Jiu Xian Garden Village

start of project

year workshop

year old village

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districts

inhabitants

students

about the project

"DaST’s proposition, in Jiu Xian rural village located in the southern part of China is to integrate through a new systemic approach to social,economical and environmental challenges, the principles of sustainable design"

status of project

Developed & Concluded
project design: 2007-2008
project execution: 2009-2011

Details

Denomination: Jiu Xian Garden Village
AKA: Jiu Xian Artists in Residence
Branding denomination: Jiu Xian Garden Village
Location: Jiu Xian, China
Concept & Developer: Frederic Coustols
Co-Concept & Developer: Gonçalo Leandro, Maria Mendonça Coustols

team members

Concept & Developer: Frederic Coustols
Co-Concept & Developer: Gonçalo Leandro, Maria Mendonça Coustols
Management: Jean Coustols
Design & Communication: ArtistLevel.org
Artists in Residence: Denis Piel, Duma Siran, Filipa Silveira, Maria Mendonça, Marina Carvalho, Marta Alvim, Michel Batlle, Rui Pinto Gonçalves, Sara Yan, Tim Madeira, Vasco Luz

Jiu Xian Garden Village / Jiu Xian, China

short description

the 3 year workshop

i.e dealing with the life cycle management process, meaning that DaST team is addressing all questions linked to policy in regard of what we know about the Sciences of the Earth, the Human fundamental needs, the necessity to share the natural ressources and knowledge all mingled within the Cultural and Historical background of this old Ming village and its surroundings DaST has designed a compass to help understanding its purpose.

In order to share more knowledge it has been decided that the Jiu Xian Garden Village project would be done through workshops open to the best students in Architecture and Landscape of the South China University of Technology in Guangzhou and associate the local population The workshops intend to confront the students frontaly to sustainable issues / reality / the rural chinese world / National Héritage / conservation / restoration. The decision to work with the local population came from the understanding that: «Jiu Xian Garden Village «would become a success if they handled the project as their own 1st year objective.

We dedicated our first year to a global inventory and found that Jiu Xian was managed in an almost far more advanced sustainable way than the best existing projects but using very little access to high end technologies meaning that Jiu Xian in its présent structure had a really limited possibility to go forward within the to-day rules leading all processes.

about site specific: land art 2009

The concept of site specific is about the reflection of the work of art as part of a certain place or environment where the connection between the artistic concept should communicate with the surrounding and those who live among it.

In LandArt we seek to feel and work in harmony with the earths cycles, as for its nature, population, animals, matter, and all unlimited possibilities that result as a fusion and complementary of these elements in the search of creative processes that offer us the possibility to feel and contemplate the universe that surrounds us in its different rhythms.

We work on the infinite universe of construction and detail which, although can be ephemeris and condemned to the rhythm of a cycle, will always mark our memory or the work of art, which can only be revealed at a certain hour and a certain day.

LandArt appeared during the 60’s of the 20th century going against the minimalism and all sophisticated technologies of the cultural industries, and forward the increasing awareness regarding environment issues. We can consider that Man, since always, felt enchanted by the innumerous choices of creation that Nature has provided.

Through the innumerous works conceived in the distant past, as for Stonehenge from England in 3100 b.c., or in the landscape architecture of the 18th century, we can say that we have already dived in the LandArt reality where we could witness Mans desire to exceed himself in the search of a greater intimacy with Mother Nature, in search of the perfect symbiosis.

brief history

birth of the project

From that day on, our DaST team, in charge of the Jiu Xian Garden Village project found the necessary energy to accomplish the task, even if that meant revising all its previous plans.
It, suddenly, seemed urgent to mingle Jiu Xian’s inhabitants with more people from other countries, speaking different languages, living in an entirely different stage of development and with artists who would enable them to capture the beauty of their surroundings.
But above all I felt that launching these artists in the midst of a civilization so different from their own could but be a thrilling experience to them.
The whole DaST (Design a Sustainable Tomorrow) team set to work intensively. We succeeded in increasing the construction capacity at the different work sites by giving the carpenters, masons, electricians and bamboo experts, greater responsibility and by increasing the number of workers at each site.

We also had to adapt the program altering temporarily what the health centre was intended for, enabling it to shelter the artists in case of bad weather, modify the structure of the exhibition rooms and alter the design of the tea-house, Without compromising in quality the access paths to the site. We reviewed and improved the design allowing it to be used two ways, one lane for visitors and one for buffalos.

