What sparks will emerge when artificial intelligence meets young artists? The Paper reported yesterday at a press conference at the Liu Haisu Art Museum in Shanghai that the 18th Shanghai Youth Art Exhibition, to be held there starting September 13th, will for the first time focus on the core theme of artistic creativity in the age of artificial intelligence. With a record-breaking 4,060 submissions and a series of innovative initiatives, the exhibition aims to be an open, interactive, and sustainable youth art exhibition.
This year's exhibition has launched four major new initiatives to build a more open, interactive and sustainable youth art ecosystem, including the first collaboration with Shentong Metro to create the Shanghai Line 4 Art Loop Train (first departing from Yan'an West Road Station); the launch of a live creation reality show, and the first planning of the "YoungV Short Video Project", inviting participating young artists to take selfies and truly record the behind-the-scenes details of the creative process; empowering artistic dialogue with sound, setting up a special themed recording studio in the atrium of Haisu Cultural Plaza, and inviting important guests from the cultural and art circles to share their insights; in terms of the selection mechanism, an expert jury from the art world has been formed, and online voting is planned after the opening of the exhibition to allow the general public to participate in the selection.
According to the organizers, the most significant curatorial feature of this major exhibition is the extensive and in-depth involvement of young curators, as well as the expansion of the exhibition hall into public spaces outside the museum. All participating artists are from the post-80s and post-90s generation, having grown up in the information age and immersed in a technological environment. This model of "letting young people organize youth art exhibitions" injects fresh, diverse perspectives and innovative energy into the exhibition.
Exhibition poster
This year's exhibition saw a record-breaking number of submissions since the Liu Haisu Art Museum's new location resumed hosting this iconic exhibition, demonstrating the vibrant creative enthusiasm of young artists and the exhibition's growing influence. Beyond traditional flat painting and sculpture installation, the submissions showed a significant diversification, encompassing emerging art genres such as new media imaging, experimental photography, art design, digital art (including AI-generated art, algorithmic art, and virtual reality art), trend art (such as trendy toy design and street art derivatives), and cross-media installation. This broad expansion of creative media responds to the current surging artificial intelligence revolution and the resulting social and cultural changes.
Through their unique perspectives and cutting-edge media languages, young artists are resonating and responding to this era in which technology profoundly infiltrates our lives through their artistic creations. They demonstrate their diverse thinking, profound reflection, and bold experimentation on the symbiotic relationship between technology and art. Currently, approximately 400 works have been shortlisted for the exhibition after multiple rounds of rigorous review by an academic committee comprised of curators, academic chairs, renowned expert judges, and art scholars.
"In the context of the new algorithm-based artificial intelligence revolution sweeping the world, we urgently need to explore the various possibilities of human artistic creativity, imagination and response capabilities." Lin Mingjie, chief curator of the exhibition and vice chairman of the Shanghai Association of Literary and Art Critics, said that the reason why the theme of the exhibition directly points to the most cutting-edge scientific and humanistic issues is because the future direction of art and the relationship between man and machine in the great changes is not only a technical issue, but also a profound philosophical and aesthetic proposition.
The 17th Shanghai Youth Art Exhibition
The 17th Shanghai Youth Art Exhibition
Organizers explain that the exhibition features significant innovations in its curatorial approach, with a key feature being the first large-scale, in-depth involvement of young curators. The curatorial team comprises 15 outstanding young curators from various walks of life and generations, including Liu Haisu Art Museum's young curators Zhou Yang, Liu Lu, and Xu Jie, as well as Le Mengrong, Cui Yu, Li Zhengzhong, Zhao Lei, Lu Junyi, Shang Yimo, Bao Weiyue, Zou Yile, Wu Lin, Luo Shiping, Wang Yi, and Xia Lei. These curators will not only participate in the preliminary planning but will also take center stage, playing a vital role in every aspect of the exhibition. Together, they will inject fresh, diverse youth perspectives and innovative energy into the exhibition, embracing new artistic forces through innovative and iterative approaches to ensure the exhibition truly reflects the thinking and aspirations of young people.
Introduction of young curators
Curatorial Team
Founded in 1980, the Shanghai Youth Art Exhibition is not only a significant local cultural and artistic IP in Shanghai, but also a witness to the development of contemporary Chinese art and a nurturing cradle for artistic talent. This exhibition, for the first time, explicitly proposes and explores the vision of connecting the entire art industry chain. Leveraging this established and influential IP as a powerful magnet, the exhibition will not only showcase works but also strive to build a platform for communication, exchange, and exchange of ideas among a diverse group of young collectors, curators, art critics, scholars, media professionals, and influencers (KOLs).
This Shanghai Youth Art Exhibition is guided by the Shanghai Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau, Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Shanghai Committee of the Communist Youth League, and hosted by Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai Artists Association and Shanghai Youth Federation of Literature and Art. It will last from September 13 to November 23.
