Between Lake and Hills: The Inaugural Songshan Lake Biennale Writes a New Urban Narrative with "Traceable Interdependence"

Rooted in the Greater Bay Area's position as a center for innovation, the Biennale seeks to explore how art and design, through site-specific engagement, can offer sensitivity responses of humanistic values within a landscape shaped by technological rationality, thereby offering an esthetic proposition.

Between Lake and Hills: The Inaugural Songshan Lake Biennale Writes a New Urban Narrative with "Traceable Interdependence"

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Curated by Yang Yong and Zhu Rongyuan, the Biennale brings together 50 interdisciplinary participants from around the world. Working across diverse media and methodologies, the artists and designers draw inspiration from local ecology and the lived experience of urban growth. The curatorial framework unfolds across three interrelated dimensions: the genetic, the spatial, and the relational, and takes shape across six sections. Together, they respond holistically to Songshan Lake's hybrid urban character, where technological intelligence and ecological foundation co-exist, carrying forward the humanistic ideals embedded in the area's planning since the early 2000s, when more than 30 architects and planners collaboratively shaped its development.

LUMA Lighthouse by Kuehn Malvezzi Architects

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Building on years of research and practice in art-inspired urban development and the activation of public spaces, the curatorial team from Shangqi Art approaches Songshan Lake's 22-square-kilometer natural landscape with both confidence and sensitivity. Within the Public Art section, 27 artist participants have been commissioned to create new site-specific works. These projects are designed to enhance the visual and experiential quality of the urban space while encouraging interaction among residents from diverse backgrounds through shared esthetic experiences, fostering public spaces for rest, reflection, and dialogue. Nearly ten works will remain on view as long-term installations, contributing to a growing repository of urban aesthetic value and nurturing a shared public spirit that can be passed on across generations.

Through its multi-layered approach, the Biennale further foregrounds the concept of "Embodied Urbanism"—the interplay between body, space, and city—in the Thematic Exhibition, which examines how individuals perceive and experience everyday urban life in the post-information age. An Archive Exhibition traces the evolution of the Songshan Lake High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, while collaborations with six invited art institutions bring global perspectives on community co-creation. In addition, five architecture studios have been invited to adaptively re-imagine infrastructure and industrial landscapes, and more than ten public programs are organized to introduce poetic expression and inclusive dialogue within highly specialized contexts.

The launch of the Songshan Lake Biennale marks a new chapter in the evolving cultural landscape of the Greater Bay Area. It is a journey of return—back to local histories and shared origins—and an experiment in symbiosis, exploring how art, technology, nature, and humanistic values can co-create together.

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