With three major art events opening in Shanghai this week, (ShContemporary 08, Shanghai Biennale and Shanghai Art Fair), September is an important month for artists, galleries, art collectors and unemployed Art History students.  And alongside these big events, most galleries in Shanghai are also hosting special exhibitions with the hopes of attracting the attention of the international art collectors who are swarming the city. "Despite only being in its second year, ShContemporary now attracts more......

Way back in 1925, during the heyday of foreign imperialism in Shanghai, discontent was fomenting among the local populace over what were generally considered to be unfair privileges granted to foreigners and Chinese exclusion from the governing Shanghai Municipal Council. The deals the foreign powers had struck up with Manchu officials in the 19th century, suspect from the beginning, had little official legitimacy after the fall of the Qing more than ten years earlier. Tensions......

There isn't a live music update this week, but it's art shows galore TONIGHT. Three picks that aren't in your conventional Moganshan Lu / Taikang Lu destinations. ART LABOR GALLERY, from 5pm 10–36 Yongjia lu by Maoming Lu (永嘉路10-36号，近茂名路) Phone: 6431 7782, info@artlaborclub.com, www.artlaborgallery.com Art photographer Yuichi Hibi from New York City presents a selection of his works from his internationally acclaimed book imprint. Influenced by film noir and described by critics as “weirdly charged......

Time to take advantage of the start of the new academic year to learn something new at several upcoming events taking place here in Shanghai. Kicking off the fall season on August 30 is Pecha Kucha, a night of creative talks guaranteed to pack a punch by sticking to a limit of "20 slides for 20 seconds each". This month's session takes place at the Shanghai Sculpture Space, with a pre-show by Spanish artist Angel......

These days, Shanghaiist is rarely surprised about anything that happens in China. However, we did think that this news story did come from a little out of left-field. A Henan-based investor group is constructing a 21-kilometre (13 mile) long metal Chinese dragon as a tourist attraction. The dragon's body forms a nine-metre (27-foot) high wall running along a ridge-line, with the dragon's head rising 10-metres (30-feet) above the surrounding land. This project plans to cover......

Before we get started, Shanghaiist would first like to wish you a happy Chinese new year—may you get rich and get laid in 4705!After being placed under house arrest for two weeks, China is allowing aging AIDS activist Gao Yaojie to travel to the US to pick up an award.Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin has been picked to make the sculpture of Martin Luther King that will be placed in the King Memorial, which will be......

Shanghai plaintiff files wrongful death claim against Eastman in Madison County "Clevenger claims from the first moment his boss mentioned an international assignment, he responded that he and his family would go anywhere in the world except China." Interesting story. Ax In China TV Ads, In Nod to Muslims Porcine Prohibition "'China is a multiethnic country,' the network's ad department said in a notice sent to ad agencies late Tuesday. 'To show respect to......

Going to Beijing is a little like embarking on a Chinese safari - we see rare species (honest dedicated government officials), fascinating landmarks (Olympic Buildings, formerly known as Hutongs), and even blood-curdling adventure (Ring Road traffic at 5 pm). Beijing (not Shanghai) is the center of China’s independent art scene, with a huge concentration of artists, studios, and galleries. Shanghaiist scouted out the independent gallery scene during our trip last weekend. Some highlights: Red Gate......

The Shanghai Sculpture Space is exhibiting several works by French sculptor Auguste Rodin, starting from November 11 and ending on February 18. Thought you might want to know. Rodin: November 11, 2006-February 18, 2007. Shanghai Sculpture Space, 570 Huaihai Xi Lu, Open 10 am-4 pm daily except Monday. Tickets: 20 RMB. Ticket hotline: 6280 7844. Image from Sina.com.......

We know we are a bit late on this, but the Shanghai Biennale will be going on until November 4, so you still have time. The following are our observations from one day spent at the Shanghai Art Museum last week. We accompanied a friend who is into design to the opening of this Biennale, themed HyperDesign. It features more than 100 artworks by 93 groups of artists from 23 countries and regions. There are......

Via the Wooster Collective, we learned of what appears to have been a pretty cool art experience earlier this month at the Shanghai Sculpture Place. Unfortunately, everything we have read (including notes from the organizer) suggests it was just a one-night event with "lots of Tiger beer," which, we suppose, some people believe to be a good thing. The art on display at the party was created by the Brooklyn-based collective (we want to start......

Shanghaiist headed out to the city government on Wednesday morning to check out what was happening with the housing protester folks, who go there every Wednesday to meet with officials in hopes of solving their cases. It's been several months since we last reported on these folks, and nothing much seems to have changed. There are still of plenty of pissed off people. Wary of making too much of an impression on the guards over......

TIME magazine's advice: Learn Mandarin. Their subhead: "China's economic rise means the world has a new second language—and it isn't English." Hmmm. Really? We're all for learning Chinese -- our lesson starts in 30 minutes -- but would you really suggest someone who speaks neither English nor Chinese, choose Chinese as their second language? Obviously, the answer depends on the person and whether they, say, plan on doing business in China or something. But we......

Pablo Picasso said that and we have no idea what it means. Shanghaiist is a bit out of our element writing about art, especially sculpture, so take this review with a grain of salt. We decided to check out the newly opened Shanghai Sculpture Space's exhibit entitled "Sculpture a Century" (our 12th grade Scottish English literature teacher would surely have sighed and tsked tsked upon seeing this). There are three main areas, representing different styles......

Shanghaiist headed over to Xujiahui Park last weekend to meet French artist Patricia Peides, who is visiting Shanghai to participate in the first Shanghai International Biennial Urban Sculpture Exhibition, part of the 2005 Shanghai Art Fair. This four-month long exhibition features nearly 300 sculptures by 70 artists from China, England, France and the United States, aiming to improve the image of public art in Shanghai. Thirty-five sculptures are on display in Xujiahui Park, while the......