「Space Ark 2020」 is a series of works initiated by artist Tan Tan. It is an interdisciplinary performance project that continuously "grows" and encourages public participation. It takes specific social spaces as its stage and uses ordinary people's real experiences as source material. Through a humorous and science fiction perspective, it explores the overall condition of humanity in the post-2020 era.

「Space Ark 2020-Day 730」

On January 23, 2020, a spacecraft named "Space Ark 2020" unexpectedly landed in Wuhan, China. Whether it was extraterrestrial visitors causing disturbance or an ark redeeming Earthlings, was unknown.

January 22, 2022, marked the 730th day since the spacecraft had stayed on Earth, approaching its second anniversary. It landed again, this time in Macau—a city blending Eastern and Western cultures, filled with consumer spectacles. The once-crowded streets, now empty due to the pandemic, revealed the marks of the old world.

This performance transforms the rooftop of the Macau Art Garden into a time machine. Surrounded by the glow of myriad lights, the audience follows the artist circumnavigating the space, reminiscing about the uncertain and vulnerable experiences of the past two years.

「Space Ark 2020-Day 968」

A spacecraft with the codename "Space Ark 2020" landed on Earth on January 23, 2020, and quickly cloned itself to every corner of the world, where it remains.

Some people boarded the spaceship, becoming the first and perhaps the last group to choose whether to leave Earth. In the Nantou Ancient Town of Shenzhen, its "presence" takes the form of a six-story office building— Idea Factory.

As the busy work lights temporarily dim, stage lights illuminate ordinary people in the windows. They "perform" themselves—office workers of the building, security guards in the neighborhood, fruit vendors, foreign teachers striving in Shenzhen, and more. The age range spans from 3 to 70 years old, and the script is entirely adapted from their real-life experiences. It revolves around the isolated three years and the ultimate choices of each person.

On the day of this performance, the spaceship has been floating on Earth for 968 days.

「Space Ark 2020-Day 1381」

The "3.0 version" of the project transforms the majestic Machinery Hall of the Shenzhen Shekou Value Factory into a spaceship. Some of the inhabitants, robots, and virtual humans boarded the spaceship, becoming perhaps the last people to leave Earth. Some local residents, along with robots and virtual humans, board the spaceship, becoming perhaps the last people to leave Earth. However, each of them is trapped in a separate space cabin, and is subject to the invisible power of artificial intelligence. No one knows when the spaceship will launch or be destroyed. Their fate is determined by every audience member. The participating viewers need to unravel the mystery of the spaceship's power hidden in the remains of the former Guangdong Float Glass Factory.

Most performers of the show were non-professionals recruited from Shenzhen, especially the Shekou district. They present their real identities, stories, and emotions. This crew includes an "original master" of the factory where the play is staged — a worker from the Float Glass Factory, a retired librarian from the Shekou Library, a small business owner in international logistics, two elementary students from international schools, an elder who was a farmer in a rural place, and international inhabitants from Ukraine and Sri Lanka... Each one of them represents us.

Now, the Space Ark is about to launch.

Are you coming along?