‘The Artist Always Get Paid Last’ Opening Night @ island6 Bund

As the champagne flowed, delicious canapés were prepared, and the well-travelled French oysters were shucked as our latest exhibition in our Bund space on the historic Fuzhou Road got underway on Wednesday night. The premise of the exhibition is that the artist always gets paid last… an unfortunate, universal truth. The guests mingled, and as well at the culinary treats on offer, consumed the art produced on-site by the Liu Dao collective in our main gallery and workshop in M50, the art district of Moganshan Road. About 250 people joined us for the opening, which in true island6 style was itself a hive of creative ideas, conversations, and newly-forged friendships stimulated by a common theme – contemporary art being made in China. As you walked around you one could hear a range of languages being spoken; English, German, French, and Mandarin. Everyone chatted and focused on the artwork, finding our daring sense of humour and playfulness a great conversation starter. The guests interacted with the art, in particular the LED and video artworks, and one sassy interactive piece that texted unknowing players the naughtiest of French insults. “The Artist Always Get Paid Last” also includes three neon works, and as you entered the theme of the night and the exhibition greets you in the flashing sign ‘Cha-Ching!’ There was also a performance –a mock art strike – as the artists donned brightly-coloured overalls and wielded megaphones and signs bearing slogans, taking the performance on to the balcony. They were only slightly deterred by the presence of a police vehicle across the road, but the men in blue were obliging and even a little interested in what all the good-natured noise was about. It has to be said that we at Liu Dao don’t make art for the money – but the theme is a deeply personal some might say provocative take on a straightforward economic matter, that like any other skilled professionals artists deserve to be paid what they are worth. It’s fairly simple: art has value – aesthetic and monetary. And we shouldn’t be afraid to say it.