Music and art to enrich summer evenings at Sinan Mansions
Zhou Jiaqi introduces the illustration created for Sinan Mansions.
A music festival and art exhibition were launched at Sinan Mansions over the weekend to mark the beginning of summer nightlife events at the historical landmark.
Ten bands from home and abroad are presenting free outdoor concerts every day across the mansions through Sunday for the annual Summer Music Festival.
Popular French bands based in Shanghai, such as Made In France and Cocarde as well as Jive Lizards from the United States, are performing classic swing music, jazz, pop, rhythm and blues and folk music along with brass, harmonica and saxophone ensembles.
The event, part of the "Sinan Yé," or Sinan Night activity, aims to introduce various professional music styles to citizens. Visitors to the mansions are expected to encounter a live concert at every corner of the landmark site.
A large number of visitors are attracted to the exhibition.
Meanwhile, a modern illustration exhibition titled Moments has been launched at the Sinan Time Zone, a popular art gallery at one of the historical mansions.
Three local young artists jointly developed the exhibition featuring paintings, photos and art installations. The exhibits, including many created during the lockdown after the COVID-19 outbreak, display the most beautiful moments in daily life in the eyes of young Shanghai artists.
A Glimpse of Life, an award-winning illustration by Zhou Jiaqi, portrays two women having dinner together.
"The artwork was created during the COVID-19 lockdown last year, when dining at a restaurant with friends became difficult," Zhou said.
The painting has won the 2021 American Illustration 40 Chosen Winner and World Illustration Awards Longlist.
A visitor is intrigued by the paintings.
The artists have also been invited to create an illustration each about the mansions.
Tan Bowen, another famous illustrator, painted a couple hugging each other amid the historical villas of the mansions. He was inspired by an old photo of his parents taken at college.
Zhou painted two women dressed in modern office suits and cheongsam having coffee together at the mansions. It aims to showcase the blend of modern and historical ambiance of the site, she said.
The Sinan Night event is open to the public free every Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 1pm and 9pm. Artists, designers, painters, florists, chefs and coffee-making masters are interacting with visitors during the event.
The mansions, the only wholly preserved historical garden villa complex downtown, include more than 50 historic villas in various styles. Many were former residences of celebrities such as poet Liu Yazi (1887-1958) and Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang (1894-1961). Some have been converted into hotels, cafés, restaurants and shops.
Shi Kefan, a local young artist, introduces his painting.
A group of illustrations by young artists.
