Written by Ming Zi /Photographed by Xu Jiechen

With its long and narrow exhibition rooms, cooling pools, steel stairs leading to ancillary buildings, the factory buildings of the former cold-rolled sheet plant attached to the Shanghai No. 10 Iron & Steel Works could easily remind visitors of the hustle and bustles of heavy-industries. Now these factories have been turned into the Shanghai Urban Sculpture Art Center, which was formally launched on 11 November, 2005, and has held its maiden exhibition: the“Centennial History of Sculptures”. The transformed art center marked the emergence of a new landmark in urban arts of Shanghai.

The sculpture art center is located in the southwest of Shanghai. The buildings were once factories of Shanghai No. 10 Iron & Steel Works and have been deserted for several years due to the restructuring of the company. They were designated as places reserved for renovation for public cultural programs in the new round of urban planning.

The sculpture art center covers an area of 20,000 square meters, with the overall construction being divided into two phases. On November 11, exhibition areas A and B, covering an area of 5,000 sq m, were first open to public, and their structures, consisting of two long and narrow connected exhibition halls, were quite similar to Museum d’Orsay, which was renovated from an old railway station. The exhibition halls did not change the overall layout of the original factory while reserving as much as possible the old structural and spatial features and strengthening some parts of the buildings. The renovation also tried to maintain its original ecological arrangement, focusing upon factors such as sunlight, ventilation, comfortableness, and safety. The second phase of the renovation is to construct galleries, and introduce various designs and handcraft workshops while building up bars, café, western food restaurant and other recreational facilities.

The sculpture art center plans to hold two urban sculpture fairs in each spring and autumn in line with international standards, and one theme exhibition each month in an attempt to promote the development of the sculpture arts in Shanghai and to enhance the cooperation between local sculptors and their overseas counterparts. These efforts will also propel the development of a series of cultural activities in surrounding areas, making the sculpture center a successful case in the renovation of ageing urban areas and an indispensable cultural oasis in the booming commercial strict. Meanwhile, the sculpture art center will also be a platform for public cultural programs as it plans to invite famous sculptors to hold regular seminars, and to provide space and materials for juveniles and citizens interested in sculptures. All these will help publicize the education of sculpture art and enhance people’s awareness of the sculpture arts.

It is believed that more and more public cultural facilities like the Shanghai Sculpture Art Center will emerge in this city in the future, and they will deftly echo the sub-theme of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, namely, multiplicity of city’s cultures, making their own contributions to the enhancement of the image and spirits of Shanghai.

Pictures in this story:

1. Main building of the Shanghai Sculpture Art Center.

2. Signposts on the roads remind visitors of the history of this plant.

3. Interiors of the exhibition halls.