Art in the City: Space, Community and Cultural Operations

Taking Shenzhen as a site of inquiry, the forum examined how art enters the city and develops cultural ecologies through space, community, and sustained operations.

As a key session in the ATC Lab forum series, the discussion did not attempt to define or summarize a fixed “Shenzhen model.” Instead, it approached Shenzhen as a cultural condition that is still taking shape.

Shenzhen is often understood through technology, industry, and rapid urban development. Compared with established cultural centres, its artistic institutions, cultural spaces, and public communities remain in an active process of formation. The forum therefore addressed a practical question: how can art and culture enter a city of this kind and gradually develop communities, spaces, and cultural scenes that can be sustained over time?

Speakers from artistic practice, cultural spaces, and institutional operations drew on their own projects and working experiences. They discussed how art takes place within the city, how spaces attract and connect different communities, and how cultural projects can develop beyond one-off events into longer-term practices.

The conversation also examined the role of institutions and platforms in supporting sustained artistic production and public participation. Establishing a cultural venue does not automatically create a cultural community. Communities are formed gradually through consistent programming, public activities, organizational structures, and local collaboration.

Cultural operations therefore involve more than the management of venues or the production of events. They also concern how institutions build lasting relationships with their audiences, secure resources, and maintain a clear cultural direction within a rapidly changing urban environment.

Within this discussion, Shenzhen was not treated as an already defined cultural centre, but as an open question. Why does art enter the city? How can a physical space become a platform for cultural relationships? How do different groups form connections through artistic activity? What forms of funding, organization, and public participation are required to sustain cultural life?

Initiating Unit: Robb Report China
Organizers: Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Institute of Science and Technology for Art, Central Academy of Fine Arts, ACSE Foundation
Co-organizers: Asia-Pacific Youth Innovation Art Committee, 798CUBE, New Media Arts Foundation, ValleyHood, COLLECTA
Moderator: Kaiho Yu
Guest Speaker: Stefano Rabolli Pansera, Yuyang Wang, Weixin Yan, Suh Jin-suk, Chen Liu, Li Sun, Roh Soh-Yeong, Junxi Wu
Location: Valleyhood Shenzhen

From left to right : Suh Jin-suk, Yimeng Wang

From left to right : Roh Soh-Yeong, Stefano Rabolli Pansera, Li Sun

From left: Li Sun, Chen Liu, Yuyang Wang, Weixin Yan

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