We have just heard from another of our 2008 grant recipients, Sanlun Yishu, by artists Lee Somers and Elisabeth Pellathy in Beijing, China.

三san (three) 轮lun (wheel) 车che (vehicle) – a versatile, cheap and compact tricycle made from modified motorcycles or bicycles.

Small yet mighty, the workhorse of Beijing moves everything from lumber to passengers. Often employed as a low-budget local taxi.

三san (three) 轮lun (wheel) 艺术yishu (art) – a mobile gallery, a custom-made Sanlun che housing an exhibition of print, drawing, sound, and video selected specifically for this context.

The primary function is to facilitate personal interaction with art for an audience outside the scope of the traditional gallery. Shifting art viewing from a passive to active interface with the community, Sanlun Yishu overlays an art-experience with daily transportation. Artists from around the globe will create works themed on urban life for the mobile gallery.

Passengers will become participants, asked to reflect on their identity in our urban world. Instead of paying a fare, participants take a work of art with them and make a creative contribution of their own. This transaction is the basis of a conversation between artists and passengers, examining urban life from multiple perspectives, forging unlikely connections across the globe.