On April 29, 2021,“Dialogue, New Vision of Urban City – The Expo Public Art Exhibition” opened at World Expo Museum. Works exhibited adopted multidimensional forms involving multimedia, interactive video, installation art and new media, showing audience public art that integrates artistic, interactive, academic and educational features, which was a beautiful scenery of the May Day holiday.

　　For the purpose of creating humanistic cities, atmospheres and lives while leaving people more public green space, the exhibition focused on four aspects including “Dialogue to Public Art”,“Expo and the Development Process of Public Art”,“Academic Forum and Dialogue between Young Artists”, etc. by four corresponding sections including “Preface”,“Genesis and Growth”,“Resonance and Reverberatioon” and “Epilogue”. Started with public art that serves the public in urban spaces, the exhibition inquired to the relationship between Expo and public art through important public art works in the World Expo history and by contemporary artists, and inspired public thinkings of World Expos, of issues on the ontology of public art, and of the relationships between public art and the Expos, urban development and lives of citizens.

　　Guests attending the opening ceremony included Mr. Hong Hao, former deputy chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai People’s Congress and director-general of the World Expo Museum Council; Ms. Liu Xiuhua, curator of the World Expo Museum; Mr. Huang Jiancheng, the academic host of the exhibition, doctoral supervisor and the deputy dean of Institute of Management in Arts and Design at Central Academy of Fine Arts; Mr. Xu Zhong’ou, former dean of City Design School at Central Academy of Fine Arts and the dean of Pan Tianshou College of Architecture, Art and Design at Ningbo Universtiy; Mr. Zhang Fangbai, the deputy dean of College of Fine Arts at East China Normal University and director the China Expressive Arts Center; Ms. Wang Ke, the deputy dean of Institute of Management in Arts and Design at Central Academy of Fine Arts. There are also many other experts, scholars, and artists who have made great achievements in the area of public art and many college students from art colleges and universities attending the ceremony.

　　Director-General of the World Expo Museum Council Hong Hao, Curator of the World Expo Museum Liu Xiuhua, Deputy Dean of Institute of Management in Arts and Design at Central Academy of Fine Arts Huang Jiancheng and Deputy Dean of College of Fine Arts at East China Normal University Zhang Fangbai jointly witnessed the opening of the exhibition.

Speech by Liu Xiuhua, curator of the World Expo Museum

　　At the opening ceremony, Liu Xiuhua, the director of the World Expo Museum, said,“The 2010 Shanghai World Expo, interpreting the theme of ‘Better City, Better Life’, produced a series of public art works including overall Expo planning, park designs, streetscapes, service facilities, navigation systems and theme activities, with an expectation of beautifying the urban life field by culture and art while exploring and practicing the idea of “Cities are built by and for people” with a starting point of publicness. The theme of the exhibition,“Dialogue, New Vision of Urban City – The Expo Public Art Exhibition”, reflects our consideration of integrating art with the elements of cities and the theme of the World Expo in the exhibition. We hope that the exhibition conducts people’s emotional and mental dialogue and resonance, and further stimulates the creativity and vitality of the entire city.”

Speech by Huang Jiancheng, the deputy dean of Institute of Management in Arts and Design at Central Academy of Fine Arts

　　As the academic host of this exhibition, Huang Jiancheng, the deputy dean of Institute of Management in Arts and Design at Central Academy of Fine Arts, said,“Why public art is needed in World Expos? Because public art represents people’s expectations and thinkings about current life and the future of the city. At the contemporary time, a period that was described by President Xi as “changes unseen in a century”, while meeting the material needs by scientific research and technological creation, it is also important for artists to play the roles of thinkers, refiners and expressers to embody our spiritual needs of future urban life by World Expos.”

Speech by Zhang Fangbai, the deputy dean of College of Fine Arts at East China Normal University

　　As a representative of artists, Zhang Fangbai, the deputy dean of College of Fine Arts at East China Normal University, said,“Public art is ‘the art of public’, or the art of the society, which exists in public spaces and communicates with the public to share a spirit and value. This exhibition embodies an open concept – the life of art lies in openness and breakthroughs. The works in this exhibition show the contemporary Chinese landscape and aesthetics, and will bring a new style to the Chinese museums with an embodiment the new spirit in Shanghai.”

　　Looking back at the 170-year history of the World Expo, art comprises an integral part of the Expo, and different kinds of public art genre directly or inderictly enhances the landscape and environment of the host cities. Pyblic art brings a far-reaching impact on the development and optimization of urban structure. Every Expo provides a golden opportunity for the urban development through the intervention of public art which revitalizes and changes old communities into highlights fitting into the contemporary urban space. That explains why public art is multifunctional.

　　Since its birth, the Expo, as an international platform of communication, has become a place for an interactive exchange between people and art. The “Dialogue, New Vision of Urban City” could be inspired by the artists’ perspective of public art, generate their thinks about the urban life and art spaces.

　　The academic forum and the dialogue activity of young artists were held after the opening of the exhibition. Mr. Huang Jiancheng shared his speech on “Public Art and Space”; Mr. Zhang Fangbai gave a speech on “Public Art and Expo”; Mr. Xu Zhongou gave a speech on “Public Art and Traditional China”; and Mr. Tan Huang deeply discussed the theme of “Public Art and Urban Life”. After the theme forum, representatives of young artists including Zhuo Fan, Wang Yao, Wu Yangbo, Yu Peng, Liu Yanqing and Huang Huang also launched a dialogue and discussion of the new generation of art about the theme of “the contact of contemporary public art”.

　　The exhibition, hosted by the Shanghai World Expo Museum, acknowledges Institute of Management in Arts and Design (Sino-French) at Central Academy of Fine Arts for the academic supports, Shanghai Quanchuang International Culture Technology Co., Ltd. and BJSD Beijing Shanda Space Design Agency for the assisted supports, and the Shanghai World Expo Culture and Tourism Co., Ltd. for provided supports. The exhibition will last until May 29.