The First Themed Multi-City Event Series
Spittoon MEGACITY is the Spittoon Collective’s first themed sequence of multi-city events around China. Never have we been so close together and so far apart through our use of social media and the technology that permeates our lives. MEGACITY seeks to explore this modern phenomenon through compelling arts and literary events across four cities: Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing.
What is MEGACITY?
The events of MEGACITY strive to capture the feeling of living in the gigantic metropolises we call home — the effects of urban environments on our lives and the increasing realisation of our symbiotic relationship with technology and social media, and the subsequent isolation and connection this can symbolise. Events in each city correspond to three concept stages:
MEGACITY — poetry, fiction, art, and music events inspired by the theme.
CONNECT — live stream broadcast initiatives connecting Spittoon collectives around the world.
UNDER THE SKIN OF THE CITY — events that reflect the unique character and spirit of each city.
Chengdu — November 22nd, 23rd, 25th and December 13th
Chengdu opened the MEGACITY series with four events. Unlock Your Voice was a free poetry performance workshop on 22nd November at Tongzilin International Community Center, facilitated by Yu Wenwen — winner of Spittoon Chengdu Poetry Slam 1.0 — and Annie Leonard. Voices Unlocked followed immediately after: an open mic for poets who had never taken the Spittoon stage before.
On 23rd November, Under the Skin of the City: Intertwining Threads took place at Deep Alley — a multimedia exhibition and live improvisation performance exploring what it means to live in Chengdu in 2019, bringing together poets, painters, musicians, performance artists, graffiti artists, rappers, and dancers. The evening closed with a screening of an untitled music video and panel discussion combining contemporary and traditional Chinese poetry, electronic beats, and traditional instruments.
On 25th November, Harry’s Wizard Café hosted two events: Love, Death and Robots, a prose reading showcase, followed by Poetry.exe, a poetry showcase — both exploring the MEGACITY theme with veteran Spittoon performers.
On 13th December, Chengdu hosted its leg of the Spittoon Connect: Intercity Poetry Slam, connecting live with Beijing via livestream at 13 Lounge.
Hangzhou — December 7th
In collaboration with the Hangzhou Writers Association, Brew Gang hosted a full day of events on 7th December: an ongoing open mic, a Liz Lerman writing workshop, a paint and sip session, Chinese poetry in translation discussion, a poetry slam competition, and Spittunes to close.
Shanghai — December 8th
Bohemia on Hengshan Lu hosted the Shanghai MEGACITY day, co-organised with the Shanghai Writing Workshop. The afternoon opened with Beijing Lights: An Illumination, introduced by creator Huang Chenkuang. A literary pub quiz led by Professor Ryan Thorpe followed, closing with a Featured Reading bringing together China’s English-language literary community.
Beijing — December 13th, 14th and 15th
Beijing hosted the culmination of MEGACITY across three days and four venues.
On 13th December, Camera Stylo hosted the Beijing leg of the Intercity Poetry Slam, connecting live with Chengdu.
On 14th December, Aotu Space hosted two events: Beijing Lights: An Illumination in the afternoon, celebrating the project’s tenth instalment with creator Huang Chenkuang, and Urban Fragments in the evening — a poetry, sound, and visual installation with poetry curated by Sara F. Costa, music by Julian, and visuals by Nina Dillenz.
On 15th December, Dusk Dawn Club hosted the biggest day of the series: a Spittoon Literary Magazine Issue 6 Q&A panel and zine fair from 3pm, Megacity Stage Fiction from 5pm, Megacity Stage Poetry from 6pm, and Spittunes from 8:30pm to close.
Originally published November 2019 on the Spittoon WeChat channel.
Matthew Byrne | Writer, Founder, Digital Marketer 
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