Ticket to China: South African artworks make it to Beijing biennale thanks to Shanghai Zendai
Chinese developer pays for 36 works champioining democracy to go on show in Chinese capital, writes Ufrieda Ho in Johannesburg
In 2013, Shanghai Zendai announced its US$7.8 billion plan to turn a suburb of Johannesburg into the "New York of Africa".
Now the Hong Kong-listed company - which plans to build 35,000 houses, a finance centre and a sports stadium in the South African city in 15 years - is throwing its weight behind the nation's art scene, and a topic that is touchy back on home soil.
Zendai Development South Africa, its local subsidiary, has donated 250,000 rand (HK$147,500) to enable 36 South African artworks that champion democracy to be displayed at the Beijing International Art Biennale. The money will cover transportation and insurance costs.
The property development giant is a known patron of the arts, having established the Zendai Museum of Modern Art, in Shanghai; the company's founder, and chairman until May, is Dai Zhikang, whose personal art collection is worth US$80 million, according to Art Market Monitor.
The artworks for the biennale have been chosen from an exhibition produced by the University of Johannesburg and the Appalachian State University, in North Carolina, in the United States, which features 500 pieces celebrating 20 years of democracy in South Africa.
Co-curator Gordon Froud says that while individual South African artists have participated in the biennale before, there has never been a group showing from the nation: "Just being at the biennale will open doors for South African artists. It exposes them to a global audience."