SIP is exploring a new path to integrate art into urban life. By innovating on its public cultural services, it has brought art from museums and galleries to communities.

The Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art has initiated the “Life After 8p.m.: Community Art Portrait Project”, encouraging residents in two pilot communities to record moments of evening life and create paintings or other forms of art based on that.

In the first event under the project, about 300 residents shared their observations, recommended places for leisure and recreation in the evening, and created their own phenakistoscopes to showcase memorable moments of their lives. It is learned that an exhibition will be held this month to showcase achievements under the project.

The Harmony Times Square highlights performing art. The weekly “Blind Box of Art” has redefined the attribute of public spaces, and the upgraded “Live Stage” has ignited the passion for music among more people. The “Common Stars” program offers chances for ordinary people to dominate the stage.

The “Drawing SIP” sketching program initiated by SIP Public Cultural Center plays an important role in expanding public aesthetic education and recording SIP’s evolution through the pens of artists and art enthusiasts.

Moreover, a variety of reading campaigns have made books available in subway stations and other public spaces, and instilled the habit of reading into more people’s daily lives. SIP’s “Reading Buses” serve over 200 times each year to bring books to companies, schools, and residential quarters.

On the other hand, various events are frequently held to increase the public’s knowledge of intangible cultural heritage items and understanding of traditional Chinese life aesthetics.

June 4, 2025