Art Factories: in Shanghai : Urban regeneration experience of post-industrial districts

Abstract

The dissertation focuses on three aspects of art factory development and its implications, in the specific context of Shanghai's rapid urban regeneration, de-industrialization and gentrification. 1. The study reviews the different processes and modes of Shanghai's art factory development, from spontaneous to government-sponsored developments. It reveals how different interest groups such as governments, property owners, and artists, were engaged and cooperated in the process. 2. Based on case studies, the dissertation takes the approach of spatial analysis to discuss the transformation of public spaces, public images and the commercial, cultural and art-related spatial practices in the new "art factories". 3. The roles "art factories" have played in urban regeneration are examined, including their impact on the government's changing conservation policies, redevelopment strategies and new planning practices in urban post-industrial areas (especially the waterfronts). The dilemmas and social problems of the current art factory development are also discussed.