Aric Chen files this report on the New York Times’s travel blog about the lack of love for Beijing’s once-hot 798 art district:

In just a few short years, Beijing’s 798 Art Zone, a vast, former factory complex turned scrappy artists’ haven in the Dashanzi Art District, went from being the epicenter of China’s contemporary art world to a tourist destination that everyone loves to hate. The curmudgeons have a point: map-toting crowds and corporate-sponsored events share space with enough bad art to outfit the walls of a Marriott.

What to do? Have a biennial, of course:

Running from August 15 to September 12, the biennial’s inaugural edition, with the theme “Constellations,” features the work of almost 200 artists, more than half of them Chinese, in nearly a dozen venues throughout 798 (as well as one in the Caochangdi district). […] The emphasis is on emerging and mid-career artists — Jaishri Abichandani, Teresa Serrano, O Zhang and Joseph Delappe — spanning genres from video, photography and painting to performance and site-specific installations.

Another Biennial? Yes, but in Beijing (Globespotters/New York Times)