The UCCA publishing program sees books not merely as documents of exhibitions but as extensions of the artistic visions these exhibitions present. William Kentridge: Notes Towards a Model Opera grows out of the exhibition of the same title presented at UCCA during summer 2015 and currently on view under the title “Peripheral Thinking” at MMCA Seoul. At the core of this book catalogue is a facsimile of one of Kentridge’s notebooks containing a lecture titled “Peripheral Thinking,” a text which explores the myriad connections between modern China, Africa, revolution, and culture. The book also contains an extended biographical essay by the acclaimed writer Andrew Solomon, a text on the relationship between Kentridge’s work and the Chinese literati painting tradition by art historian Alfreda Murck, and reproductions of many of the artist’s major works from 1988 to the present. This book in English only is co-published with Koenig Books, London, and available for purchase outside China.

Elmgreen & Dragset: The Well Fair grows out of the exhibition of the same title, on view at UCCA through 17 April, 2016. Just as the exhibition takes the format of a fictional art fair, its bilingual publication is organized like an art fair catalogue, with images of included works alongside essays addressing the cultural, sociological, psychological, and historical forces that have contributed to the development of art fairs as well as their future. Contributors to the catalogue include Frieze Co-Founder Matthew Slotover, ARCOmadrid Director Carlos Urroz, cultural sociologist Roberta Sassatelli (University of Milan), psychology and marketing specialist George E. Newman (Yale University), Chair of Art History at the University of Chicago Christine Mehring, and award-winning art critic Stefan Kobel. With an introduction by UCCA Director Philip Tinari, the catalogue also contains an interview with the artists and a dialogue in the form of a WhatsApp conversation between Art Basel Directors Marc Spiegler, Noah Horowitz, and Adeline Ooi.

Bentu: Chinese artists in a time of turbulence and transformation (exhibition: 27 January to 2 May, 2016, at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris) systematically moves through practices of the exhibition’s 12 participating artists. Curated by UCCA Director Philip Tinari and Laurence Bossé and co-produced by Fondation Louis Vuitton (FLV) and UCCA, the exhibition brings together works from Cao Fei, Hao Liang, Hu Xiangqian, Liu Chuang, Liu Shiyuan, Liu Wei, Liu Xiaodong, Qiu Zhijie, Tao Hui, Xu Qu, Xu Zhen, and Yang Fudong. Under the theme “bentu”, a Chinese word that literally means “the native soil” and refers to a distinct cultural outlook informed by local circumstances, the exhibition highlights the current state of economy and ecology, and most notably, the transformation of the relationship between the city and the countryside in China. The catalogue features an array of scholars, each discussing one of the artists within the exhibition. Contributors include Nikita Yingqian Cai, Aimee Lin, Liu Tian, Venus Lau, JérIôme Sans, Claire Staebler, Sun Dongdong, Yang Zi, Robin Peckham, Zhang Xiyuan, Sasha Zhao, and individual essays by Lu Mingjun and Pierre Haski. French and English editions of the catalogue were published by Fondation Louis Vuitton and Hazan; the Chinese edition, published by UCCA and New Star Press, makes its debut here.

The bilingual catalogue Wang Yin: The Gift documents the exhibition of the same name that will be on view at UCCA from 29 March through 27 May, 2016. The title comes from the influential 1925 treatise by French sociologist Marcel Mauss, exploring ideas of reciprocity and exchange. For Wang Yin, his chosen medium of oil painting and its history in China—which parallels and documents the emergence of modern China throughout the twentieth century—is a “gift” from the West, and his work is an attempt to reciprocate. The exhibition includes more than forty recent works and is arranged according to the sequence of a journey, with sections dedicated to the stages of departure, sojourn, and return. Recurring motifs drawn from art history, current events, and the artist’s personal observations ground this journey in the cultural geography of contemporary China. The catalogue includes essays by the co-curators, Colin Chinnery and Philip Tinari, as well as a text by renowned philosopher Zhao Tingyang. It is published by New Star Press and supported by New Century Art Foundation.

The UCCA booth, located in the institutional partners section on the concourse of Level 1, is designed by Beijing-based designer Henny van Nistelrooy’s Studio HVN and is based on the concept of a contemporary library. It aims not only to present these and other UCCA publications, but to serve as a space for conversation and reflection. To that end it also offers a literal “recharging station” for the mobile devices of fairgoers. Visitors to the booth will enjoy the latest information on UCCA’s exhibitions and programs from the comfort of specially designed limited-edition “Mazha” folding chairs.

Elsewhere around Art Basel in Hong Kong, a 17-minute edit of the four-channel, 73-hour film installation Zeng Fanzhi: YOU Art Project, directed by Shi Li-Sanderson and Philipp Stölzl and documenting the artist’s creative process, will be screened on 23 March as part of Art Basel Hong Kong’s 2016 Film program. Zeng Fanzhi’s major exhibition will be on view at UCCA between 10 September and 13 November.

In 2013, UCCA and Davidoff Art Initiative launched a collaboration, “Conversations on Collecting in China”, through which they have staged a series of salon-style talks with major Chinese collectors. The final installment of this series will be held in Beijing on 16 April, and a publication featuring the content of all previous talks will be released in late 2016. On 24 March, UCCA and DAI will co-host a lunch in Hong Kong to celebrate the culmination of this collaboration.

Additionally, UCCA Director Philip Tinari, will participate in a conversation as part of the fair’s Art Salon sector, organized by Artforum Magazine and on the topic of “Museums: Public, Private, and the Space in Between”, exploring the future of the development of museums in Asia. (Time: Friday, March 25, 2016, 18:00 – 19:00; Venue: Auditorium, Level 1, HKCEC).

From 21 to 26 March, UCCA Store participates in Art Central with works from several young Chinese artists. On 25 March, UCCA Deputy Director You Yang participates in “4A + Asia Society Talk 2016: Art Central”, a discussion on the role of non-profit art institutions within the development of contemporary art.