扉美術館：讓生活變成藝術題材｜An Art Gallery is a Community Space
兩個月前，我們參與香港藝術中心舉辦的公共講堂，來自廣州的「人民建築師」何志森，分享了數個有關地方營造的有趣活動，證明只要有GUTS，就可以改變社區。
2006年，廣州越秀區的一棟大樓在建成之後，把地下一層劃分成藝術展覽空間，並創辦扉美術館，專門展出中國內地的年輕藝術家作品，成為當代藝術圈裡頗具名氣的小型藝廊。然而，即使扉美術館人流如鯽，也只有藝術圈的人造訪，不論是區內街坊，抑或與扉美術館一牆之隔的菜市場檔主，也從未踏足過扉美術館一步。
2017年，剛擔任美術館館長的何志森就好奇，我們不是常說生活即是藝術嗎？為何只是幾步之遙，街市檔主也從不走到美術館欣賞展品呢？
同時也是大學講師的何志森，於是就與一班建築系學生，展開一份社區藝術計劃。大家用兩個月時間訪問街市檔主，了解他們的生活，希望能找出一個展覽主題，把街市檔主的生活變成藝術展覽。
兩個月後，學生們發現檔主相當重視自己的雙手，便決定舉辦一個攝影展。以攤檔作背景拍攝檔主的雙手，並於美術館與菜市場連接的牆身上展出。展覽第一天，檔主們首次踏足美術館，看到屬於自己的雙手成為藝術品，不禁笑得瞇起眼來，還問何志森能否把相片帶走，掛在自己的攤檔上。
這次展覽的成功，讓何志森明白，生活可以成為藝術創作的主題。
及後，何志森舉辦多個與民生相關的藝術計劃，如「無界博物館」，將整個越秀區竹絲崗社區納入博物館範圍。他帶領公眾留意街坊的創造力，細看他們如何運用磚頭、廢棄木板去堆疊成枱櫈，改造社區。又如後來「移動的美術館」計劃，在走廊放置床架，讓居民在床上野餐、吃飯、睡覺，甚至變成觀眾席舉辦放映會。
何志森把自己對社區幽微的觀察，變成藝術創作的主題，讓街坊的生活故事融入藝術，逐漸實現「藝術融入生活」的理念。
然而，當我們回望香港，生活與藝術還未完美接軌，也許普遍市民仍然對藝術空間感到陌生。在未來四年，期望更多有GUTS有力的藝術家，能善用社區資源實踐「藝術融入生活」的社區願景。或許吉人＋吉時＋吉日＋吉地，能成就新的社區和藝術的連結點，逐步拉近藝術和生活之間的距離感，一起以藝術力量改變生活。
An Art Gallery is a Community Space
Wet market and art gallery do not sound very related to many. In Guangzhou, however, a contemporary art gallery, FEI ARTS, has successfully engaged locals and market stall vendors in the art world.
Since its opening in 2006, FEI ARTS, a non-profit art gallery located in Guangzhou's Yuexiu district, has been the most vibrant art and cultural destination for contemporary artists in the region. For years, there are many artists and art lovers from different parts of China visiting the gallery while the vendors working in the wet market next to FEI ARTS have never stepped into the gallery boundary.
Ahead of its 10th anniversary in 2017, FEI ARTS appointed architect He Zhisen as the new academic director. Renowned for his "mapping" design methodology, He Zhisen wanted to do something more for the community and started by connecting the neighbouring vendors to the museum.
At first, he began the project by inviting his students from the architecture department to join a two-month field study of the vendors' daily lives. He Zhisen and his students spent days and nights with the vendors, slowly building up friendships. The students later discovered how the vendors care about their hands, so He Zhisen decided to hold a photography exhibition showcasing all the hands of the vendors. He explicitly exhibited the photos on the wall between FEI ARTS and the wet market, using art to knock down the intangible "wall" between art and public. The vendors walked into FEI ARTS for their first time for the exhibition opening, all carrying a big smile on their faces.
Since then, He Zhisen has curated more and more community-based projects to engage the neighbourhood. The "Borderless Museum", as an example, has turned the whole community into an art gallery, inviting visitors to take a closer look at the creations by the locals.
In Hong Kong, the secluded locations of art spaces may create the intangible distance with the public audience. In the coming 4 years, will it be an opportunity for our Artists with GUTS to make better use of the local resources to realize the active discussion in this week about each district? May GUTS connect art and the community.
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