Locations scouting in Shanghai, China
Local Zhouzang fishermen collecting snails from the river.
First volunteer for the dog boat
We visited several ancient water towns.
Most of the fishermen in these towns have traded in their nets…
…for ferrying tourists from Shanghai.
Many of the animals I planned to use for this project…
…can be found right on the banks of the river.
Wind-powered irrigation system
We finally settled on Zhujiajiao as the best fit.
It still retains a strong community
During the scouting, this seemed like the probable site of the race finish line.
ArtHub producer Zoe (middle) introduced us to local artist, Ning (left). We hit it off immediately.
Another potential participant in Zhujiajiao.
We scoured some local pet markets for monkeys, but got distracted wagering on cricket fights.
Duke and Zhingyu heading into a meeting at ArtHub Asia.
I wonder who was more freaked out?
Me seeing them?
Or them seeing me?
Haggling for prices can be exhausting for both the buyer…
…and the seller.
But we finally worked things out.
Arthub Assistant/Translator XiaoJin and Project Manager Kitty Joe Sainte-Marie
Working out costumes for The Rematch
We took a gondola ride to plot out the race route.
Ancient architecture gives way to new condo development—not unlike what’s going on back home.
Ning introduced us to the Zhujiajiao custom of releasing goldfish into the canals for good luck…
…so we bought some goldfish before embarking on our trip…
…and let them go to bring luck to the project.
I’m not sure it’s so lucky for the goldfish.
We made our way up all of the narrow side canals of the village.
At ArtHub headquarters with Dadou, Jin & Zoe, planning for the children’s Shengxiao workshop.
Broom delivery at the Zhujiajiao school
“Welcome American artist, Duke Riley.” With Zhujiajiao Elementary School principal and Ning Zuohong
Forty 12-year old kids participated in the workshop.
I gave a brief lecture and formal instruction (of course, translated into Mandarin).
The kids seemed excited to attend the race and see their artwork displayed on the boats.
One student stood up and told the story of the Shengxiao (Chinese zodiac) and how the rat cheated.
Then the kids picked animals out of my hat.
I realized afterward that I probably hadn’t washed the hat since November.
Some of the kids jumped right into drawing their animals…
…while others needed a little encouragement.
Being able to draw sure comes in handy when your Mandarin is so lacking.
Zhujiajiao artist Ning Zuohong also helped the kids with their drawings.
I asked the kids to imagine what it was like for the animals to swim across the river.
A lot of the kids worked to emulate my style of drawing water.
Rooster
Pig
We then paid a visit to the embroiderers of Zhujiajiao…
…to see if they could translate the children’s drawings into their medium.
Since each tapestry takes weeks to create by hand, we had to find 12 different embroiderers.
One embroiderer requested to work on the tiger, because she was born in the Year of the Tiger.
I gave the children black paper to draw on so their designs would stand out at the race.
3 people on a scooter, riding on the sidewalk with no helmets—can’t do that at home!
The business card: A Shanghai necessity and my ultimate ice breaking tool.
Translation: I’m ugly but I’m tender
Our new friend, Zhou Peng is a graphic designer here in Shanghai.
He helped us translate the kids’ drawings into nautical burgees.
I got inspired by this plant pot while I was at the liquor store.
So I set out to buy cheap flowerpots and buckets...
…and started gluing and screwing…
…some gold spray paint…
And we have a winner.
Who would have thought that behind this innocent-looking day care…
…lurked some seriously scary animals.
The owner was forced to close his privately owned zoo.
Now the animals are kept here in tiny cages,
…while he scrambled to come up with funds to find a better place for them to live.
We were excited to see he had a snake, monkeys…
…and what could only be described as a dragon
The zookeeper is a good man who loves his animals, in a difficult situation.
We devised a plan that benefited both the future of the animals and of The Rematch.
And that’s when he mentioned the giant rat that lives on the roof! (I swear this is all true).
We had a meeting at Ning’s studio and I described our success at finding the giant rat.
I also found that they sell jade pickles outside of Ning’s studio.
Meeting the staff of the Minsheng Museum in Shanghai in preparation for a lecture.
For ethical reasons, instead of transporting a tiger from Guanxi, we transported a performance artist.
…from Siem Reap. Eliza getting measured for her tiger suit.
Getting measured for my race official costume.
Eliza measuring the boats to make corrals for the animals.
We enjoyed having smARTpower evaluator Jan Castro-Cruz along for the ride!
We met a guy in the park who makes beautiful candy zodiac animals. So we invited him to The Rematch.
Chenliangyou has been making costumes for the Shanghai Theatre Academy for 30 years.
He seemed like the perfect guy to interpret my costume designs.
We stopped by to check on his progress.
He was born in the Year of the Dragon
Costumes not to be confused with cheap pajamas we wear to get people psyched for the race.
Cow!
A tiny sea-faring horse
Goats!
And of course, the fattest pig I could find.
We had our opera workshop with the traditional singers of Zhujiajiao.
We wrote songs from the ‘first animal’ perspective to be sung during the race.
We also invited youngers singers who worked out hip hop and rock versions of the songs.
Eliza led a Passover Sedar at our hostel.
I tied a sheep shank knot because she couldn’t find a lamb shank in the village.
We met the rowers and did a dry run of the race.
A bunch of bloodthirsty animals!
Had our final opera workshop and recorded each animal’s song.
Embroidered burgees almost finished.
and costumes ready to go.