Shanghai's Theatre X mall, the site of the Immersive Art Gallery (IAG) Courtesy of Immersive Art Gallery (IAG) and Art021
Against the backdrop of a new outbreak of coronavirus cases in Beijing over the weekend, the organisers of Shanghais two mega-fairs Art021 and West Bund Art & Design Fair are still hoping they will go ahead in November. But their backers are also expanding into new public art programmes—in unlikely settings.
Last weekend, Art021 made a particular splash by unveiling its Immersive Art Gallery (IAG) project at the new Shanghai mall Theatre X with an exhibition titled Wild Cinema. Along with an exhibition space and art shop of around 1,000 sq m on the malls second floor, IAG also has placed interactive works of art amid the shops and restaurants and outside on the major thoroughfare Huaihai Zhong Lu.
“The entire area contains art,” says David Chau, who co-founded Art021 with Kylie Ying and Bao Yifeng. “It is not a museum or a gallery, but rather having art in life, as part of the ecosystem.” Chau says IAG will act as a sister brand to the fair, bringing “consumer alternatives” to traditional exhibitions in places such as public parks. Further projects are in the works, Chau hints, though he declines to give specifics.
Curated by the artists Lu Pingyuan and Xu Zhen alongside Chau, Wild Cinema (until 31 August) is comprised of a public art section with works from Xu and Lus gallery and the MadeIn collective, alongside a ticketed section drawn from Chau and Yings collection. This includes some works from the couple's CC Foundation, but Chau says that the IAG space will not be the permanent home for CCs recently-teased museum and adds that forthcoming project “wont be a museum, per say, because that is such an egotistical thing, and I am not like that.”
Chau dismisses any similarities between Theatre X and the nearby K11 Art Mall: “They are traditional retail, and this is purely experiential.” The art collective Teamlab is planning a nightclub in Theatre X, tentatively opening end of this year. IAG is a partner in the mall alongside developers Bailian and URF (Urban RevitalizationRead More – Source
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