Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai
The Rockbund Art Museum Opens on May 4, 2010. The Museum is built on a rich historical and cultural heritage, and aims to be an international platform for the promotion and exchange of contemporary art.
Drawing on resources from governmental, social and corporate domains, the Rockbund Art Museum considers its mission to be the spread of humanistic values and the promotion of art, and dedicates its efforts to the study, exchange and promotion of contemporary visual arts.
Through diverse exhibitions and educational programmes, it seeks to stimulate discussions of topical and social issues in contemporary spirit. It also hopes that, by providing the members of the community with high-quality aesthetic and leisure resources, it can contribute to social progress and improve the quality of urban life in the city.
The Museum collaborates with artists and curators of international importance on exhibitions. It also presents exhibitions of new talented artists as well as those of design, fashion and architecture to reflect a broad spectrum of human creativity.
As the first contemporary art museum on the Bund, the Rockbund Art Museum benefits from its rich cultural tradition and mainstream location. It works to integrate art, design and innovation into an aesthetic space for a new Shanghai lifestyle. At present, the Rockbund Art Museum has a number of cross-disciplinary programmes in planning, which include contemporary artists' exhibitions, annually guest curator’s project, international seminars and cultural lecture series, and guided tours of historical architecture on the Bund.
A Proud Legacy
The Rockbund Art Museum is located at the triangle where Suzhou Creek flows into the Huangpu River, an area known as Waitanyuan today. The Museum is housed in the former Royal Asiatic Society building, which was also home to one of China's first modern museums -- the previously Shanghai Museum. Adjacent to the former British Consulate General, this neighborhood was one of the first settlements of foreign expatriates, and a centre of cultural and commercial prosperity.
Established in 1932, the RAS Building was a witness to the history of 19th and 20th Century Sino-European cultural and academic exchange. At its height, this five-story building which contained a lecture hall, a library, and a museum had received over 7000 visits a month. Bringing together the functions of scholarly research, cultural exchange and public education under one roof, this structure was truly unique in Shanghai of that era.
During the half-century of its existence, the RAS Shanghai Museum had established collaborative relationship with world-renown museums, including the British Museum, the New York Metropolitan Museum, and the Musée Guimet in France, a proof of its highly professional standard attained at the time. Through its rich and diverse programmes, it had greatly contributed to the scholarship in related disciplines, cultural exchanges between China and the world, and the dissemination of scientific knowledge in the community. Eventually it had become the largest center for Oriental Studies as well as a widely respected institution for public education. In 1952, the RAS closed its operation in China. At its request, its collections were transferred to the new Shanghai Municipal Services.
The Building
In 2005, the Shanghai Bund de Rockefeller Group Master Development Co. Ltd. Obtained the right to develop the area. In respect for its historical and cultural heritage, and as a form of contribution to the community, the developer decided to restore the RAS building, and to renovate it into a public museum for contemporary art.
At the helm of the important task of restoration and design planning is the world-renowned British architect David Chipperfield, who had directed the master planning of the Museum Island in Berlin. The building was originally designed by the British design firm Palmer and Turner. In highlighting a harmonious blend of Western architectural elements with Shanghai's cityscape, the firm incorporated traditional Chinese decorative elements in the building and created a unique hybrid architectural style.
In an effort to retain the original flavour of the historical building, David Chipperfield has chosen to stay consistent to the original 1932 design in the building’s main exterior facade in the restoration. To facilitate the functions of contemporary art museum, the restoration extends the building eastward.
Cai Guo-Qiang: Peasant Da Vincis is the Rockbund Art Museum's inaugural exhibition.
ROCKBUND ART MUSEUM
20 Huqiu Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai 20002
