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SmartShanghai's Essential Guide to

Art & Stage in Shanghai

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Contemporary Chinese Art in an Atom

Giving an overview of Chinese Contemporary Art is not as hard as it may sound given that Contemporary art in the middle kingdom is really a 25 year-old phenomenon. Arts got really exciting in the early '80s as young artists devoured texts, images and ideas that had been denied access to during the Cultural Revolution.

Two of the genres to emerge during this period are Political Pop and Cynical Realism -- signs of the times that took advantage of the relative freedom of expression by generation social commentary images. However, in the '90s creative freedom met with new restrictions and many of the most talented and renowned Chinese artists relocated abroad where they can work and exhibit unfettered by censorship. Over the past decade, the art world has gone China-crazy, creating a speculation based market that does not always reflect the talent-base. On the down side, this booming scene is responsible for generating a lot of kitsch, and artistic clichés that capitalize on western perceptions of China are selling for outlandish prices. For the individual with limited knowledge looking to make a purchase, the best gauge is always to go with what you enjoy; what you would be pleased to see hanging in your living room in 10 years even if it's market worth is a single jiao.

The art scene in Shanghai lacks the biting edge that other aspects of the city exhibit. State-run museums mean that many exhibitions are quite tame in content and form, while the business side of the arts has turned many galleries into shops rather than media for creativity. Nevertheless, there are some very talented artists, gallery owners and artists that are working to breathe more life into the city's art scene.

Galleries

With the soaring foreign interest in Chinese art, galleries are popping up in Shanghai at breakneck speed. In fact, at the moment, it feels like there are more galleries than worthy artists and gallery owners are (verbally) fighting over the top talent.

What does all the ruckus means for the average gallery-browser or individual collector? You will have to navigate plenty of rubbish to get to the good stuff. There's nothing wrong with developing discerning taste however, and sifting through is a respectable technique for honing your eye. The following lists areas in the city to find contemporary galleries, small and large, local and international.

Moganshan Lu

When it opened in the late '90s, Moganshan Lu was an underground refuge of loft spaces for artists seeking low rent. Now the not-so-convenient street in the industrial Suzhou Creek district is home to approximately 40 galleries and artist studios. With its heavy tourist foot traffic, Moganshan Lu has morphed into something of a strip mall for the art lover. Although many experts in town criticize Moganshan for selling overpriced wares of questionable quality, no one denies that there are some worthy venues. Two of the best spaces on the lane are Shine Art Space, which tends to exhibit to oil paintings and M97, a photography Mecca.

696 Weihai Lu

Rebelling against Moganshan Lu, a group of younger artists moved into the century-old British style buildings at 696 Weihai Lu a couple of years ago, creating an incubator for multi media art. Notably, these buildings probably once served as opium storage facilities. Although the entire complex nearly became another architectural fatality when the government threatened to raze it to build skyscrapers, the fledgling community caught a break at the last minute and renewed their leases. Feet planted a bit more firmly in the concrete, 696 has sprouted a couple of low-profile galleries in addition to the 30-something artists who rent studio space there.

Weihei Lu frequently does joint open-house viewings of the studios and gallery spaces located therein, and these events are great indicators on what Shanghai's newest artists are doing with themselves.

For more on Weihei Lu, and Chinese and Shanghainese art happenings in general, check out the Shanghaieye.net blog. Written by long time resident of Weihei, Chris Gill, Shanghaieye provides great insight and the most current news on Shanghai art on the web.

While we've got you thinking web, we would also direct your attention to CreativeHunt.com, a sister site of SmartShanghai.com that provides listings and editorial content dealing with Shanghai's design, architecture, and creative industries.

Taikang Lu

Once you locate one of the many well-hidden entrances, Taikang Lu offers a delightful maze of alleyways lined with artisan galleries and cafes. Some spaces are more tourist-geared than others but expect a range of quirky photography, handmade jewelry and pottery. Any one of the small restaurants will satiate your cheesecake desires. While in Taikang, check out Gallery Now -- more of a lounge stuffed with tattered vintage furniture than an art venue, it's a great place to hang out.

Wu Jiao Chang Art Space

The Wu Jiao Chang Art Space, about 30 minutes north of city center, opened in 2008 with more than 30 new galleries such as UWANTART, Caves Art Center) as well as some relocated Shanghai staples

Stage

Although the theater scene in Shanghai has made significant progress in recent years with the founding of new independent theatre groups, Shanghai English-language production still lags behind its Western counter-parts in quality and frequency of performance. In recent years, Shanghai has become enamored with Broadway fair, and at any given moment, there is usually a touring production of a famous, Andrew Lloyd Webber-ery musical -- Cats, Hairspray, Aida, and others have all recently enjoyed successful runs in Shanghai. Productions of Shakespeare are also somewhat frequent, as cultures clash over the staging of Hamlet, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream and others.

If you're looking to support the home team and take in some English-language theatre, produced by expat residents of Shanghai, there are two theatre groups which are the most active -- East West Theatre and Shanghai Repertory Theatre. Both groups put on several shows a year ranging from holidays classics to modernist fair to post modernist comedy.

In all of the above cases, we refer you to SmartShanghai's theatre events listings to check if there is anything on.