Editor's note:

Architecture is frozen music, an epic of stone and a cultural monument. An art museum epitomizes this. In this "Art unfrozen: A journey through Shanghai's Cultural Monuments" series, we will guide you through an immersive experience, from the museum's special architectural style and gift shops to its cafeteria or coffee shops in the museum's neighborhood.

Aiming to level up with the world's top museums such as the Pompidou Center in Paris, the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, and the Tate in London, the art museums in Shanghai have been blossoming over the past decade. Visiting museums has become a lifestyle choice, as a social or recreational activity. The charm of an art museum permeates every corner. In addition to the exhibitions inside, what else can visitors enjoy on a cozy weekend afternoon at a museum? Get ready for a museum trip!

Power Station of Art

Background

Established on October 1, 2012, the Power Station of Art was the first state-run museum dedicated to contemporary art on the Chinese mainland. The PSA is also home to the Shanghai Biennale.

Renovated from the former Nanshi Power Plant, the PSA was once the Pavilion of the Future during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

The goal of the PSA is to build a bridge between contemporary art and the public, to bring together the best achievements of contemporary art both from home and abroad, and to use multiple channels to display, collect and preserve the best works of contemporary art.

It has also become a cross-disciplinary platform for comprehensive art that integrates contemporary art exhibitions, collections, research, exchanges and education.

Architectural Style

The museum has not only witnessed the city's vast changes from the industrial age to the information technology era, but also provided a rich source of inspiration for artists with its simple-yet-straightforward architectural style.

In 1897, the Nanshi Electric Plant lit the first lights of the Chinese people. In 1935, it relocated to Bansongyuan Road by the Huangpu River in the Nanshi area, where the PSA is now.

In 1985, the body and the chimney of the power plant were built. This power plant witnessed the rise of an industrious era, with more than 80 years of operation.

In 2010, Nanshi Power Plant became China's first three-star Green Building at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo's Pavilion of the Future. Its chimney was then turned into a colossal thermometer.

Standing beside the Huangpu River, the PSA now occupies an area of 41,000 square meters. With an internal height of 27 meters, the museum provides a perfect venue for the daunting and impressive display of contemporary artworks inside.

The PSA houses exhibition sections that add up to 15-thousand square meters, and its 165-meter chimney, being an independent exhibition space, has also become an integral part of Shanghai's world-famous skyline.

Cafeteria

Located on the ground floor of the museum, the cafeteria is inside dododo book, a bookstore was specially designed by French designer Matali Crasset. There are seven bookshelves set in a radial direction. Among them, the green radial line points to do cafe, the "energy supply station" of the bookstore. Visitors can frequent the unique space and enjoy a cup of coffee with a book selected from the shelves.

Gift Shop

The Bestsellers at the Gift Shop are fridge stickers, do bags and PowerG tote bags.

Fridge Stickers of "Impermanence – 40 Years of Estúdio Campana," an exhibition currently on show at PSA.

Humberto Campana and Fernando Campana co-founded Estudio Campana in 1984. Over the past four decades, the brothers have written a unique legacy in the design world with several subversive chairs. The fridge stickers are based on the selected manuscripts of the three chairs, reflecting the colorful and exuberant Brazilian designs.

If you go

Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday (closed on Mondays), 11am-7pm

Venue: Power Station of Art

Address: 678 Miaojiang Rd

Admission: Free (except for special exhibitions)