, Dafen will develop a competitive layout for the art industry in the future.
In order to support the cultural industry in Dafen Oil Painting Village, Shenzhen CPC Committee and Municipal People’s Government has determined the position of the village as one of the nine strategic emerging industrial bases which will be implemented in the first round in the city. Longgang District People’s Government has invited professional companies to make the comprehensive development plan for Dafen oil painting industrial base. After researches, they have provided the concept of Dafen International Art Community which will be realized step by step. With the core of the Pan-Art cultural industry, the community is positioned not only as a world art region with multi-urban functions and rich art spaces, but also as a comprehensive urban development area facilitated with art industries, commerce, cultural innovations, offices, residence, hotels, entertainment, and other supporting functions. After implementation by phases in a period of 5 to 8 years, the final Dafen will evolve into a world urban art region which rivals South Bank in London, or the Soho area in New York. Dafen, since the reform and opening-up, is dedicated to oil paintings and entrepreneurship. And Dafen in the
future will be diversified and creative. Thanks to the planning of Dafen oil painting industrial base, Dafen in the future will not only expand to the neighboring areas, but also present more colorful business models. Based on the main industry of oil paintings, Dafen will introduce various kinds of businesses, including art streets, travel town, art hotels and creative design. In the end, Dafen will develop into the national sales center for the oil painting industry as well as a famous international art community.