The press of Gallery Weekend Beijing Photo: Xu Liuliu/Global Times

Gallery Weekend Beijing, one of China's major international art events, is set to return to the capital city on May 26 with a number of exhibitions, art dialogues, forums and workshops taking place at Beijing's iconic 798 Art Zone. This year, it will also expand to the Caochangdi Art Zone, Zhongjian Art Zone and Longfu Temple Art Zone, aiming to stimulate the city's cultural vitality, said Wang Yifei, Gallery Weekend Beijing's director, on Thursday. 

A total of 37 galleries and non-profit organizations from nine cities around the world have confirmed their participation at this year's event with "Visibility" as the theme. According to Wang, the theme means the visualization of thoughts and opening up the imagination with images, helping us to break the boundaries of reality and discover inclusiveness and potential between "the possible" and "the impossible." 

For the main section, which focuses on displaying the diverse features of local galleries and non-profit organizations, this year's lineup will consist of 19 galleries and six non-profit organizations featuring newcomers like Lisson Gallery. 

The event will highlight international dialogue and cooperation with galleries in cities like London, Los Angeles,Hong Kong and Chengdu. Wang said that these distinctive domestic and foreign medium-sized galleries will present refreshing exhibitions in the 798 Art District, highlighting the vitality of the city they represent, and contributing to the creation of Beijing's art ecology.

"The year 2023 is an extremely critical year for Gallery Week Beijing, and we regard it as a new starting point," Wang told the Global Times on Thursday. "With full confidence, we will stick to our core values, establish a professional international dialogue and promotion platform and build a stable ecology for Beijing's local contemporary art industry."