The Shanghai Biennale is opened again for public views

​​Currently in Shanghai, there are a large number of various contemporary art museums that offer visitors diverse art galleries and exhibitions which convey fascinating themes and topics. Among these art museums is the Power Station of Art, one of the largest contemporary art museums in Shanghai, presenting the 12th Shanghai Biennale from November 10, 2018 to March 10, 2019 for public view. 

First launched in 1996, the Shanghai Biennale is considered China’s most established and influential worldwide biennale. With its distinct theme that changes every two years, the biennale explores the connection between urban life and contemporary artwork by gathering talented international artists and curators from all around the world. This year, the main theme of the biennale is “Proregress,” which is a compound word that refers to the combination of progress and regress. Throughout the public showcase of contemporary artwork and several visual projects in the museum, the international artists and curators criticize the drawbacks of modern society and expose the regressions in the modern society. Most of the artwork displayed in the biennale convey hidden messages and duality that are created to criticize the wrongdoings that society tries to conceal.

The showcase for the12th Shanghai Biennale is closing soon, but will be reopening with a different theme two years later. The address for the Power Station of Arts is 678 Miaojiang Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, 200011. For additional information, please check out this website.

According to the curator’s introduction of this exhibition, this year’s biennale is designed to “present attest to the deep involvement of artists around the world who are critically researching the present and the past,” and is devoted towards “exploring the way how contemporary artists discuss and evoke the ambivalent nature of our time.”  With contemporary artworks created by 67 artists and artist groups from 26 countries, the 12th Shanghai biennale aspires to depict a plain and realistic world by criticizing crucial social problems and examining the present and the past.

Featured Image – A three-dimensional artwork displayed at the museum Photo Courtesy of blog.naver.com

By Amy Kang