“Guangzhou Supports You!” Crowdsourced Photography in China

“Guangzhou Supports You!” is a new crowdsourced, hyper-local online photography activity in Guangzhou, China. The original premise of the activity was to recruit Guangzhou residents who support Chen Yang, a popular outspoken Guangzhou CCTV news anchor who was not afraid to say what was on his mind even if on live Chinese television – he swiftly lost his job. However, the activity has since evolved into a collective community-wide expression of love and affection toward the city. “Guangzhou Supports You!” is getting attention and praise from just about everyone in China, but especially from Chinese netizens who are very actively supporting it on their blogs, in discussion forums, and on local social networking sites.

“Guangzhou Supports You!” works like this: the organizers supply a “Guangzhou Supports You!” graphic (at right) via download from the official website. This graphic is the centerpiece of the entire activity. Participants simply need to choose their favorite place in Guangzhou – any corner, alley, place, space, etc. will do – take a photo with the graphic appearing somewhere in the resulting photograph, and then upload the photograph to the “Guangzhou Supports You!” website where it’s aggregated with other participants’ submissions and shared with everyone.

The young boy holding a camera in the “Guangzhou Supports You!” graphic represents the new generation of Guangzhou creative youth. The traditional five-story Chinese building juxtaposed with modern CITIC Plaza skyscraper symbolizes the old and new of Guangzhou. As the activity organizers explain: “We inherit the past and usher in the future. We are in it for the love of Guangzhou, and we will keep on keepin’ on.”

The Chinese characters for “Guangzhou Supports You!” are “广州撑你!” Depending on where you place emphasis when pronouncing the phrase, the literal meaning in Chinese can also be “Guangzhou, We / I Support You!” It’s a fun phrase that can be played with to express the concept of mutual respect and support between the city and its residents.

The “Guangzhou Supports You!” activity is a very meaningful example of emerging youth culture, particularly the trend in China of using the Internet for self-expression, community congregation, and the integration of online / offline participation. We especially like it because it’s bursting with local creativity and a passion for the arts.

We recently met up for a chat with FIRE, one of the founders / creators of “Guangzhou Supports You!” FIRE is Guangzhou-based designer, illustrator, and street artist with a passion for his home town – he is also one half of the Chinese creative duo FIREXRD. To read the full transcript of the interview and a “best-of” sampling of photo submissions, visit the link here.

NeochaEDGE is a daily-curated, bilingual website and discovery engine dedicated to showcasing leading-edge creative content and emerging youth culture in China.