Shanghai Project | Envision 2116

Shanghai Project, and its theme of Envision 2116, considers mankind’s future – 100 years from now. With Phase 1 commencing with exhibitions and discussion events in September 2016, Shanghai Project serves as a platform to instigate new dialogues by inviting practitioners from a variety of disciplines, including not only liberal arts and social science, but art, science, technology, medicine and ecology, among others.

The Shanghai Project is an ideas platform bringing together—from China and abroad—artists, filmmakers, performers, musicians, designers, architects, writers, poets, philosophers, historians, scientists, economists, geographers, sociologists, anthropologists, journalists, doctors, lawyers, engineers, hackers, bloggers, activists … and the people of Shanghai. Together, through exhibitions, public works, live events, and texts, we will think, discuss, relate and act on the sustainability of our futures in the 22nd century.

Unfolding in the two phases, the Shanghai Project begins first with a series of exhibitions, gatherings, talks, workshops, walks, screenings, and live events, launching on September 4, 2016. Together, we gather, produce, and share research, while building relationships with our partners and publics. Building upon these events and relationships, the Phase 2 of the Shanghai Project will commence this coming April, with exhibitions spanning 100 days.

Under the co-directorship of Yongwoo Lee, Director of Shanghai Himalayas Museum, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of Serpentine Galleries London, the Shanghai Project is organized by the Shanghai Himalayas Museum, co-organized by the Shanghai International Culture Association, with lead sponsors Zendai Group and Envision Energy. It is notable that the Shanghai Project continues to grow into a pan-Shanghai event as it forms partnerships with museums and art fairs throughout the city. Museum partners include Power Station of Art, Rockbund Art Museum and chi K11 Museum, as well as West Bund Art Fair and Photo Shanghai. One of the highlights of Phase 1 will no doubt be the Envision Pavilion, the symbolic structure of the Shanghai Project. This pavilion is designed by Japan’s internationally renowned architect, Sou Fujimoto, and will be constructed at the Shanghai Himalayas Center. With thematic inspiration referring to the future of mankind 100 years from now, this architectural structure, due to its use of scaffolds, will resemble a vision of the future. Read more on Randian

Shanghai Project Conference with International Biennial Association

September 3: Co-organized by the Shanghai Project and International Biennial Association, in collaboration with the Power Station of Art, the Shanghai Project international conference, entitled Biennials in Transformation: Hybridization as New Challenge, offers a day-long seminar with internationally known and respected scholars and biennial experts.

The conference will focus on the biennial format and its multi-layer discourse in the 21st century, examining the limits within cultural specializations and seeking to discover whether this affects the biennial format’s ability to be applied beyond cultural fields. It will also consider what the recent multidisciplinary turn in biennials means for the future of the traditional format.

Shanghai Project Opening Day Roundtable

The Shanghai Project Opening on September 4 will feature two roundtable discussions, the first examining “Architecture beyond Building”, with Sou Fujimoto, Envision Pavilion architect; Dai Zhikang, Founder and Chairman of Zendai Group; Liu Yi, Children’s Pavilion Architect and moderated by Yongwoo Lee, the Shanghai Project Artistic Director. Round two will explore “Ecology of Technology,” and it will be moderated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Artistic Director of the Shanghai Project. Among others, the speakers include Zhang Lei, CEO of Envision Energy; Kim Daeshik, Professor of Laboratory for Brain Reverse Engineering and Imaging at KAIST; Anna Greenspan, Professor at NYU Shanghai.