A group of artists are busy in Xinhua Subdistrict, Changning District. They are strolling, observing, chatting with neighbors and merchants, and pondering how public art can "intervene" in community space. The same goes for Huanbin and Guixiangfang in Caoyang New Village, Putuo District. Artists are considering what kind of art works can be adapted to the local space. As well as Tianlin Subdistrict, Xuhui District, relevant personnel are beginning to transform the flower and bird market next to Puhuitang into a public cultural leisure space. This year, in partnership with Changning District and Putuo District, the Shanghai Urban Space Art Season (SUSAS) 2021 will be opened on September 25, with Columbia Circle as the main venue and all districts in Shanghai as supporters. Its theme is "15-Minute Community Life Circle: People's City". All district exhibition areas are now in full preparation to introduce public cultural spaces and pleasant life scenes that can be reached by residents within a 15-minute walk. Why was such a theme chosen for the biennial SUSAS?

The window of urban development in art

Shanghai Urban Space Art Season is held every two years since 2015. It is co-sponsored by Shanghai Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism and all district governments. According to the Municipal Planning and Resources Bureau, in May 2015, the Shanghai Municipal People's Government issued the Implementation Measures of Shanghai Urban Regeneration, and in September of that year, the first SUSAS was held in Xuhui Binjiang with the theme of "Urban Regeneration". The art season is actually a reminder of urban development in the form of culture and art for citizens, just like a showcase. The theme of each SUSAS is synchronized with urban development of Shanghai. During the first SUSAS, Shanghai launched an urban regeneration plan that highlights four major concerns of citizens and major shortcomings of urban functions: community service, innovative economy, historical inheritance and slow living.

In 2017, the SUSAS with theme "Connection" took the Pudong Minsheng Wharf Granary as the main venue, which drives the trend of developing pleasant leisure spaces along Binjiang Promenade. In 2019, the SUSAS with theme "Encounter" took the former address of Shanghai Shipyard as the main venue. A group of world-famous artists' public art works tailored for Binjiang leisure spaces were on display in Yangpu Binjiang, and "encountered" citizens visiting here. Dilapidated industrial areas were transformed into lifestyle exhibition areas, allowing more forms of cultural and artistic works to take root.

Equality and sharing of public space

The theme of SUSAS 2021 "15-Minute Community Life Circle - People's City" comes from "People build city for people". In other words, a city's public space should reflect the happiness index of its citizens, which is also an embodiment of the city's "soft power".

Each SUSAS has witnessed the progress of making the city more artistic and art more accessible to the people. Since Shanghai initiated the connection and opening of public spaces along the Huangpu River and Suzhou River, a 6km moat promenade in Jiading old Town has been connected; Footpaths on both sides of a 23km river in Qingpu New Town has been connected; Jinhai Lake in Fengxian District and Spatial advancement along the Pengyuepu River in Jing 'an District and so on were introduced in SUSAS 2019. At the World Urban Forum 2014, Shanghai took the lead in putting forward the concept of 15-minute community life circle, "In the era of ecological civilization, a city is an organic living body, and community is the cell in this living body, as well as the basic unit of urban survival and development in the networked era. To be specific, we should create an exquisite, convenient and sophisticated daily life circle within the range of 15-minute walks, so as to further realize the flexible combination of functions, the integration of industry and city, and the balance between employment and residence, and enhance citizens' sense of belonging, achievement and happiness in the community." It can be said that the forum is a "follow-up" to the World Expo Shanghai 2010 with a similar theme "Better City, Better Life." A speech on the forum mentioned that "Given that urban space creation has entered a stage of quality, art and humanization, we should inject artistic soul into public open space, and attract artists and ordinary citizens to participate in the shaping and creation of urban space quality." Shanghai Urban Space Art Season is the practice of "urban art". Shen Lieyi, curator of Xinhua Subdistrict Public Art Program, named his section as Plan Cell, which means that he hopes that art in community life will become the nourishment for community cells from the inside out.

A continuous daily life of art

The SUSAS is usually held around September every two years. In line with the theme, high-level design cases, art exhibitions and performance activities will be presented in an immersive way in the regenerated urban spaces. During the SUSAS, various arts will fill public spaces like water by taking opportunities such as international art festival and civic culture festival, endowing these spaces with diversified forms and charms.

The art season lasts only a few months, but urban regeneration never stops. Shanghai has long made efforts to create the 15-Minute Community Life Circle. In 2016, the 15-Minute Community Life Circle Planning Guideline was released in Shanghai. In 2019, Xinhua Subdistrict in Changning District was selected as the first pilot area for urban regeneration. Since then, the 15-Minute Life Circle Action Plan has been prepared and a list of projects has been drawn up and 77 items among them have been completed in three years. As a result, rich and complete service facilities have been built, such as civic and cultural centers, community schools, comprehensive aging service centers and other spaces that integrate service, culture, and leisure. Beautiful subdistricts such as Xinhua Road and Panyu Road will be the exhibition places of SUSAS 2021, attracting citizens to understand and participate in community construction through the medium of art. Taking the community as the exhibition venue to hold SUSAS is also a practice of "People build city for people", just as the concept of the art season: culture rejuvenates the city and art builds the city.

 

(Zhu Guang, Xinmin Evening News)