While the economic prosperity of 798 artists remains to be determined, the tight-knit artist's circle that shunned Li and Luo is evident in the qualifications that galleries use when selecting artists. Perrine Pautré, manager of the Paris Beijing Photo Gallery in 798, substantiated some of Lou's claims, saying that her gallery has its own distinctive style. "If the work doesn't please us," she said, "Then we don't feature it." She says that, while the photographers are free to choose their own subjects, they only feature photos in a series, unified by a defining message. Though Lou operates in a different  medium, her intentionally meaningless knitted breasts would fall outside most galleries' selection rubrics.

When asked whether the artists at 798 studio Gallery Mook are famous before being featured, manager Li Le first said, "All of them are," then paused and said, "Most of them are," and admitted that the gallery accepts very few industry newcomers. Established art galleries like those at 798 illustrate the catch-22 inherent in gaining gallery backing, which is necessary for artists to express themselves in the first place—in effect, one must already be well-known to be known at all.

Thriving in a Comfortable Space

In contrast to the art that can be found at the 798 galleries, Li and Luo say theirs made by and for everyday people. "One of our friends told us that their foreign friend bought a traditional Chinese qipao at 798 without any unique features for an unbelievably high price," Li said, adding that 798 art and design often caters to a moneyed, foreign audience. She said that A Ji and A Mu are meant for "everyday people," and that FengGuo Box is an ideal forum for achieving Luo's dream of widening his audience. She attributed this to the fact that FengGuo Box creations are featured in a mall, where she says a more diverse audience can interact with and enjoy the work of the artists. Luo added that the FengGuo Box showroom and events cultivate a certain air conducive to marketing such work, "I feature my art at FengGuo Box, because everyone there is young and vibrant."

Bai believes that FengGuo Box' colorful expression of diverse personal themes is the program's most striking characteristic. Enumerating the themes that she has encountered at the festivals, she said that FengGuo Box is about, "Love, life, sex, society, orientation, and violence."

But beyond merely conveying a social theme, FengGuo Box is also about its artists doing as they please.

Despite not featuring any industry big names, spectators are pouring into Zhongguancun Shopping Mall to see Beijing's youth culture reveal itself. "We are coming together to create what we like in life," Wang Sanshi said, observing the bustling interaction between artists and customers at the November festival, "That's FengGuo Box's most meaningful aspect."