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Power Station of Art

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Power Station of Art
上海当代艺术博物馆
A simplistic symbol depicting three horizontal lines stacked parallel at the bottom. A vertical line protrude out of the middle of the top two lines, analogous to the signature chimney of the Nanshi Power Plant. The symbol as a whole is analogous to the Mandarin ideogram "当“ (dang), which is part of the Mandarin word for "contemporary" ("当代“).
The museum's logo is set in Gotham for both Mandarin and English and designed by Shen Haopeng in 2012.
The facade of Power Station of Art taken during the 2010 World Expo. Nanpu Bridge is in the background.
The facade of Power Station of Art taken during Expo 2010.
Map
EstablishedOctober 1, 2012[1]
Location678 Miaojiang Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, China 200011
TypeArt museum
Key holdingsShanghai Biennale
Collections
Contemporary art
Collection size
425 (2024)[2]
Visitors700,000 (2019)[3]
DirectorGong Yan[4]
Public transit access
South Xizang Road on Line 4, 8 (Shanghai Metro)
Websitepowerstationofart.com
Power Station of Art
Simplified Chinese上海当代艺术博物馆
Traditional Chinese上海當代藝術博物館
Literal meaningShanghai contemporary art museum
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinShànghǎi Dāngdài Yìshù Bówùguǎn

The Power Station of Art (Chinese: 上海当代艺术博物馆; lit. 'Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum' and often abbreviated as PSA) is a contemporary art museum in Huangpu, Shanghai, China.[5][6] As China's first and only[7][8] state-owned contemporary art museum, it is an institution directly under the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism[9][10] and hosts exhibitions free to the public.

Power Station of Art sits at the former site of the Nanshi Electric Plant, which opened in 1897 and relocated to the museum's present site on the Huangpu riverside in 1935. After being used as the Pavilion of Future during Expo 2010, the site underwent nine months of repurposing as a museum, before opening to the public on October 1, 2012.

The museum is over 41,000m2 in total building space, and has 15,000 m2 of space dedicated to exhibitions.[11] It has hosted the Shanghai Biennale since 2012, when it opened by hosting the 9th Shanghai Biennale, "Reactivation". Apart from contemporary art, the museum also holds design exhibitions under the Power Station of Design moniker, and has hosted the Emerging Curators Project since 2014.

History

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As Nanshi Electric and Power Plants

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In 1897, the Qing government's Shanghai Road Engineering Relief Bureau established the Nanshi Electric Plant (Chinese: 南市电灯厂) at Laotaiping Wharf, near Shiliupu Dock. It first succeeded in illuminating an electric light on January 21, 1898,[12] and powered 30 street lamps along the Bund a day later.[12][13] An official company in management of the plant was incorporated in 1918 as Shanghai Huashang Electric Power Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 上海华商电力股份有限公司), and it began constructing a new plant on Bansongyuan Road by October 1935.[14]

The Bansongyuan power plant underwent joint public-private ownership by 1954. However, it was renamed the Nanshi Power Plant (Chinese: 南市发电厂) in 1955 and continued operation as a state-owned enterprise.[12][14] The plant's main body, consisting of the factory building and a 165-meter tall chimney, finished construction in 1985.[15] Plans to redevelop its site for the forthcoming Expo 2010 were settled in 2004, and the plant ceased operation in 2007.[12] The plant was eventual developed into the Pavilion of Future in the Expo.

Conception

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Impetus for establishing the Power Station of Art can be traced back to 2008. As part of the municipal-level planning associated with the 12th Five-Year Plan,[11] party and government officials conceived of Shanghai's need "to consider the development and prosperity of culture on a higher level". Along with calls from local artists requesting more exhibition space in Shanghai, as well as top-down foresight to expand Shanghai's art industry, the Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism produced plans for a "Shanghai Grand Art Museum" by early 2009.[16]

On April 11, 2011, Shanghai mayor Han Zheng visited the Shanghai Art Museum. Han, having understood that the museum's collections lacked sufficient exhibition space year-round, directed municipal planning departments to survey appropriate areas for a large-scale art museum. In continuum of plans for repurposing Expo pavilions after the exposition's conclusion, both the Pavilion of Future and the China pavilion, sitting across the Huangpu River from each other, were to be renovated into art museums. In particular, the Pavilion of Future was to exhibit contemporary art "focusing on artistic phenomenons after 1980".[17] Two talks between the municipal government and artists were organized between September and October 2011.[16]

The Pavilion's transformation was confirmed at the closing of the Ninth Plenum of the Shanghai Municipal Committee on November 12, 2011.[16] By December, a preparatory office was formed consisting of five people and headed by Li Xiangyang. The Pavilion's transformation was projected to complete in August 2012, and Li said it "will definitely not just be some painting walls".[17] Li also confirmed that the new museum will host the 2012 Shanghai Biennale.

Renovation

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Image
The 165-meter tall chimney is a prominent feature of the Power Station of Art's industrial architecture.

