Art center opens in Shanghai

Bund 18 Creative Center, Shanghai's newest contemporary art space, opened May 1 under the artistic direction of Victoria Lu, a former founding board member of the Taipei Contemporary Art Museum. In a recent interview with A.i.A., Lu, now also an advisor for the Shanghai Biennale and a visiting professor at the Shanghai University Art Academy, emphasized the center's broad, future-oriented mandate: "We want to showcase the new esthetics in lifestyle, including fashion, furniture, design and new art movements."

The Creative Center occupies 7,500 square feet on the fourth floor of Bund 18, a $14-million luxury retail-and-entertainment development that opened last November on Shanghai's historic waterfront. It differs from the nearby Shanghai Gallery of Art, occupying a similar space in the upscale Three on the Bund building, by having a noncommercial program open to design as well as fine art. Its mission as a nonprofit facility mixing international and local art more closely resembles that of CreekArt, a space that opened in January on Suzhou Creek, as well as the venerable Shanghai institution BizArt.

The latter parallel is no coincidence, as BizArt director and cofounder Davide Quadrio holds the position of creative director at the new center. Overseen by Janette Chang, the Taiwanese owner of the Bund 18 complex, the space is curated by a committee of advisors, including Bund 18 architects Filippo Gabbiani and Kookai Studios. Financing comes from the Bund 18 Property Company, although each show will solicit external sponsorship. China recently legalized private foundations, and Bund 18 plans to establish one as soon as detailed guidelines are issued.

The Creative Center is slated to host five to 10 exhibitions per year. It debuted with "Frozen Feelings," a show of installations by French artist Maurice Benayoun. Next up is a Vivienne Westwood survey, co-organized with the Victoria & Albert Museum and the British Council. In late August, the center will mount "Paradiso d'Amore: Neo-Aesthetics of the Animamic (Animation+Comic) Age," featuring primarily Mainland artists. In October, Miltos Manetas's NEEN Group will pass through, and then December brings in Olivo Barbieri's cityscape series "Site_specific."

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