SZ Bay Culture Square to host intl. exhibitions

The highly-anticipated Shenzhen Bay Culture Square, a striking new cultural landmark located in Nanshan’s Houhai area, is set to open to the public by the end of this year. 

To celebrate its grand opening, the new design and cultural complex has announced a collaboration with two world-renowned museums — Tate and the Design Museum, London — to present two international exhibitions that will invite the public to appreciate the charm of top global design and art.

Photos from Shenzhen Bay Culture Square's WeChat official account

Shenzhen Bay Culture Square will partner with Tate to present the highly acclaimed exhibition of “Solid Light” installations by British-born, U.S.-based artist Anthony McCall. This exhibition will mark McCall’s first solo presentation on the Chinese mainland.

An early pioneer of experimental cinema and installation art, McCall is internationally renowned for his iconic "Solid Light" works — projections that use a thin mist to transform light into seemingly tangible, sculptural forms. 

Bringing together film, sculpture, drawing, and performance, the exhibition will feature four major "Solid Light" works alongside film, photography, and archival materials that document McCall’s extraordinary practice across five decades.

The second exhibition, “Chairs: Form, Function, Future,” is jointly curated by Shenzhen Bay Culture Square and the Design Museum, marking the first fruit of a three-year strategic partnership signed earlier this year.

Using the chair as a medium, the exhibition unfolds across six compelling themes: Material Expressions, Body Politics, Identity in Flux, Ecological Fables, Relational Topologies, and Digital Hybrids.

Within this context, the chair transcends its function as a mere object to become a device of thought and an active agent in the world. It silently reflects the richest experiments and innovations in design history, continually reminding us how design, embedded in the most ordinary things, shapes both our present lives and the future we imagine.

With a core mission to focus on design ontology, spotlight design life, and showcase a global vision, Shenzhen Bay Culture Square is composed of three main exhibition spaces — the Permanent Gallery, Themed Gallery, and International Gallery — aiming to articulate the relationship between design and innovation, aesthetics, and quality.

The International Gallery will bring major global exhibitions to Shenzhen through long-term partnerships with leading institutions worldwide. It aims to showcase the diversity and creativity of design art across different cultural backgrounds. 

Through cross-cultural dialogue on design art, Shenzhen Bay Culture Square seeks to explore how design can shape future lifestyles, promote social progress, and advance sustainable development, ultimately building a pivotal bridge for global design and cultural exchange.