Shanghai’s edge – Suzanne Muchnic
Does anyone go to Shanghai to see contemporary art? It isn’t even mentioned in standard tour books touting the Shanghai Museum‘s ancient bronzes, Pudong’s glittering skyline and shopping, shopping, shopping. For most visitors, the quintessential Shanghai experience is sipping a drink at a bar overlooking the frantic traffic along the Bund while watching fireworks frame the Oriental Pearl Tower ” the UFO-like spire that symbolizes the city’s ambitions ” after seeing a few sights and maxing out a credit card.
But the forces of growth that have filled Shanghai’s sky with construction cranes ” China’s national bird, in current parlance ” have sparked a profusion of nonprofit exhibition spaces and commercial galleries devoted to avant-garde art.
