An abandoned primary school nestled under Mutianyu Great Wall has now become a multi-faceted place to make and consume arts and crafts. This low-key environment is ideal for artists and craftspeople and a fun place for visitors.
We welcome visitors to The Schoolhouse Arts Center by prior appointment. We can arrange case by case special permission for our visitors to drive past the traffic control point to The Schoolhouse. Please contact us.
Liang Tang started collecting traditional Han and ethnic minority fabrics more than 30 years ago.
Many of the pieces she found on her travels in rural China and through a network of dealers were scraps. She gave the scraps new life in striking quilted wall hangings and other pieces.Today she continues designing fabrics, including by having weavers and seamstresses execute her designs.
Liang’s works have been acquired by interior designers in North America and Europe looking for unique unique decorative pieces.
Jim Spear is an architectural designer whose practice includes art glass screens, light fixtures, and furnishings. His design studio at The Schoolhouse is where many of his works are created and displayed.
Over the last four decades Liang & Jim have criss-crossed China and acquired warehousefuls of antique furnishings, homewares, implements, and collectibles that they hoarded with a view to one day offering them to interior designers.
Now part of their collection is on display in former classrooms of the school at the heart of The Schoolhouse campus. Every piece is unique and tells a story and is now for sale.
The Art Room on the south of the campus provides a naturally-lit 200 square meter exhibition space that is used for short-term exhibitions.
This gallery has glass walls on one long side that open to a sunny sculpture garden next to a forested mountainside. The other long side, on the north, has walls for display of works of art with clerestory windows that offer views to the Great Wall. The interior is lit with gallery spots and indirect fixtures. The facility also includes a banquet kitchen, storage, and restrooms.
Current exhibitions are listed on our Facebook page and other social media and are publicized in our newsletter.
Rental Studios. The Schoolhouse may have studio space available on a short or long-term basis with nearby accommodations. Please contact us if you are looking for a serene place to live and create.
