Innovative new art space to open in Shanghai

Shanghai will open a new cultural landmark on the west bank of the Bund on Saturday, when three exhibitions are set to transform a new art space built from five giant oil tanks into a wonderland of arts and imagination.

The art space, Tank Shanghai, was created from five tanks once used for fuel storage at Longhua Airport. Built in 1917 by the Huangpu River in Xuhui district, the airport closed in 1966 and was demolished in 2008, but the tanks were saved.

It took architect Li Hu and his international award-winning Open Architecture firm six years to reconstruct the industrial heritage into the art space surrounded by a park.

Tank Shanghai will serve as a non-profit organization promoting contemporary art from home and abroad, said Qiao Zhibing, a leading collector of contemporary art, and founder of Tank Shanghai.