Shenzhen Art Museum

Shenzhen Art Museum

Shenzhen Art Museum is located within the scenic area of the Shenzhen Reservoir in Donghu Park, Luohu District, Shenzhen. Surrounded by lush green mountains and clear waters, it boasts pleasant scenery and serves as a cultural landmark where visitors can enjoy both the unique natural beauty and appreciate high art.

The predecessor of Shenzhen Art Museum was the Shenzhen Exhibition Hall, which was built in 1976 as the earliest art exhibition institution in Shenzhen. After the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, it was officially renamed Shenzhen Art Museum in 1987 with the approval of the municipal government. It currently covers an area of 5,500㎡, with a building area of 2,800㎡ and an exhibition area of 1,200㎡.

Since its establishment, Shenzhen Art Museum has leveraged its role as a “cultural window” of the special economic zone and its geographical advantage of being adjacent to Hong Kong and Macau to actively promote art exchanges at home and abroad through various forms of activities. In 2002, Shenzhen Art Museum defined its academic orientation as “focusing on contemporary art and local art.” It has since curated annual thematic exhibitions of Chinese contemporary art and Shenzhen local art to advance the development of both, establishing a strong image as a city art museum. In recent years, the museum has strived to provide comprehensive services to professional artists, art enthusiasts, and the general public, actively contributing to the public cultural service system and fully developing into a public-service-oriented art museum.

In line with its academic positioning, Shenzhen Art Museum has actively pursued relevant collections, gradually forming a collection specialty highlighted by masterpieces of 20th-century art, Chinese contemporary art, and Shenzhen local art. On this basis, it emphasizes diversity in collection types, acquiring a variety of high-quality artworks. Its current collection includes 4,608 pieces such as Chinese paintings, oil paintings, prints, sculptures, calligraphy, watercolors, comics, paper-cuttings, and photographs.

The collection includes works by renowned masters such as Pan Tianshou, Zhao Wangyun, Jiang Zhaohe, Li Keran, Wu Zuoren, Ye Qianyu, Li Kuchan, Huang Zhou, Wu Guanzhong, Lu Yanshao, Cheng Shifa, Tang Yun, Guan Liang, Guan Shanyue, Li Xiongcai, and Lai Shaoqi, as well as pieces by contemporary art masters like Zhang Xiaogang, Yue Minjun, Fang Lijun, Wang Guangyi, Zeng Fanzhi, Zhou Chunya, He Duoling, Xu Jiang, and Ye Yongqing. It also features outstanding works by Shenzhen local artists that reflect regional characteristics and the spirit of the times, many of which have won awards in national important exhibitions.

In its early years, Shenzhen Art Museum hosted a series of significant art exhibitions promoting Chinese art, such as the 12th National Print Exhibition, the 7th National Art Exhibition’s Gouache, Watercolor, and Pastel Exhibition, and solo exhibitions of masters like Wu Changshuo, Feng Zikai, Huang Binhong, Xu Beihong, Fu Baoshi, Jiang Zhaohe, Li Keran, Wu Zuoren, Li Kuchan, Huang Zhou, and Wu Guanzhong. In 1985, it successfully held the nationally influential “Shenzhen Art Festival.” In terms of contemporary art, the museum has, based on its academic goals, organized a series of influential and scholarly contemporary art exhibitions annually, from the “Images of Concept—2002 China Contemporary Oil Painting Invitational Exhibition” to the “Traces—2015 Contemporary Art Exhibition.” Regarding local art, it continuously researches and curates Shenzhen’s artistic creations, thoughtfully planning solo and group exhibitions by local artists, showcasing their abundant creative achievements. Additionally, the museum regularly holds exhibitions of works by renowned Chinese artists, witnessing the evolution, development, inheritance, and transformation of Chinese art through the ages.

Shenzhen Art Museum has consistently paid close attention to the current state of contemporary art creation and critical theory, demonstrating keen insight into issues emerging in the contemporary art scene and raising questions worthy of widespread attention and reflection within the art community. In addition to contemporary art exhibitions, hosting museum forums is another key initiative by Shenzhen Art Museum to uphold its academic positioning. The Shenzhen Art Museum Forum is held biennially and has successfully convened multiple editions to date, publishing several essay collections related to forum themes such as "New Horizons in Art" and "Art and Society." These academic activities not only enliven the atmosphere of art criticism but also promote further development of Chinese contemporary art creation and criticism. The theoretical articles collected in the related publications, addressing focal issues in the art world across different periods, provide theoretical support and insight for in-depth research and understanding of Chinese contemporary art.

In recent years, Shenzhen Art Museum has integrated public education with its exhibitions by leveraging its resources in collections, exhibitions, and academia. It offers a rich variety of public education activities through audio guides, volunteer-guided tours, academic lectures, art salons, seminars, symposiums, museum classrooms, art meet-and-greets, children’s interactive experiences, and activities for university and youth participants, fully reflecting the museum’s public and nonprofit nature. The museum has also strengthened the development of a professional volunteer team by providing training and lectures to enhance volunteers’ guiding skills, thereby better serving the public. Furthermore, Shenzhen Art Museum has been designated as the “Teaching and Research Base of Shenzhen Art School,” “Art Education Base of Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports and Tourism,” “Internship Base of the College of Art and Design at Shenzhen University,” “Internship Base of Shenzhen Polytechnic,” and “Activity Base of Meilin Community and Lianhua North Community.”

Address: No. 32, Donghu 1st Street, Aiguo Road, Shenzhen

Opening Hours: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Closed on Mondays. Free admission all year round.