There's a cool new exhibition called Techno Worlds at the Power Station of Art, the huge contemporary art museum in a former power plant down south on the Huangpu River. With 23 groups of works from around the world, the show paints a broad look at techno and some of the culture surrounding it, ranging from the literal (a collection of rave gear and posters from 1990s Berlin) to headier and more abstract pieces (tape hiss installations; an experimental film soundtracked by the legendary Detroit duo, Drexciya). This traveling show is organized by the Goethe-Institut, the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany, and after exhibitions in Mexico City, Kolkata, Montreal, and other cities, Shanghai is the final stop for this five-year project.
At the entrance to this temporary techno zone, a lonely subwoofer beats out a 4/4 beat next to a giant projection of the music production software, Ableton. Inside, there's a bit of everything, beginning with works covering techno's roots as a Black American artform in Detroit, then warping out to some places the genre has traveled – including works about the genre Kwaito in Africa, experimental music shows in Hangzhou, and rave culture in Ukraine – and perhaps where techno is going, examining issues of identity, geography, politics, ethics, and more along the way.
My favorite piece is Maryam Jafri's "Model 500", this huge interactive crossword puzzle based on Detroit techno and American history, with hints like "Automotive lubricants" and the black squares replaced by seminal Detroit records like "Sharivari" by A Number of Names and "I Believe" by Octave One. Also really liked the cute mixed media installation, "The Museum of Trance" and the collection of mannequins rocking OG raver gear - it's got that "choose your raving partner" vibe.
Overall, you could speed run this exhibition in less than an hour or stretch it out to 2–3 hours if you watch all the videos, read all the text, and work through that crossword puzzle. This is just a small section of the museum's third floor, and the space definitely fits an exhibition on techno put on by the German government (venues like Tresor and Berghain are also in former power plants). On a rainy Wednesday, traffic was steady, and it felt like a good spot to meet people into art and music in the daytime.
The exhibition is totally free, and the museum is open for the May holiday (they usually close on Mondays). It's definitely worth a look, and sure to spark some questions and conversations.
Techno Worlds runs until June 28 at the Power Station of Art.
