The effect of the Chinese economy is ubiquitous to our daily lives. Most likely, we encounter at least one article manufactured in China going about living. This connection to a geography, and one that hides inside subtlety our objects of daily life, plays a significant role in our encounter with making. Best seen as a proliferation of material produced in China, our relationship to this production is culturally unidentifiable and seemingly disconnected from its origins. Moreover, the shear magnitude of manufacturing in China, in products ranging in scale from the iphone to the housing developments being built for future inhabitation to contain the workers of these products—vacant and lying dormant in anticipation of populous(1)—surpasses our comprehension. It is the fastest urbanization in world history.(2)

How as makers can we begin to understand political and economic infrastructures that effect and influence us on a global scale? As production has left western geographies in pursuit of cheaper and more expedient production in Asia, can we challenge our role as passive consumers of the fruits of these labors? In contrast, the west is infatuated with the Chinese art scene—it is propagating it. The juxtaposition of industries of making in China serve as a point of entrance for our coursework and project base.

For four weeks in the summer of 2012, we will base ourselves in Beijing at the China Central Academy of Fine Art and learn from Chinese students, artists, architects and local crafters about the nature of making in China. We will also travel to factories and rural villages to understand the range in scale and production. Our work will culminate in an exhibition at http://www.wherewhereproject.com/">Where Where gallery. Other partners include http://www.homeshopbeijing.org/blog/">HomeShop Beijing.