Shenzhen Launches New Contemporary Art Biennial

The first edition of the Shenzhen Biennale, dedicated to contemporary visual arts, will run from May 11 to July 30, 2018, at Shenzhen Bay Park and Luohu Art Museum. The biennial is organized by the non-profit Tweet Arts Centre, founded by Chinese patron He Jing, with support from the Shenzhen Government and Shenzhen Cultural Development Funds. Curated by Gary Xu, Zehui Tang, and Janet Fong, the exhibition features 47 artists, including international names like Damien Hirst and Chiharu Shiota. Five Italian-based artists—Maurizio Donzelli, Arthur Duff, Alberto Gianfreda, Laura Renna, and Francesca Pasquali—will create monumental public works under the curatorial guidance of Ilaria Bignotti and Alice Cazzaniga, with support from Marignana Arte in Venice. The biennial's theme is 'Open Sources,' reflecting Shenzhen's status as a global high-tech hub (home to Huawei). The Luohu Art Museum, a non-profit space designed by URBANUS, co-curated the previous Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture with MAXXI director Hou Hanru. This event marks Shenzhen's continued effort to become a platform for international creative scenes, following its architecture biennial founded in 2005.