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Wang Nan, flanked by Xiao Yin and Jin Xiao, explains their monument to Nan Ting to Professor Tong Huiming

Hao Ning discusses the monument to Nan Ting made by Jin Dan Dan, Cui Yin Yuan and herself to Professor Tong Huiming.

In the background, Li Qian and Zhan Dan Pings posters, as a monument to Nan Ting.

Wu Sheng shows his teams work for the monument to Nan Ting.

(…) Xiao says before University City, they opened all day every day and had a busy pool hall on the 1st floor. Now she opens up 8am to midday and 5pm to 11pm. Afternoons are spent weeding a local farmer’s fields because she can earn more money that way. Similarly, Guan delivers gas cylinders throughout the village.(…)

Download a PDF with the whole story here.

One of those projects is “Shanghai Dreaming, Holding an Urban Golden Card“, made for the Shanghai Biennale in 2008.

This work is a great example of an approach to public art, that involves the local public, it is created through the input and participation of the public, it uses various media, she used local businesses, for instance a marketing company, to communicate the work. I like very much how through the collecting of stories, and transforming them into a visual, physical manifestation, some residents of Shanghai, just everyday ordinary citizens become visible. And through their stories, in fact, a story about the social impact of city life emerges.
An interview with the artist about this project can be seen here:
http://www.dmovies.net/shanghai7/index.html

Consider this an example of how you could think about creating the monument for Nan Ting.

Jeanne van Heeswijk’s website: http://www.jeanneworks.net

INTRODUCTION
University Town is a strange, artificial environment: it’s not really a cityscape, nor is it a village, it’s a habitat that has some features of the city, but feels quite different. It feels isolated from reality. It has roads, bridges, parks and sportsfacilities. There’s public transport, there are shopping areas with banks, restaurants, fast food, and other services. There’s dormitory housing, there are school buildings, school canteens, museums and, finally, there are four villages. These last villages on the island will disappear very soon.

The villages provide a kind of public space that relates much more closely to the city, than the rest of the island does. Narrow chaotic streets, intimate small spaces to eat and or shop in, lively activity in the street, family life, various generations sharing the same public space. (how often do you see elderly people or young children on campus?).

Nan Ting Village is a place where many students of the GAFA go to hangout, barbecue, play pool, drink beer. Some students have their own small enterprises there. The villagers run restaurants and shops, there’s a market selling locally grown fruit and vegetables, locally caught fish. Villagers sit under the trees, playing chess, gossiping, smoking.
What will be left of any street life when Nan Ting, as it is now, is gone?
Where will the villagers go? What will be left of the history of this island? And how will campus life be without the little bit of liveliness and chaos that Nan Ting offers?

The new assignment is called Remembering Nan Ting, a Monument and can be downloaded here.

Here is a Google translation of the text.