Carrier Bags from the Peripherals
“Next Cultural Producer” Season IV: “Text and Art”
Exhibition Design
Shanghai Power Station of Art
2026
Shanghai Power Station of Art
2026
On view:
07/16/2026 - 10/08/2026
Curators:
Li Yalun, Qian Mengni
Exhibition Design:
Y+Y Studio (Li Yalun, Zhang Yiran)
Collaborators:
Graphic Design: Li Ruozhu
Exhibition contractor: YUU Design and Construction
Photography:
Chen Hao, Ling
Courtesy:
©CHANEL
©Shanghai Power Station of Art
Location:
Shanghai Power Station of Art, Espace Gabrielle Chanel (third floor)
07/16/2026 - 10/08/2026
Curators:
Li Yalun, Qian Mengni
Exhibition Design:
Y+Y Studio (Li Yalun, Zhang Yiran)
Collaborators:
Graphic Design: Li Ruozhu
Exhibition contractor: YUU Design and Construction
Photography:
Chen Hao, Ling
Courtesy:
©CHANEL
©Shanghai Power Station of Art
Location:
Shanghai Power Station of Art, Espace Gabrielle Chanel (third floor)
From July 16 to October 8, 2026, the “Next Cultural Producer” programme, co-initiated by the Power Station of Art (PSA) and the CHANEL Culture Fund, will present its fourth season, “Text and Art.” The winning proposal, Carrier Bags from the Peripherals, will unfold at psD within the Espace Gabrielle Chanel (third floor) of PSA. Following previous seasons dedicated to craft, architecture, and theater, this season interrogates how text—in both its broad and specific senses—operates as a creative language and conceptual model to permeate and activate breakthrough narratives within contemporary art and diverse cultural practices.
The newly selected “Next Cultural Producers,” Li Yalun and Qian Mengni, depart from two vital “texts” of everyday life—news reports and fictional writing—to examine the intricate relationships between text and art, and between the individual and the world. In their view, creative practices across journalism, literature, contemporary art, moving image, and architecture all possess an unparalleled sensitivity to glean the fragile, the soft, and the humorous from the peripherals of everyday life, while simultaneously reflecting or resisting various forms of invisible structural violence against women and other marginalized groups. By gathering these scattered fragments of the unspoken and the unspeakable, one may forge a connection between the self and the world—just as reading news reports allows one to break out of informational cocoons, and engaging with literature enables a departure from the limitations of personal experience.
Throughout the exhibition, a series of public programs will unfold around the dual axes of text and art. In the opening roundtable, artists, filmmakers, architects, and writers with profound personal experiences relating to “texts” will be brought together to discuss the multiple trajectories through which text is transformed into artistic form. Using Kim Ae-ran’s novel Knife Marks to open a broader discussion, a special dialogue will question the resonance triggered by fictional writings that address complex social contradictions. In addition, the curators and participating artists will lead diverse public learning programs, guiding visitors to “collect from the peripherals” and enter the primary sites of artistic and textual practice to retrieve neglected voices and memories.
The newly selected “Next Cultural Producers,” Li Yalun and Qian Mengni, depart from two vital “texts” of everyday life—news reports and fictional writing—to examine the intricate relationships between text and art, and between the individual and the world. In their view, creative practices across journalism, literature, contemporary art, moving image, and architecture all possess an unparalleled sensitivity to glean the fragile, the soft, and the humorous from the peripherals of everyday life, while simultaneously reflecting or resisting various forms of invisible structural violence against women and other marginalized groups. By gathering these scattered fragments of the unspoken and the unspeakable, one may forge a connection between the self and the world—just as reading news reports allows one to break out of informational cocoons, and engaging with literature enables a departure from the limitations of personal experience.
Throughout the exhibition, a series of public programs will unfold around the dual axes of text and art. In the opening roundtable, artists, filmmakers, architects, and writers with profound personal experiences relating to “texts” will be brought together to discuss the multiple trajectories through which text is transformed into artistic form. Using Kim Ae-ran’s novel Knife Marks to open a broader discussion, a special dialogue will question the resonance triggered by fictional writings that address complex social contradictions. In addition, the curators and participating artists will lead diverse public learning programs, guiding visitors to “collect from the peripherals” and enter the primary sites of artistic and textual practice to retrieve neglected voices and memories.
Within the enclosure formed by the wooden panels, the recurring openings—window and door frames—offer a hint of the intimate experience of “home,” while stitching together the experience of “the peripheral” with that of “the interior.” When reading at the periphery, one catches a glimpse of the artworks and the audience; while in the interior, one views framed pieces of text and the moving silhouettes of readers. In this web of projected gazes, the openings operate as scenographic backdrops as well as picture frames.
