Poster of the 2024 "RanRan" Young Artist Incubation Program. Photo: Screenshot from website

The 2024 "RanRan" Young Artist Incubation Program was recently launched, aiming to discover young artists living in China and to stimulate innovation and creativity by focusing on local issues and local culture. 

The program was jointly created by XINTIANDI and the Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), and it places "Chinese texture," "integration and co-creation" and "cultural curiosity" as the core values.  

This year's RanRan program will use rebirth as its theme, and will seek works from young artists under the age of 45. It will accept various forms of artistic creation, including painting, sculpture, and performance art. Participating artists need to submit a work plan based on their understanding of the recruitment theme and the concept of RanRan as described on the official website.

"UCCA has always paid attention to the ecology for young artists. In the past two years, we and XINTIANDI have witnessed the growth and transformation of countless young artists. In this process, they have used their own artistic works and unique artistic perspectives to interpret their views on understanding of local culture. This year, the RanRan program will be presented in a more professional, systematic and comprehensive manner, providing a broader platform for young artists," said Deputy General Manager of UCCA Lab Wu Yixuan.

The preliminary judging panel is composed of eight experts in the field of culture and art, and will make selections based on multiple aspects of the works. Fifteen artists will enter the second round of selection, where they will submit detailed plans for their works.

"This year we hope to continue to use the 'RanRan' project to discover more outstanding young artists who respond to local issues and have an interdisciplinary vision," said Wei Tiantian, a member of staff at XINTIANDI.

The RanRan program has three major awards, related to exploration, innovation and curiosity. The winning artists will not only receive generous bonuses and funds to support their work, but will also have the opportunity to display their works in the 2024 RanRan Young Artists Group Exhibition.

The winning artists will also explore cross-field cooperation with XINTIANDI and UCCA to obtain potential technical support, business cooperation and other opportunities. The 2024 RanRan program will cooperate with the Chinese version of "ARTnews" and RED Art to focus on the growth of young artists from the perspective of professional art media.