The renovation process was led by TJAD Original Design Studio, an architectural consulting group formed out of Tongji University's Architectural Design and Research Institute. The design process took place between March 2011 and March 2012,[18] with the primary objective of preserving the building. As a result, the renovation retained the power plant's chimney, rooftop generators, and general layout.[19] The renovation concluded by September 2012, and costed the Shanghai municipal government $64 million.[20]

Inauguration

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Power Station of Art opened at 12:00 on October 1, 2012, to the public, with online pre-registration required and capped at 6,000 visitors a day.[21] It attracted over 3,000 visitors on its first day.[22] The museum's inaugural year visitor count was around 120,000.[23]

An Academic Committee was established in 2013, in which artists and scholars are invited once every three years to govern major decisions surrounding the museum. By 2014, the Committee assumed responsibilities to elect curators to the Shanghai Biennale.[23] The same year, the nationality restriction on curators to the Biennale was removed.[24]

Accolades

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Power Station of Art was recognized as a Shanghai Municipal Heritage Architecture on August 17, 2015.[25] It was registered under the address 200 Huayuangang Road, which was the address for the Nanshi Power Plant and remains an alternate address for the museum. The English caption of the award plaque reads:

Former Nanshi Power Plant, industrial building. Completed in 1935, rebuilt in 1980s. Truss structure. Renovated to the Pavilion of Future during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, then established [sic] the Power Station of Art (PSA) in 2012.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Qin, Amy (29 December 2014). "Contemporary Art Sizzles in Shanghai". New York Times. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  2. ↑ "12岁的PSA" [The 12-year-old PSA]. Weixin Open Platform. September 30, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  3. ↑ "9年蜕变，憧憬未来" [Transformation for 9 years, Looking forward to the future]. thepaper.cn. September 24, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  4. ↑ "The Power Station of Art". www.molteni.it. March 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  5. ↑ Megan Willett (8 November 2012). "Shanghai Is Finally Becoming A Serious City For Art". businessinsider.com. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "Power Station of Art, The New Huangpu River Both Banks". Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "The Power Station of Art". www.molteni.it. March 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Power Station of Art - 200 Huayuangang Lu - Galleries". Time Out Shanghai. 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
  9. ↑ "上海市2023年市级单位预算 – 预算单位：上海当代艺术博物馆" [Shanghai Municipal Unit Budget for 2023 – Budget Unit: Shanghai Power Station of Art] (PDF). Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  10. ↑ "2025年上半年上海当代艺术博物馆公开招聘工作人员公告" [Power Station of Art open recruitment notice for the first half of 2025]. Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau. February 11, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2026. 上海当代艺术博物馆（Power Station of Art）是隶属于上海市文化和旅游局的事业单位。 [Power Station of Art is a public institution affiliated with the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism]
  11. 1 2 "市政府新闻发布会介绍中华艺术宫、上海当代艺术博物馆决策和改建工作情况" [[Shanghai] municipal government press conference briefs situation in decision-making and renovation on China Art Museum and Power Station of Art]. Shanghai Municipal Government. August 30, 2012. Retrieved 2026-06-29.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "From Power Station of Electricity to Power Station of Art". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
  13. ↑ "从电厂到艺术博物馆：艺术在烟囱旁放歌" [From power plant to art museum: art sings beside the chimney]. gmqn.caa.edu.cn. September 27, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  14. 1 2 Tang, Ye (June 26, 2017). "滨江往事① | "大烟囱"，始终是他们心中的地标" [Riverside chronicles (1) | "Big chimney", always a landmark in their hearts]. Shanghai Observer. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  15. ↑ Baldini, Andrea (February 17, 2017). "Postindustrial Masterpiece: Shanghai's Power Station of Art". Sixth Tone. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 Lin, Mingjie; Le, Mengrong (September 15, 2012). "从纸上"谈"馆到地上"见"馆" [From "discussing" the art museum on paper, to "seeing" the art museum on the ground]. news.enorth.com.cn. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
  17. 1 2 Lu, Kefei (December 8, 2011). "上海当代艺博馆：兵马未到 粮草先行" [Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum: before the troops come, fodder and provisions go first]. Artron.net. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  18. ↑ "新博览建筑的文化策略——以上海当代艺术博物馆为引" [Cultural strategies for new exposition buildings -- with the Power Station of Art as a leading example]. Annals of Chinese Architecture 2011-2012: 59. ISBN 978-7-5537-2212-2 – via CNKI.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
  19. ↑ Pan, Li (August 2023). 行走上海美术馆 [Roaming Shanghai's Art Museums - A CityWalk Exploration]. Shanghai, China: Tongji University Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-7-576-50908-3.
  20. ↑ Pollack, Barbara (March 17, 2014). "Shanghai's Tricky Museum Transformation". ARTnews. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
  21. ↑ "上海当代艺术博物馆"十一"正式开馆" [Power Station of Art officially opens on October 1]. China Daily. September 27, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  22. ↑ "中华艺术宫首日迎来9871人 当代艺术博物馆超3000人" [China Art Museum received 9871 visitors on its first day of operation; Power Station of Art received over 3000]. Xinmin Wanbao. October 2, 2012. Retrieved 2026-06-29.
  23. 1 2 "9年蜕变，憧憬未来" [Transformation for 9 years, Looking forward to the future]. thepaper.cn. September 24, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  24. ↑ "12岁的PSA" [The 12-year-old PSA]. Weixin Open Platform. September 30, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  25. 1 2 "PSA's building has been awarded as 'Heritage Architecture' by Shanghai municipal government..." Instagram. December 27, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
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