Espace Gabrielle Chanel opens at the Power Station of Art: a new cultural landmark for Shanghai

Espace Gabrielle Chanel has officially opened on the third floor of Shanghai’s Power Station of Art, marking a major milestone for contemporary culture in Mainland China. The new space, which includes the country’s first public art library dedicated to contemporary art, reflects Chanel’s long-term commitment to cultural innovation through the Chanel Culture Fund.

A new cultural anchor for contemporary art

At the heart of Espace Gabrielle Chanel is an ambitious public art library, the first of its kind in mainland China, housing an impressive collection of 50,000 books and audiobooks. More than 10,000 titles are immediately accessible to visitors, alongside the newly established Archive of Chinese Contemporary Art, an initiative designed to preserve and contextualize artistic practice across the region.

Chanel positions the library as an embodiment of Gabrielle Chanel’s belief that art and culture enrich everyday life. According to the house’s leadership, the project celebrates the thinkers and creators who continue to expand the boundaries of contemporary culture.

Inside the architecture of ideas

Spanning 18,000 square feet, the library was conceived by renowned Japanese architect Kazunari Sakamoto, who previously exhibited at the Power Station of Art. His design emphasizes clarity, openness, and a carefully considered flow between public and private space. The result is an environment where reading, research, and reflection coexist seamlessly with exhibition areas and a 300-seat public theater.

Visitors will also find a newly renovated gallery and a terrace overlooking the Huangpu River—an architectural gesture linking the institution’s industrial past with its cultural future.

Chanel Culture Fund: expanding global cultural networks

The opening of the library represents the latest and most significant chapter in Chanel’s partnership with the museum, and is an extension of the Chanel Culture Fund’s mission to support institutions that nurture artistic experimentation. Since its launch in 2021, the fund has supported 50 projects in 15 countries, including significant collaborations in Hong Kong, Taipei, and Seoul.

At the Power Station of Art, the fund’s work began with the Next Cultural Producer program, focused on emerging ideas in architecture, craft, and performance. Espace Gabrielle Chanel now becomes the program’s permanent anchor in China.

“It has been such a beautiful, organic evolution of our partnership with PSA’s Gong Yan and with PSA, beginning with the Next Cultural Producer program in 2021 — it was our first program in Asia, where we focused on craftsmanship, on architecture in a very intellectual way — in a very local way,” Yana Peel, President Arts, Culture & Heritage at CHANEL, told WWD.

A space designed for the community

Both Chanel and PSA emphasize that the project was shaped with local engagement in mind. Museum leadership describes the library as a space created to bridge knowledge gaps, strengthen research networks, and offer the public a meaningful entry point into global contemporary art. The library’s Chinese name, “Dengdeng,” meaning “waiting,” reflects the long journey from its original architectural blueprint to its realization today.

By integrating both physical and digital resources, the library aims to serve scholars, students, and casual visitors alike—providing access not only to art literature but also to contemporary design, architecture, social sciences, and craftsmanship.