Shanghai's efforts to bring art to the people are paying off, as more than 4 million people are expected to participate in the ongoing China Shanghai International Arts Festival.
The 17th annual festival runs through Nov 16, with 46 performance projects and 10 exhibitions around the city, with a majority of the artists coming from abroad.
More than half of the performing companies scheduled to give formal shows in theaters and opera houses at the festival will also perform at some public spaces during their stay in Shanghai. This is part of an annual initiative, Art Space, launched last year within the festival's framework to introduce art to a wider public, especially those who can't afford theater tickets or can't attend such a venue.
Theater performances are expected to have a total audience of 150,000, and the community-outreach events could be seen by 2 million, says Liu Wenguo, artistic director of the festival.
Also, hundreds of cultural performances will take place in the 17 districts and counties of downtown and suburban Shanghai, potentially pushing the total number of people seeing one or more festival events to 4 million.
"These free public performances have raised people's interest in art," Liu says.
He compared the free outdoor performances of Art Space to "free sampling" in promotions of the retail industry. "They don't hold people back from buying tickets to the theater-instead, after the exposure to art, they are more likely to become intrigued and buy tickets to the theater show."
A US company's debut performance of Bandaloop in China at the Kerry Center compound in Jing'an district kicked off the Art Space series on Oct 15.
Bandaloop is a "vertical dance performance", where dancers turn the dance floor on its side. The company is based in San Francisco, and founder Amelia Rudolph used to say that the company's performance is "life-affirming" rather than "death-defying".
The performance at the Kerry Center featured dancers hanging from the glass walls of the mega-mall, presenting a show that combines climbing, dance, acrobatic and aerial stunts.
Most Art Space performances are free to the public, though some require online reservations for an exclusive viewing position. Besides the Kerry Center compound, performances will take place in four major spaces in the downtown area: Century Square on the pedestrian street of Nanjing Road East, the lawn in front of Shanghai Concert Hall, Zhongshan Park and the Lujiazui Central Greenland in Pudong, as well as other public spaces in the 17 suburban districts and counties of Shanghai.
The cost of these outdoor performances is covered by the municipality, Liu says.
A major highlight of the Art Space project was a series of opera performances at an outdoor platform at the North Bund.
It was an unusual experience creating a show at the North Bund, says Marco Carniti, director of the La Traviata production and the concerts. The stage was set in front of the spectacular scenery of the Huangpu River, and Carniti was challenged to integrate the urban skyline of Shanghai with the opera and concert setting, while keeping audiences focused on the stage and performance.
It was like "building a cathedral in a desert", he says. Inspired by the glass skyscrapers of Shanghai, he designed a stage set consisting largely of glass.
Another festival initiative is the Youth Week at Shanghai Theater Academy. In the event, which runs through Sunday, the academy will open its doors for performances of experimental theater shows, folk operas, music and lectures all day.
Every year the festival commissions a series of young artists' creations, as part of its efforts to support original and experimental art, as well as encouraging young talents.
The commissioned projects of this year will be performed at different theaters and studios of the academy during the campus open week.
