The first 798 Beijing Biennale, Constellations, directed by famous art critic and curator Zhu Qi, is underway at Beijing's 798 Art District and has been hailed as a stand-out new large-scale international exhibition on Beijing's contemporary art scene.

"Migrant Workers’ Shelter" exhibited at the biennale. [Global Times]

With over 70 artists from home and abroad participating, the biennale features various forms of art such as painting, print, sculpture, photography, video and installation. Each independent section of the biennale is being presented in different galleries and spaces interspersed among the art district.

Since opening Saturday, new art forms such as video and installation are proving exceedingly popular compared with other genres.

Some of the most eye-catching work includes a simple house that was once a shelter for migrant workers, a car labeled "mobile drug store" that drove from Nanjing to Beijing and other thought provoking pieces.

"We drove and stopped on our way to Beijing and observed the mindsets of people from different social classes," said Guo Haiping, one of the three artists who created the "mobile drug store."

According to Zhu Qi, life itself is a piece of art with all human behavior and things in the world playing different parts and that is why so many people are paying more attention to the everyday ordinary things represented.

"With the migrant workers' shelter showing at the exhibiting space, people will definitely ponder the deeper meaning behind the house itself, for example, the living conditions of migrant workers," Zhu explained.

798 Beijing Biennale is open every day at the 798 Art District in Dashanzi and will run until September 12.

(Global Times August 17, 2009)