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Art

Snap away!

TM Wong is obsessed with Polaroid cameras - the most popular type of instant camera, invented by US scientist Edwin Land in 1948. Wong bought his first Polaroid camera in 1992 and has been collecting instant cameras since. His collection of 1,042 cameras was honored as the biggest by World Records Academy in 2011.

Wong's collection will be on show in Guangdong province's capital Guangzhou from April 21 to May 20. Wong will share the stories behind some of his antique cameras.

He will invite Polaroid photographers to offer tips on taking instant photos and hold a workshop about using instant cameras to record travels.

The lecturers may surprise you by snapping instant photos of you. But there's no need to dress up or wear makeup, because being true to yourself is the core of taking photos with an instant camera, organizers say.

April 21- May 20. Third floor of GOELIA 225 Building, 225 Beijing Road, Yuexiu district, Guangzhou. 020-8336-0050.

Get real

The China Oil Art Society is holding the second Chinese Realism Oil Art Competition and Exhibition at the National Art Museum of China.

Titled Visible Poetry, the exhibition presents 208 short-listed oil stills, portraits and landscapes, selected from more than 5,000 entries from throughout the country.

The competition and exhibition were initiated in 2008 to "help promote the development of oil art that truly reflects contemporary Chinese people and their lives", organizers say.

9 am-5 pm, until April 25. National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6401-7076.

Art of business

Sculptor Qin Weihong is presenting his Fairytales collection in Beijing's Up Space Gallery.

In partnership with the fashion label EQ:IQ, Qin has created a series of sculptures to discuss the relationship between people's visible beautiful attire and their invisible dark desires. The show also displays his perspectives on crossover art projects with commercial fashion labels. Qin believes they bring art closer to the public and is, therefore, positive.

His sculptures resemble fashionable and colorful home decorations. These works will also be included in his upcoming solo exhibition in Today Art Museum this November.

10 am-10 pm, April 20-21. Up Space, N2-46, F4, Tower N2, North Area, Sanlitun Village, 11 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-6416-9270.

An abstraction

Seven artists - Bai Yiluo, Chai Yiming, Chen Xi, Monika Lin, Lore Vanelslande, Wu Gaozhong and Zhu Ye - have gathered for a joint art show to promote abstract art.

Using lines, rhythms, repetitions, textures and colors, the artists explore such concepts as the unknown, the fragility and mystery of organic life, group dynamics, menace, tension and the links between the human body and nature.

Until May 25. OV Gallery, Room 207, 4A Building, 50 Moganshan Lu, Shanghai. 186-1680-7704.

On their toes

As part of the 12th Meet in Beijing Arts Festival, the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) will hold a photo exhibition on Cuban National Ballet's past China tours.The troupe toured China in 1961, 1964 and 2002, and will perform at the NCPA on April 28.

The photos on display include performances by the group's founder Alicia Alonso and her meeting with Mao Zedong and Peking Opera artist Mei Lanfang.

April 21- 28, National Center for the Performing Arts. 010-6655-0000.

Flying and falling

Han Shaoguang's solo show All That Flies High is Not Birds and All That Dives Deep down is Not Fishes aims to dispel criticisms that the themes and methodologies of contemporary Chinese painting are becoming increasingly unitary.

April 21-25. Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art, 27 Duolun Lu, Shanghai. 021-6587-5996.

Shanghai scape

Landscape 9210 - Shen Fan Solo Exhibition is on display at the ShanghART main space.

The exhibition features three new big installations. The first is an installation of oil paintings on canvas, while the other two are mixed media.

Until May 15. ShanghART H-Space, Bldg 18, 50 Moganshan Lu, Shanghai. 021-6276-3275.