About Us

Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation

The only independent art foundation and think tank in China focusing on art and humanity

Vision: To share art and culture equally with all, building a diverse civil society
Mission: To discover cultural creativity and promote art for social welfare
Values: Respect for an independent, pluralistic, and free civil future

NEW ERA, NEW GENERATION

Founded in 2008, BCAF aims to be China’s most pioneering art foundation, supporting new talents and enhancing civil spaces. As an award-winning independent foundation, BCAF holds the AAA Social Organization Level, the non-profit organization tax exemption qualification, which supports tax deductions for public welfare donations. By 2023, BCAF has hosted more than 825 events in 20 countries worldwide and supported 1,500 creative talents with grants totaling more than US$7 million.

BCAF builds dynamic humanities projects with global professional institutions in the fields of cultural creativity, art for social welfare, global collaborations, and think labs, supporting original, open, and independent art and thinking, while paying attention to the folk reality and future composed by actions.

ARTIST, AGORA, ALL. These three keywords are at the core of our work and philosophy:

ARTIST | Independent Original Expression
Global Cultural Network, Young Creative Talents, Female Rights, Art + Tech
AGORA | Equal and Truthful Dialogues
Think Lab Research, Contemporary Humanity Library, MOOK
ALL | Diversified Cultural Life
Sustainable Design, Rural Art Education, New Chinese Folk Art, Art Therapy

For the Future, For the Globe

The possibilities of cultural space predict this era’s future, and are closely related to the advocacy and actions of each of us, every day. We have always believed that art is the spiritual cornerstone of social innovation and human ideals. In deep-seated social challenges, cultural ideals will inevitably exert a more lasting supporting force.

BCAF actively works with institutions, internationally-renowned artists, and emerging art pioneers from more than 20 countries. BCAF has worked with the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the European Union Department of Education and Culture, WHO, UNESCO, UNDP, the German documenta exhibition, the Venice Biennale, L'Institut de France, the Cannes International Film Festival, the Locarno International Film Festival, the New York International Film Festival, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Asia Society, the Asian Cultural Council, Parsons School of Design, New York Fashion Week, Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and the High- Level People-to-People Dialogue (China-Europe; China-US; China-France).

In 2015, BCAF curated and organized the Venice Biennale China Pavilion, which was widely praised by international media and art circles. From 2017 to 2020 BCAF hosted the first three Creative China Festivals. As one of the official projects of the Sino-US Social and Cultural Dialogue, part of the highest level of the communication framework between the Chinese and American governments, the cultural festival explores new forms of Chinese folk cultural cooperation, aiming to share creative voices from China with the world and to become an innovative incubator platform for China-US contemporary cultural exchanges. Among other accolades, film productions supported by the BCAF China Art Film Fund have won the Golden Leopard Award at the 2017 Locarno Film Festival and the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 70th Cannes Film Festival, and were invited to participate in the documenta exhibition in Kassel, Germany.

Our notable and awarded projects include the High-Level People to People Dialogue (China-Europe; China-US; China-France) , Sino-German Culture Year the China Art Film Fund, the China-EU Cultural Research Project, the Creative China Festival, China Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, China Eco Design, the China-France Cultural Forum, China-India Cultural Mapping Research, China-Japan Cultural Mapping Research, Chinese New Folk Craft, the Chinese Arts and Design for Public Welfare Alliance, the Fellowship for Chinese Young Talents, the International Artist Residencies, and the Asia Arts Festival.

Organizational Structure

Organization Committee - CUI Qiao, President
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Office of the Secretary - Secretary General
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 Program | Public Relations | Admin Management