Summer of LOVELOVELOVE

U2 by UCCA is pleased to announce a strategic collaboration with the Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, and their first collaborative project, the LOVELOVELOVE Biennale of Moving Images. The first biennale, titled Summer of LOVELOVELOVE, will be held in Beijing from July 6 to December 25, 2022.

The inaugural LOVELOVELOVE Biennale of Moving Images takes its inspiration from the 1967 “Summer of Love.” As one of the most influential cultural phenomena in the 1960s, the Summer of Love witnessed the power of culture to address violence, war, and discrimination. Embracing the core values of Peace and Love, the Summer of Love still inspires us today as we begin to emerge from the Coronavirus pandemic.

Paying homage to the spirit of the original Summer of Love, the LOVELOVELOVE Biennale of Moving Images will be presented in four sections, devoted to Nature, Identity, Freedom and Time respectively. Works by over 20 artists will be shown, including key works from Geneva’s prestigious Biennale de l’Image en Mouvement (BIM) and the projects of leading Chinese video art communities. The exhibition’s partner Rolling Stone China will simultaneously present a “Summer of Love” music festival with diverse public programs, reviewing the key cultural figures of 1960s from a music history perspective and examining their continued impact on contemporary popular culture.

According to the biennale’s chief curator Andrea Bellini, director of the Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève and co-curator, with DIS, of its 2021 BIM, “the myths and ghosts of the beloved—as well as of merchandise, religion, identity, origins, family, and gender—characterize the works we have selected…Describing love as an absence, an ambition, a tension, a ritual, a ceremony, and a distance to be bridged is what seems to us most interesting and most contemporary today.”

Xu Ning, the CEO of U2 by UCCA, believes the biennale will bring faith to people at this difficult moment. As he said: “Since 2020, we have entered a time of chaos and uncertainty. The pandemic crisis changed so many people’s lives, and the connection between individuals is more and more precious. Through the collaboration with the Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, we would like to have U2 serve as a bridge for in-depth communication and sharing, spreading love and courage to our audience.”

Artist list
Yuri Ancarani, Hannah Black & Juliana Huxtable & And Or Forever, Sabrina Röthlisberger Belkacem, Eduardo Williams with Mariano Blatt, DIS, Simon Fujiwara, Guan Xiao, Jenna Hasse, Hu Weiyi, Will Benedict & Steffen Jørgensen, Evangelia Kranioti, Arvo Leo, Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács, Boris Mitić, Nabuqi, Massimo D’anolfi & Martina Parenti, Song Kun, Tao Hui

About U2 by UCCA
U2 by UCCA (U2) was co-founded in 2021 by UCCA, China’s largest museum corporation, and the leading IP company Young Talent Media. Dedicated to top art content, U2 connects people, space, and a new way of living. U2 presents pop culture beyond boundaries and provides unique art experience here and now.

About Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève
Founded in 1974, the Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève is an exhibition space and a place for reflection on contemporary art. An important point of reference on the Swiss and international art scene, the Centre presents ambitious projects involving all contemporary practices. The Biennale de l’Image en Mouvement (BIM), a pioneer event organized by the Centre since 2014, serves as platform for production and experimentation in the moving image medium.