Within the abstract white space of the gallery, the openings speak directly to the bodily scale and vistas (sightlines). Lined with oat-colored felt and softly lit, these familiar openings evoke tender memories of domestic space.
Within the abstract white space of the gallery, the openings speak directly to the bodily scale and vistas (sightlines). Lined with oat-colored felt and softly lit, these familiar openings evoke tender memories of domestic space.
Drawing upon the “carrier bag” theory proposed by the American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, the exhibition rejects the hegemony of grand, linear narratives to instead accumulate fragments of the everyday, thereby inviting the audience to reflect on the power dynamics between the subject and object of narrative.
The exhibition design transformed the image of the “carrier bag” into an inhabitable interior: continuous wooden panels unfold into a curvilinear “bag,” dividing the space into the interior and the periphery. These wooden panels, lined with soft felt on the interior, enclose 31 works from the fields of contemporary art, architecture, literature, etc. Visitors begin their viewing at the periphery, where an in-depth news report, “The Tragedy of a Newlywed Teacher’s Fatal Fall,” and Kim Ae-ran’s fictional short story, “Knife Marks,” are printed on the walls.
![]()
The exhibition design transformed the image of the “carrier bag” into an inhabitable interior: continuous wooden panels unfold into a curvilinear “bag,” dividing the space into the interior and the periphery. These wooden panels, lined with soft felt on the interior, enclose 31 works from the fields of contemporary art, architecture, literature, etc. Visitors begin their viewing at the periphery, where an in-depth news report, “The Tragedy of a Newlywed Teacher’s Fatal Fall,” and Kim Ae-ran’s fictional short story, “Knife Marks,” are printed on the walls.
Participating Artists:
Cao Seng, STUDIO FSJ, Amiko Li, Liu Fujie, Liu Ren, Li Li Ren, Dunes Workshop, Haiting Sun, Yiyao Tang, Yang Luzi, YIIIE Architects, Zhang Hanwen, Zhang Kerui, Daisy Ziyan Zhang, Zheng Yuan, Stella Zhong, Tant Yunshu Zhong
参展艺术家名单：
曹僧、方书君工作室、李文嘉、刘符洁、刘任、任莉莉、沙丘研究所、孙海霆、唐艺窈、杨露子、一介建筑、张瀚文、张可睿、张子彦、郑源、钟笛鸣、钟云舒
![]()
Cao Seng, STUDIO FSJ, Amiko Li, Liu Fujie, Liu Ren, Li Li Ren, Dunes Workshop, Haiting Sun, Yiyao Tang, Yang Luzi, YIIIE Architects, Zhang Hanwen, Zhang Kerui, Daisy Ziyan Zhang, Zheng Yuan, Stella Zhong, Tant Yunshu Zhong
参展艺术家名单：
曹僧、方书君工作室、李文嘉、刘符洁、刘任、任莉莉、沙丘研究所、孙海霆、唐艺窈、杨露子、一介建筑、张瀚文、张可睿、张子彦、郑源、钟笛鸣、钟云舒
Connector plates, staples, strap ties...all tectonic details speak the language of “collecting”.
The reusable modular panels are built from pine framing and birch plywood sheathing. Categorized into two typical panels—Type A with straight edge, and Type B with 45-degree chamfered edge—they are capable of negotiating the convex and concave moments of the curved enclosure. Metal connector plates fastened to the framing serve as high-tolerance “hinges” between adjacent panels, allowing the angles to be calibrated on-site, while maintaining structural stability. Ultimately, these standardized 1200mm-wide linear panels assemble into a fluid, undulating curved enclosure.
Along the interior, staples anchor the felt to the plywood in a curated rhythm, suggesting the soft sheltering of a temporary dwelling. At the door openings, thin sheets of felt are rolled up and casually tied with straps, showing us traces of the caretaker's hand.
The reusable modular panels are built from pine framing and birch plywood sheathing. Categorized into two typical panels—Type A with straight edge, and Type B with 45-degree chamfered edge—they are capable of negotiating the convex and concave moments of the curved enclosure. Metal connector plates fastened to the framing serve as high-tolerance “hinges” between adjacent panels, allowing the angles to be calibrated on-site, while maintaining structural stability. Ultimately, these standardized 1200mm-wide linear panels assemble into a fluid, undulating curved enclosure.
Along the interior, staples anchor the felt to the plywood in a curated rhythm, suggesting the soft sheltering of a temporary dwelling. At the door openings, thin sheets of felt are rolled up and casually tied with straps, showing us traces of the caretaker's hand.
