Songzhuang New Artists Season Open Call, China

Songzhuang, the Beijing art district, has fully launched its 2026 China Young Artists Excellence Cultivation Plan, adding an industry empowerment track alongside its academic track to address the real challenges facing young artists. The new industry track, the Songzhuang New Artists Season, opens a public call for submissions to young artists and students across society, working through the live-streaming platform of the Songzhuang Life Aesthetics Art Center.

The academic track, 'A Journey of a Thousand Miles,' continues to gather original graduation works in painting, sculpture, installation and multimedia art from final-year undergraduates, graduate students and international students at art academies nationwide, offering residencies, creation subsidies, mentorship and exhibition promotion. In its first edition in 2025, it selected 22 outstanding creators and provided housing and studios so graduates could remain in Songzhuang to focus on their work.

The newly added industry track, the New Artists Season, focuses on integrating art into daily life and connecting with the market. It is open to professional artists, art students, art practitioners and cross-disciplinary creators aged 18 to 45 nationwide, accepting a rich range of original work including paintings, sculpture, cultural and creative products and home art installations suited to everyday life. Drawing on a mature live-streaming channel that covers display, sales, IP creation and derivative development, the program presents selected works in real home, office and commercial settings through curated live streams. Submissions for the New Artists Season close on June 30, with applicants registering through the China-Songzhuang art digital asset platform, and offline exhibitions to be held from July through August. Selected artists may apply to join the Songzhuang Youth Workshop and gain comprehensive promotion and live-stream collaboration resources.