Opening Address for Greening the Beige 2008

Greening the Beige 2008

Opening Address
开幕辞

Good Evening Green People:
晚上好，绿色的朋友们

Welcome to Greening the Beige! Thank you so much for coming and making this possible. This is only our 2nd annual event, and hopefully not the last.
欢迎大家，感谢大家光临每年一届的“点废成绿”活动。首先我将简单介绍一下“点废成绿”活动的主旨，然后介绍接下来7天的活动安排。很抱歉今天不能有时间给大家提问的时间，如果你有什么问题和想法，请一会儿或以后几天内任何时间和我沟通。

I’d like to start tonight’s evening with a brief introduction to Greening the Beige and our events planned for the next 7 days. Please come find me later in the night or throughout the week if you'd like more information.
“点废成绿”于去年三月成立，由一个注重环保的艺术家集体组成，它的缘来是这样的：在美国的一个大型艺术节上，其中一个大型的艺术工程需求2000个废旧塑料袋作为材料，我有幸参与其中。后来当我在研究中国“白色污染”现状的过程中，我发现了很多在中国的艺术家、学校、集体、组织都在用非常有创意的艺术方式处理他们面临的环境问题。

Greening the Beige was formed last year in March, as an eco-minded artists’ collective. In other words, as a small group of artists with "green" principles.
那时我就想，“要是有这样一个机会能让所有从事这一事业的人们聚到一起互相分享，该是多好的一件事啊？”那样的话，更多人能受到启发，发现更多益于环境的创意之道。

Somewhere around 2006, after my first year living here, I affectionately nicknamed Beijing "the Beige", given my love/hate relationship with the city and its pollution.

I started Greening the Beige after I was selected to build a large scale installation for an art festival in the US that required more than 2,000 used plastic bags for material. As I began researching white pollution in China I discovered several artists, schools, groups, and organizations, also involved in really creative projects designed to tackle environmental problems.

And that’s when I thought, “Wow, wouldn’t it be great for us all to get together and share what we’re doing with the rest of the community?” – in order to help inspire others to do something positive for the environment in a creative way.

When I moved to (Shandong) China in 2004 one of my best friends – a staunch environmentalist – was extremely critical of my choice, given 17 out of 20 of the world’s most polluted cities were in China. But I didn’t come to China to be part of the problem. Really, I hope that Greening the Beige will become part of the solution.

2004年，当我来中国发展的时候，我一个最要好的朋友，同时也是一个坚定的环保主义者，对我的决定充满了质疑，因为中国有17个地方被列为世界上被污染最严重的城市。然而，我的初衷并不是成为中国污染问题的一份子，而是希望有一天，象“点废成绿”一样能成为帮助解决中国环境问题的一份子。

I've always been attracted to China for its art and culture. (That's what I studied in school before I moved here). And after living in Beijing for more than 2 years I had become good friends with many artists and musicians. And like I said, the art project I was working on and research I was doing helped me to connect with many of the city's environmentalists.
起初是中国的艺术和文化吸引了我，在北京生活的2年让我认识了一些艺术家和音乐人，并与他们成为朋友。刚才我提到的美国的艺术工程又给我机会认识了很多城市的环保人士。自然而然地，我将“点废成绿”打造成一个艺术与环保结合起来的形式，希望这一大胆创新的尝试能有所收获。

Greening the Beige has been an attempt to put all of these people together, in an experiment, to see if it results in positive change.

Traditionally, Chinese art has always been focused on the environment. And of course by nature, artists are extremely sensitive to the environment. At the same time they have the ability to dream and envision impossible and unimanginable feats.
传统的中国艺术总是以自然环境作为创作的主题。艺术家们不但对自然环境极端的敏感，并且运用他们丰富的想象力憧憬怀抱周遭的环境。如今，各种各样的环境问题每况愈下，废物倾倒，淡水缺乏，气候恶化，空气质量下降。我真的希望“点废成绿”能有效地用艺术形式方法阐示这些环境问题。

So the idea behind Greening the Beige is that overwhelming and surmounting problems like waste management, water shortage, climate change, and air quality, could be addressed more effectively through the arts.

Greening the Beige is a project and experiment, a collective, and an annual series of events. My hope is that we will be able to gather enough support and find partners to develop Greening the Beige into a working organization that encourages Beijingers to be creative and at the same time responsible towards the environment.
“点废成绿”是一个项目，一个尝试，也是一个集体，更是今年一系列的活动。我们希望我们能获得足够的支持，找到合作的伙伴将“点废成绿”发展成为一个正式以运营的组织，从而鼓励艺术家们和更多人更有意识地、更有创意地为环境负责。

Tonight you'll get a little taste of what we have planned this week at Yu Gong Yi Shan, Obiwan, and The Boat. 等一下大家会感受到我们未来几天在“愚公移山”，OBIWAN和Boat Bar安排的一系列精彩的节目和活动。

Following me is Denise VanderKamp, who will introduce Future Generation's project: The Green Long March. The GLM is an iniative dedicated towards researching China's green sustainable projects developed and run by an international network of young people.
接下来走上台前的将是DENISE VANDERKAMP，她将向我们介绍FUTURE GENERATION的项目：绿色长征！绿色长征以青少年为服务对象的一个绿色环保项目。

After Denise we have a special performance, short film, eco-fashion show, and music for you to enjoy. Everyone is also invited to visit the photo gallery upstairs, green marketplace by the bar, and education booths set around.
DENISE之后，将有一场很有特色的表演，一部小记录片，还有我们的环保时装秀，最后有动感的音乐献给大家。也请大家参观二楼展示的摄影作品，光顾吧台旁边的绿色集市和边上的教育展台。我还要特别感谢我们的艺术家乔万华和陈独羲为我们活动献出了他们的作品，并同意将销售的部分捐赠给为四川地震幸存者成立的华旦剧场组织。

I'd like to especially thank artists, Qiao Wanhua and Chen Duxi for their contributions (that you see here in the main hall) and agreeing to contribute a portion of their sales to the Hua-Dan Sichuan Earthquake Survivors Theater Project.我们的目标是将众多即将浮出水面的绿色环保集体、组织、艺术家、音乐人、表演者们团结在一起，共同为北京的环保事业做出贡献，留住绿色的北京。为了这样一个事业，我们需要大家的支持，需要每个人为这一事业做出自己的贡献。

Our aim is to bring together all of the emerging green groups and organizations, artists, performers, and musicians in a collective effort to keep Beijing green and make it greener.

Therefore, the only requirement to be a member of Greening the Beige is to DO SOMETHING GREEN. As to any question about what it means to do something "green" in Beijing, we hope to answer that throughout the week.

It’s no coincidence that the opening of Greening the Beige this year is held at Yu Gong Yi Shan, a club named after a very relative moral from Chinese folklore. There's no way I could move this mountain without the help of everyone here tonight.

So please enjoy yourselves tonight and come back for more green in Beijing throughout the week. And now please help me welcome Denise Vanderkamp and Stephanie Chevalier from The Green Long March.

愚公移山的名字来于一个寓意深刻的中国寓言传说，“点废成绿”在愚公移山的举行绝非巧合。再一次感谢众位莅临“点废成绿”，我希望能在接下来的几天里再次见到大家。真的，没有众人的力量，谁也不可能移动大山。请大家今天玩的尽兴，玩的开心，希望大家能参加以后几天“点废成绿”安排的其他活动。

July 11, 2008

2008年7月11日