The DaST workshops became more and more frequent, all the drawings were updated in real time, the logos and the costumes were designed, executive summaries and three books describing the stages of the project were also written. Above all, Goncalo proposal made us think more deeply,about some of the processes. Introducing more f lexibility, Professor Bao, Professor Feng Shu, Professor Jia Yun, Gerhy, Gao Wei, Lee Ziruo, Li Bo, Li Ming Zheng, Ma Tian Tian, Maoeraichiyu, Su Yi, Captain Wu, Vena, Joyce, Ye Ziteng i. e. Gaston, Xiao Xiao, Sissi, Swordman, Hugo, Yiping, Sandiamano, Fat, Feng Da Da as well and many others were at their best.

In the end, a house from the Ming village, had to be restored to receive the visitors and to work as the exhibition room where the project was to be presented.

In order to do so, old restoration materials had to be found, the roof and framework rebuilt, the walls cleaned and plastered with lime mortar tinted with natural pigments, electricity and the lighting system installed, the rainwater sewers cleaned and restored surveyed and Mr Li´s permission granted to connect the installations to his water and electrical metre.

We were fortunate to have an English born architect, Ian, joining our reduced team due to the departure of Mr Lu and his foreman in July. It was a great pleasure to witness the community becoming fully involved even if it turned out to be difficult some days to manage the different teams working on the site as every villager wanted to help, but it was really impossible to have more than 45 workers at the same time.

Ian’s great qualities, chinese fluent-good listener, his amiable spirit and highly efficient common sense worked wonders. He managed to organize the teams to work in turns improving the quality of life and involvement in the project of a great many families in the village.

In the beginning of September there was a major meeting in Canton with the “Dasters” at the SCUT (South China University of Technology) to present a progress report and discuss the best way to organize the Residence. The following aspects were critical to the adaptation/ integration/happiness of the artists and as a result the success of the residence.

The language issue, the relation with the villagers, the importance of including school children in the project bring the artists to discover the beauty of this region of China were essential.

In order to do so it was decided that the artists should be able, at any time, to explore the surroundings i.e., finding drivers and translators knowing China, its customs and its history, provide the artists full access to the materials and skills they might need. This was a real sensitive issue since it could range from the request for a Grand Steinway, a steel foundry, a pottery with a 40m long furnace, a stonework factory, a carpenter’s shop, a scaffolding company, and obviously canvasses, paper and pencils…

The meals and the festivities had to be organized: fireworks, a play, a fashion show, a concert and the exhibitions. We had to inform the public authorities, invite the villagers and the officials, our friends and all those who supported the project and also make the most of the rain and the cold weather.

I must say that Yivi, Lizzie, Sissi and Wang Xi were fabulous, awfully efficient and always gentle. If it hadn’t been for them and for Nicolas always present everywhere and ready to help, the residence wouldn’t have been such a success.

A few days before the opening we were told that two of our friends, the piano Maestro Elisha Abas and the poet Howard Altmann were unable to join the group. The piano had to be cancelled!!!! and Professor Feng Shu suggested to replace the piano concert by a Guqin concert. Duma Siran joined us a few days later and our days were filled with her music.

Gonçalo’s challenge was really hard to match but transformed our year in Jiu Xian in a fabulous one. Thank you Gonçalo.

Frederic Coustols
Founder & Mentor of DaST Foundation

additional info

Production Structure

All productive natural assets in Jiu Xian are divided by the number of inhabitants each inhabitant has been granted by the state (at the beginning of the second half of the 20th century )a leasehold on a pièce of arable land of 1 mu(667m2)on which they produce either 2 crops of rice a year or fruits, plus grass and vegetables on the borders, nutrients for the soils come mainly from the manure of the cattle, rice straw and oysters shells each family was granted ,as an average, a pond of approximately 100sqm to breed fishes for one very nice meal a week.
Fish are fed with the grass from the paddy fields Each family breeds also 1 pig or 2, a few chickens and ducks for the meat and the eggs and a buffalo for working the fields all cooking wastes are reused to feed the animals or nurture the land the irrigation system is very efficient and the water fairly shared collective land (3000 mus of non arable land) provides wood for cooking purposes and all the médicinal plants needed to cure most of the illness plus added pastures for goats the Yulong river that crosses the land of the different communities is used as a touristic waterway and the profit are split between the villages according to the length of the river crossing their land and then, shared between the inhabitants of each village, in equal parts as a result of this clever management process the biodiversity is respected and each family produces twice their vital needs.
Surplusses are sold to the markets nearby to buy clothes, little tools and all the traditionnal products they need for their celebrations but the information and dreams provided by the tv channels or by travelling to the nearby big cities Yangshuo, Guilin, Nanning make them wish a different type of life. They just see their income 300 euros per year compared to the average one in the cities 1200 to 3000 euros without understanding the pressure and all costs associated to it. They neither perceive the quality of their life and the huge freedom they benefit , nor the importance of their work and knowledge (feeding the big cities,keeping the soils and the biodiversity in good shape, absorbing lots of co2,aso) Nobody helped them understand the changes the model needed.

