Site Projects

Dual Radiation — Site Project of Urban Renewal at West Bund, Xuhui

Host
Organizers
Co-organizer

Project Introduction

Shanghai West Bund is an urban branding and development project that aims to build upon the cultural and commercial foundation of the Xuhui waterfront. West Bund covers a total area of 9.4 square kilometers in the southwest part of the Xuhui District, including 11.4 kilometers of shoreline. The area stretches from Rihui Port in the north to Huangpu River in the east, and Wanping Rd, Longhua Rd, and Longwu Rd in the west. It neighbors the Longhua Historic Conservation Area and faces the Shanghai World Expo Site, with Houtan Park across the river. West Bund's 9.4 square kilometers of land represent the largest developable area on either side of the Huangpu River.
Shanghai West Bund is an ambitious development project that seeks to bring domestic and foreign leaders together in the fields of culture, art, media, fashion, design, and innovative finance to create a unique, world-class waterfront on par with the Left Bank in Paris and the South Bank in London.

Theme Interpretation

The theme “Dual Radiation” is borrowed from literary techniques. In the context of literature, dual radiation refers to the attempt to capture the natural environment and the characters’ personalities in a bi-directional radiative relationship, where both elements support, reflect and assimilate each other. It is about sublimating the story in terms of contents, aesthetics and sentiments by forging humans, objects and plots into a delicate, harmonious and integral whole, instead of leaving these features scattered and separated. Going through the history and prospect of West Bund, the idea struck us that the public space and public of West Bund, with their connections, interactions, reflections and radiations, constitute an organically growing dual radiation, where human, city, space and time all find their artistic, scientific, sociological and futuristic expressions.

Exhibition

During the art season, we will make joint efforts with peer exhibitions and events to raise the public consciousness of issues like management of waterfront public spaces, art in public spaces and preservation of industrial heritages. The most important exhibited items include: Star Gallery, Runway Park, Oil Tank Art Park and ten pieces of public art in the Public Open Space.
The walls surrounding Star Gallery and Oil Tank Art Park, which are under construction, and Runway Park, which is only completed, will play the role of panels, telling the designs, concepts, highlights and renderings of these projects in text, graphic and multi-media. Putting individual projects in the big picture of urban renewal, this exhibition is inviting the public to witness and participate in this process.
As part of a joint event with other SUSAS exhibitions and cultural events, this exhibition will install ten superior pieces of public art around West Bund Open Public Space, guiding the visitors through a narrative, radiative network of routes, displaying the history, daily life, physical space and cultural meanings of West Bund in a holistic manner. The exhibition also aims to arouse an immersive, reflexive, experiences on the part of each visitor, against the cultural context of this site.

Venue

West Bund Public Open Space (Star Gallery, Oil Tank Art Park, West Bund Art Center, and surrounding)

Period

November 2017 – End January 2018

Public Transportation

Metro:
Exit 5, Middle Longhua Road Station (Line 7);
Exit 2, Yunjin Road Station (Line 11);
Exit 2, Longhua Station (Line 12)

Bus:
Chuanchang Road and South Two Zhongshan Road Stop (Channel 8);
Yunjin Road and Houmalu Road Stop (Line 1222);
Yunjin Road and Fenggu Road Stop (Line 734, 933, 1222)

Parking:
West Bund Camp Parking Lot (at the intersection of Longteng Avenue and Dong’an Road);
West Bund Art Center Parking Lot (No. 2555 Longteng Avenue, just west of Art Center)

Curators
Chen An’da

As a veteran of cultural industry, Chen has experiences in investment, operation and management of cultural industry projects, as well as planning and operation of major cultural events. He received Shanghai Youth Award in 2012. Chen is the head of Project Promotion Department, West Bund Group. His primary responsibilities include introducing and operating cultural industry project, planning and operating major cultural events, and promoting businesses related to duty-free artwork transaction in Riverfront, Xuhui. In his current position, he has planned and organized West Bund Music Festival (2013-2016), West Bund Art & Design Expo (2014-2016), West Bund: A Biennial of Architecture and Contemporary Art (2013), Waterfront Global Talk (2016) and Art West Bund (2016-2017); helped organize SUSAS 2015, Shanghai Art & Design 2016; and helped prepare the construction of landmark institutions, such as West Bund Art Center and West Bund Culture and Art Pilot Zone.

Ye Ke’yang

After receiving his degree of urban planning in Tongji University almost a decade ago, Ye joined the enterprise of developing Riverfront, Xuhui, particularly planning and administration of area development projects. As the head of Planning and Management Department, West Bund Group, his primary responsibilities include positioning research (e.g., the functional research of Xuhui Riverfront Core Zone), documen- tation of area planning projects (e.g., the implementation plan of West Bund Public Open Space) and key project design (e.g., West Bund Media Port); helped plan West Bund: A Biennial of Architecture and Contemporary Art (2013); and contributed to Shanghai Street Design Guidelines.

Yang Dan

Yang has a master degree of architectural of Politecnico di Milano and one of Tongji University. As a commissioner of Planning and Management Department, West Bund Group, Yang has helped organize West Bund: A Biennial of Architecture and Contemporary Art 2013, Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture 2013, Milano Animal City 2016, Waterfront Global Talk 2016, ART WEST BUND 2016-2017, and other programs.