Shanghai -- China's future art capital?

Beijing has traditionally been considered the epicenter of art in China, with myriad studios and gallery clusters. But there's plenty to be excited about Shanghai's own burgeoning art scene.

“The Shanghai scene has come a long way in a short time and will continue to ramp up in the years to come,” says Adam Schokora, the chief editor of NeochaEDGE, a site dedicated to China’s creative community. “I feel Shanghai is not far behind, if not right on par with the capital.”

While there’s no denying that Beijing has more artists and galleries, those involved in Shanghai’s art scene say the southern city offers a different kind of energy, creativity and quality. So how exactly does it lend itself to arty inspiration?

It's safe to say we have a lot to look forward to. I'm excited.

— Adam Schokora, chief editor, NeochaEDGE

A less established environment can lead to more innovation, says Martin Kemble of Art Labor. Kemble selected Shanghai for his gallery because he didn’t see Art Labor fitting in Beijing’s oversaturated market. 

“There’s a greater flexibility here,” Kemble says. “As a gallery, you can define what you want to since there’s a lack of expectations." 

Distinct environs

Along with size, another key difference between art in Beijing and Shanghai is the spaces where art flourishes. In Beijing, the art studios and galleries are clustered in key areas around the suburbs where there’s vast space and lower rents. Since Shanghai is a more concentrated urban center, studios are interspersed within the city’s more compact spaces.

Liu Yingmei, the director of 140sqm, says Shanghai’s dense cityscape and historical spaces led her to open her gallery in a historic home located off tree-lined Fuxing Lu -- a striking contrast from Beijing’s ubiquitous art warehouses. 

“There’s a greater flexibility here,” says Martin Kemble of Art Labor gallery. “As a gallery, you can define what you want since there’s a lack of expectations."

“Here, people are all around and art becomes a part of life in the neighborhoods,” she says. “It’s easy for people just to pass by and stop in.”

While it’s rare for artists to choose Shanghai strictly for its art environment, “the lifestyle and other city offerings are drawing many of them,” Liu says.

The city’s surroundings, in turn, are affecting and influencing the work created here.

“Shanghai is a more design-focused, practical city and the art produced here reflects that,” says Kemble, pointing to artists like Chen Hangfeng. Chen uses design logos in his pieces and his artworks include carpets and tattoos.

“Shanghai’s international tilt is also evident in the art that arises here,” says Rebecca Catching, the director of OV Gallery. She points to Shanghai-born Zhou Tiehai’s series on globalization, in which he uses the Joe Camel head to symbolize Western imports and Shanghai’s ties to the West and materialism. 

Institutions and exchanges

Shanghai’s art scene received a major boon this year with the opening of the RockBund Art Museum and Minsheng Museum. The RockBund Museum, which is dedicated to contemporary art, opened this year as part of a restoration project in the North Bund area. In April, the Minsheng Art Museum, which showcases contemporary Chinese artists, officially opened in the Redtown Complex.  

Shanghai also hosts an international biennale, or art fair, which attracts art aficionados from all over the world -- an event Beijing does not offer.

But it’s not all about comparisons. There’s also growing exchanges between Shanghai and Beijing, with artists from each city showing their work in the other, gallery directors say.

Shanghai’s international tilt is also evident in the art that arises here.

— Rebecca Catching, director of OV Gallery

What’s next

Shanghai may be making its mark, but there’s still work to do providing inexpensive spaces for artists, Catching says.

“With the 2010 Expo and redevelopment, artists are moving further and further from the city,” she says. “No one cares if artists have a place to work.”

By the same token, the 2010 Expo also could provide the push Shanghai needs get more outside attention on its arts scene and artists.

“It’s like suddenly the city pulled [off] the sheet and says ‘look at us,’” says Kemble of Art Labor.

Editor Schokora says that while it’s impossible to predict anything in China, he’s convinced Shanghai’s art future is bright.

“It's safe to say we have a lot to look forward to,” he says. “I'm excited.”