The Beijing Arts and Crafts Society on Thursday launched the first agent firm for individual craftsmen in the Chinese capital.

The Tianbaolou Culture Agent Co. Ltd. has signed 50 crafts masters, including 13 state first-class masters, said Li Jinhua, director of the society.

He said Beijing now has 196 local crafts masters and 36 state first-class masters.

"These individual craftsmen are not familiar with marketing and art business. They lack the market access to sell their handcrafts products," Li said.

He said over the past decades, many state-owned arts and crafts companies in Beijing went bankrupt or changed to other businesses. Many renowned arts and crafts masters were left jobless.

Bo Deyuan, chairman of the agent firm, said that the company could help sponsor art exhibitions, auctions, lectures for its signed artists and carry out commercial promotion of the artists' works.

Before the agent firm was set up, individual craftsmen either set up their own workshops to sell their products, or brought their art crafts to local bazaars.

Beijing has several such naturally-developed art zones. Panjiayuan is the largest cultural items market in central Beijing. The Space 798 has become the largest gallery in Beijing's alternative art community. The Songzhuang Artists' Village is known for contemporary Chinese art works, and Zhongguancun digital entertainment zone has been described by the government as "creative cultural arenas."

The municipal government has earmarked funding to support the market growth since 2006.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2009)