Art exhibitions aren't supposed to be like this. At Get It Louder 2007 installations, photos and videos seem to be haphazardly strewn throughout an underground parking lot. People freely fondle the exhibits, and relax in couches and chairs set up in front of video installations. They leave carelessly scribbled scrawls and pictures on a large white desk, which is actually an exhibit.On the first floor, several children are sitting by a table and playing with white toy bricks under the help of their parents and teachers. Around them are six glass boxes, each of which showcases an exquisite architectural models made from the same toy bricks by artists and architects from home and abroad. The display is also a part of the exhibition titled Building Asia Brick by Brick. Orthodox critics would frown upon such an unconventional art show. It is staged in a shopping mall devoid of artistic air and displays exhibits that would be denied by many museums on the basis of not appealing to refined temperaments. Most of the excited visitors are young people in their 20s. They examine every exhibit with great interest - something they would seldom see in museums. Curator Ou Ning can hear the voice stirring up from within these youths. And he wants to "get it louder". The biennial art event was first held in 2005. It tours four cities, traveling from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, to Shanghai and Beijing before coming to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province. The exhibition is now underway at Beijing's SOHO-Shangdu Shopping Mall until September 1. "China is, at present, a 'postfigurative' society in which the elder generation holds the power, while youngsters have little chance to express themselves. That is why we conceived Get It Louder. We simply want the voices of young artists and audiences to be heard," Ou says. Ou's international curatorial team aims to establish a platform upon which young talents in the fields of art and design can showcase their creativity and advocate their personal thoughts. This year's exhibition has attracted more than 150 artists from around the globe. Their designs fall into five categories - architecture, products, fashion, visual and film. Also on show is the UK chapter Everything Material, Something Immaterial, the Japanese chapter Quiet Radical Voice and a special project entitled Building Asia Brick by Brick. Unlike its first run, which was restricted in art zones, Get It Louder 2007 takes place in shopping malls in all four of the cities it tours. Shopping malls have thrived in China ever since the 1990s. The act of consumption in this space has become a familiar part of public life and has come to constitute a part of the collective memory. Curators believe that the presence of a pioneering art show in such a large space dedicated to consumption breaks away from the conventional exhibition model. The idea is that hosting the exhibition in these venues creates contact between the works and a large population of sometimes unsuspecting visitors, many of whom seldom or never visit art exhibitions otherwise. However, there are opposing views on the exhibition. Eva, who is in show business and prefers to remain anonymous, attended the first Get It Louder Beijing held in the Xingfucun Art Center. She says the exhibition this year failed to meet her expectations. "The 2005 session brought me so many surprises. All of the exhibits were on display in a small space, and the exhibition hall was delicately designed," she says. "But the current setting in the underground parking lot looks really rough. The exhibits are distributed among four different floors that makes me feel uncomfortable. "Maybe it is because I am an aesthete. The shopping mall is too bustling. I think the arts should still keep a distance from us." Eva's opinion is shared by many art lovers and museum-goers, whom Ou credits for establishing the fixed models, which revolve around museums and biennials. "As I have always believed, art is real life," Ou says. "We want to help people abandon the idea of art as a sanctuary. We hope people can discover art by accident as they consume and stroll. It is a more effective way to get art into people's hearts than rigid education." But engaging the art experience in an underground parking lot is acceptable and even cool for many first-time audiences. Zhang Weixin, a senior of art management of Beijing Normal University, had awaited the exhibition for two years. She was in Guangzhou in 2005, but missed both the debut show and the following one in Beijing. "The exhibits are original and quite personal. Some reflect deep insights into society," she says as she shoots photos and scribbles notes. Zhang Yan, the girl's mother and an avid museum-goer, says the exhibition is inspiring. "I have just realized that art can be so interestingly weird. I see the sexual implications in some photos. It is OK with my daughter and me. I think it is a healthy form of art expression as well." In addition to the main exhibition, a Moving Soundscape project and the flexible, guerrilla-like Homeshows also characterize the event this year and deserve special attention. A series of lectures, symposia and public forums will tackle the issues of national identity in terms of art and design, and social creativity. All exhibitions and activities are free of charge. "Get It Louder is an enlightenment of imagination, and showcases a sense of humor and enthusiasm for life. We hope it will broaden the horizon of the younger generation and encourage them to create," says Shao Zhong, president of the Modern Media Group, which sponsors this year's exhibition.