Move from quantity to quality
A fair balance between rural population weight/% of GNP
Keeping the soils fertility
Keeping and increasing biodiversity
Offsetting cities co2 emissions
Securing chinese food independance
Keeping the water clean
Offering jobs for many
Family organization

The family organisation is very simple (originate from the confucianism) the oldest man in the family rules The youngest help the oldest as soon as these are unable to provide for their needs The girls stay in their family all their life even when married.
All different generations of one family live under the same roof. And help each other The design of each house modern or old is the same The husband of a new couple must follow his wife and live under her family’s roof If the new husband or the new wife is coming from another village and if there are more arable land available they will be granted one «mu» as for the other members of the community,same thing for the newly born on the contrary,if there is not enough arable land they will have to find a job else where or create a new activity in the village Here again they believe it’s easier to live in big cities for privacy reasons, not understanding that the way they live in the village is truly sustainable.

Selction of Artists

Selecting the Portuguese and other international artists was definitely an interesting challenge. The cohesion of the group was of the utmost importance, so artists were chosen, not just for their creative abilities, but for their ability to unify those around them. We started by inviting the director and photographer Denis Piel, who had already worked with the farmers in JiuXian, as well as Michel Batlle, who is a performer, writer, painter and creator of the Psychophysiographie movement, an artist who presents a vast line of works as a critic and as an editor in contemporary art.
Besides both of these artists we had also guaranteed the participation of a Portuguese LandArt artist, painter and photographer, Maria Mendonça Coustols; a Portuguese video art artist and photographer, Marta Alvim; and the Chinese instrumentalist and composer, Duma Siran.
For the selection of Portuguese artists we worked with our national partner on this first residence in JiuXian, ArtistLevel.org, with whom we organized a jury of distinct personalities and renowned professionals from within the art world. The 2009 jury was composed by Frederic Coustols (DaST), Verónica Metello (at the time representing ArtistLevel.org), Luís Geraldes (IPJ), Pedro Soares (at the time representing Museu do Oriente), Gonçalo Leandro (WOA), and Professors Feng Shu and Feng Shiang for the selection of the musicians. The selection appeared to be just perfect: Marina Carvalho, Sara Yang, Filipa Silveira, Tim Madeira, Rui Pinto Gonçalves and Vasco Luz, they were not only totally commited to the project but they shown all along the residence a strong sence of humanity. What they produced during this month was just astonishing. It was the shared living experience we had dreamed of from the beginning, going beyond our best expectations. In their own words, they felt the experience exceptional.

Political Organization

The political organisation is also an astounding example of shared responsability. In the case of Jiu Xian, 1250 inhabitants, there are 15 districts, each district is a specific and geographical unit of balanced production. Each district elects every 4 years a representant. Once elected, the new Council will decide who is going to be in charge of the finance, the education, the roads, the natality, aso. At that stage the members of the council have to be approved by the communist party (which, usually, they are) The communist party also has an office and 1 or 2 non elected representants in jiu Xian Any problem/question arising is always settled , fast, in a peaceful way, during a meeting or several ones that may last hours The objective being to keep the harmony within the community We happened to have some dificult problems at different times and they all have been solved, the same day or the following days in a nice and fair way.

Education

Jiu Xian has a school for kids aged 4 to 14 265 students learn chinese mandarin and everything that is requested by the authorities (as in all other countries),except the real meaning of rural life ,a real luxury today and an absolute need to keep countries alive and prosperous on the long term the result being that the younger population has just one wish, leave the village and find a better paid job anywhere else.

Health

In the village almost everyone knows the proprieties of the médicinal plants and has a fair knowledge of the TCM- Traditional Chinese Medicine – principles The food is very healthy and participate entirely in keeping the population in good shape Almost every one knows how to do massages and baths ,and, if not, their neighbors will know and help. At the end of this short and limited inventory the questions that arise are very simple and awfully complex at the same time. How to keep the best things and bring some new operative methods. How to keep the population at work with the vision of their noble and vital role. How to increase their income and life conditions while increasing the biodiversity, the quality of soils and waters what a lucky challenge for the DaST team second year objectives third year objectives.

Duman Siran performance playing the Guqin, which she has been perfecting since the age of 13.