"TightBelt" is a semi-experimental research project started by three workers in the arts who are at the early stages of their careers (Yuting He, Yue Ren, Jacob Zhicheng Zhang). It is launched on December 21, 2019. Verbally simultaneously referring to financially strained circumstances, a self-monitored lifestyle, and a space of tension, "TightBelt" is interested in understanding the material and mental states of young arts professionals.

 

The starting point was our curiosity in our peers’ sources of income, consumer behaviors, and related subjectivities. In our later discussion, we find out that the concern for money and banter about financial anxiety probably stem from uncertainties faced by the greater environment, as well as the imminent sustainability crisis concerning the ecology of art. This seemingly invisible yet omnipresent anxiety ties us closely together besides our common hope to discuss and debate contemporary art practices.

 

What we care about is not only art but also the people involved, including their living conditions, lifestyles, and visions; this is the core intention of "TightBelt." Our attention paid to the ecology of art would inevitably entangle itself in various political topics in and out of the field, and those are exactly the crevices we want to shed light on. In our eyes, every perspective or narrative specific to the context of the surveyee is a point of investigation as engaging as the generalized condition of the field. We hope that the similar yet different experiences could be shared among their contributors, whether the shared experiences could develop into concrete social relations or not.