MEIXI LAKE MUSEUM OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART - CHANGSHA, CHINA

Changsha Meixi Lake Co. is developing the Meixi Lake International Service Area in the Pioneer District, located on the western side of Changsha.  The Pioneer District encompasses 1,200 km2.  Meixi Lake sits in the center of this zone and spans 14.8 km2.  An International Research and Development Center, International Business Center, International Art and Culture Center, and International Residential Center are being developed on the shore of this 3,000 acre lake. 

With an architectural design by Zaha Hadid, the International Art and Culture Center will be a critical component of this development.  Since November 2011, GCAM has been actively engaged in the design and development of a new museum of contemporary art for this Center: the Meixi Lake Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.  The Zaha Hadid-designed museum is approximately 30,000 square meters, half of which will be exhibition space. 

GCAM’s Concept Development Study proposed a museum that was dedicated to exhibiting, preserving and promoting Chinese and international art from 1850 to the present.  A dynamic range of exhibition spaces was proposed that encompasses a Center for Design, Technology, Fashion and Architecture; a Big Box for site-specific installations by contemporary artists; exhibition spaces for rotating special exhibitions; a Center for Chinese and Hunan Art; a Global Platform exhibition space divided into three geographical regions to feature work by selected international artists rotating every 18 months; and a permanent collection exhibition space.

An official ground breaking ceremony took place in November 2012.  The museum is currently under construction.