Shenzhen aims to become a hotbed of creativity

On Thursday, Song Mei became a registered resident of Futian district, Shenzhen, which increased the district's permanent population to one million.

Futian accounts for about one-fourth of Shenzhen's population. Song was originally from Jiangxi province and now works as a landscape designer at a real estate company in Shenzhen.

The 24-year-old tells reporters that, when she first arrived in Shenzhen she was impressed by the gardens, bookstores and exhibition venues in Futian. "Such an inviting environment attracts anyone who loves life," she says.

Hailed as a "showcase" of China's reform and opening-up, Shenzhen has transformed from an unknown village into a hotbed for creativity.

Today, it has ambitions of being a design spearhead. It hopes to bring in more talented people like Song, who are attracted by its booming cultural landscape and who can further enrich it.

One of Shenzhen's coming attractions is the much-anticipated Design Society, a cultural hub in the Shekou area that will focus on design and society.

It is a collaboration between the State-owned China Merchants Shekou Holdings and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Located in the Sea World Culture and Arts Center, it is due to open in October.

Dutchman Ole Bouman, the director of the Design Society, says Shenzhen is a city of newcomers. He says there is a constant flow of people who not only to carve out niches in the economy but also develop unique positions for themselves.

"In a way, you can say, almost every Shenzhener is a designer," he says.

Bouman first worked in Shenzhen in 2009, lecturing on architecture. Two years later, he curated an exhibition about affordable housing. In 2013, he became the creative director of the Urbanism/ Architecture Bi-City Biennale Shenzhen.

Ole Bouman says Design Society, located in the Sea World Culture and Arts Center (right), highlights Shenzhen's potential of providing a custom-made kind of production through design. Courtesy of Design Society and Maki and Associates.

He was appointed the director of the Design Society two years ago.

"From a lecturer to an institution,my life has grown with Shenzhen," he says.

"I come from Amsterdam - a very old,mature and consolidated city and, in a way, also a city craving ideas. I do not think Shenzhen has a big problem in finding ideas because there is a fresh influx of ideas almost every day."

Bouman says the Design Society aims to highlight Shenzhen's potential for custom-made production through design.

With the Design Society, visitors will be able to enjoy exhibitions, events and performances.

Major exhibition spaces include a main hall dedicated to digital design and a V&A Gallery, "a physical manifestation of the collaboration" between China Merchants Shekou Holdings and the London museum, says V&A Gallery's head Luisa Elena Mengoni.

The V&A museum leads the development and design of the gallery. Also, it provides expertise in standard operating procedures for museum management, public programs and training.

Mengoni says the V&A Gallery will open with an exhibition called Values of Design. It'll display graphic designs, photos, fashion and digital designs from V&A's collection.

"It is about how value drives design and how design shapes the value of things."

Mengoni says the gallery is not a branch of the London venue, and future shows will be curated by the Design Society.

The Design Society will also have an outpost of the Guanfu Museum, a Beijing-based institution that will showcase Chinese antiquities.

All together, these shows will present the past, present and future of design.

But Bouman says the Design Society does not just want to be a showcase. It also wants to be a source of inspiration and seeks to provide a platform where people can create things.

He says the Design Society has a plan for artists' residency, makers' spaces and rooms for interactive cultural events.

He adds the society also hopes to reach out to the city.

So far, the Design Society has already reached out to locals.

It held a one-day event called Go! Design Community in November, comprising a street makers' market, talks and workshops as an example of what kind of programs it can offer.

"We would like to make it clear that we want to position design as a very broad field which is relevant to everybody, especially for Shenzheners," says Bouman.

"Hopefully it can be a place for Shenzheners to test their options - whether for an industry, a craft or a business."

linqi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/21/2017 page18)