Taking talent to the net
- Source: Global Times
- [10:47 July 23 2010]
- Comments
Adam Schokora, traveling in Vietnam. Photo: Courtesy of Adam Schokora
The bold strokes and elaborate lines of traditional Chinese painting have often fascinated the world, but now a new generation of Chinese artists is looking to grab the attention of the West. There was a time when Chinese avant-garde art was criticized as simply mimicking historical Western art movements and pandering to the tastes of the Western art market. But that has given way to a new trend – the rise of contemporary Chinese art, which first gained popularity in the West in the 1990s.
Adam J. Schokora, a native of Detroit, Michigan, is a pioneer in the effort to bring modern Chinese art to the West. The 29-year-old adventurer and technophile, who spent his youth discovering new things, is now helping Chinese artists get discovered through a website he helped found, NeochaEDGE.
Discovering the world
When Schokora was a teenager, he played soccer in a competitive league, which took him to many countries around the world for matches and tournaments. "I guess I just fell in love with the idea of seeing the world. It was exciting. Still is," he said.
While still a teenager, he had already traveled to more than 20 countries. From then on, discovery became an indispensable part of his life. While at university, he took every opportunity to travel, hitting the road between semesters and during holidays, he said. He would often skip weeks of classes and travel alone, not telling anyone, even his parents. "I just picked places and went. It felt good to just take off and experience something new. I learned so much this way," he said.
Schokora said traveling gave him a greater understanding of how the world and people really work abroad. From 1997 to 2004, he left school twice to travel and work. According to Schokora, most of his education and experience did not come from the classroom.
Schokora first came to China in 1999 while visiting one of his relatives in Hong Kong. "I just fell in love with China, especially the language," he said. "I am still a very serious student of the Chinese language."
The trip gave him a new direction, and he has been traveling in China ever since.
Preparing for China
Schokora equipped himself well to build a future in China. He eventually graduated summa cum laude from the University of Michigan with degrees in Chinese and political science, with a focus on Sino-international relations. In 2004, after a short stay in Shanghai, he moved to Beijing, and began working for Edelman Digital, where he was responsible for its digital and social media businesses in China.
His passion for technology and the Internet translated into an expertise that allowed him work for the consulting firm. His enthusiasm spilled out in his personal blog, fifty 5, which focuses on China's Internet culture and social media, urban art, design, photography and fashion.
He is also friends with Jeremy Goldkorn, a founder of Danwei.com, a well-known website on Chinese media that, among other things, translates popular Chinese-language news stories into English for a Western audience. Danwei, which Schokora contributes to, helps Westerners discover things about China, which is what Schokora hopes to do with NeochaEDGE.
There seems to be more of an interest in the West about China and its new creative generation, said Richard Layzell, a performance artist who spent a few months in China last year doing an art project. "Someone today, just back from China said, 'China is going through what we went through in the 1960s. There is such optimism and openness to experimentation.'"
Bringing China to the West
In 2007, Schokora returned to Shanghai, where he met Sean Leow and musician Lou Nanli, the founders of Neocha.com, a social networking site for Chinese creative types and their fans. Think Facebook, but for Chinese artists and musicians.
