Located at Shanghai’s Power Station of Art (PSA), Espace Gabrielle Chanel has opened to the public as mainland China’s first public library dedicated to contemporary art.

Designed by Japanese architect Kazunari Sakamoto, this 5,466-square-meter library occupies the third floor of PSA, the first government-run contemporary art museum in China. The library features a collection of more than 50,000 books and audiobooks, over 10,000 of which have been accessible as of Tuesday, as well as an upgraded exhibition hall and a terrace overlooking the Huangpu River. 

Espace Gabrielle Chanel emerged from a long-term strategic partnership between PSA and Chanel that launched in 2021. The first project by the Chanel Culture Fund in Asia, the partnership strives to “foster new ideas and emerging practices in contemporary Chinese craft, architecture, and theater,” according to a statement to ARTnews.

Yana Peel, Chanel’s president for arts, culture, and heritage, stated that the new library “embodies what is at the core of Chanel Culture Fund’s ideology—this idea of cross-cultural exchange, of honoring heritage, housing the archives of a nation, and also showcasing the best of what’s coming in the avant-garde.” 

Gong Yan, director of PSA, remarked: “Espace Gabrielle Chanel stands as a tribute to cultural pioneers and a stage upon which the narrative of new life, new culture, and new art continues to unfold.”

Founded in 2021, the Chanel Cultural Fund is involved in 50 projects around the world. In Asia, it has collaborated with Hong Kong’s M+, the Taipei Performing Arts Center, and Seoul’s Leeum Museum of Art. At PSA, there are future plans for Espace Gabrielle Chanel to establish an Archive of Chinese Contemporary Art and a 300-seat public theater. 

Joan Yiquan Chen is an editorial intern at ArtAsiaPacific.