What Power Station of Art does

Power Station of Art (PSA / 上海当代艺术博物馆) is China's first state-owned contemporary art museum, established in 2012 by the Shanghai municipal government in a repurposed early-20th-century power plant building on the Huangpu River South Bund. The museum operates as a multi-program platform rather than a single-product institution, organized around several core exhibition brands: the Shanghai Biennale (an internationally recognized biennial now in its 15th edition), the Emerging Curators Project (an annual platform for young Chinese curators launched in 2014 that has supported over 40 curators), the Power Station of Design, the New Cultural Producers (a Chanel Culture Fund collaboration launched in 2021), and the China Contemporary Art Collection Series. Supporting infrastructure includes the ETC Library (China's first public contemporary art and design library at 1,700 sqm), the Dododo Bookstore for art publications, and a tiered membership program.

The museum serves four primary customer segments: general public visitors attending exhibitions and public programs; contemporary artists (both international and Chinese) exhibiting at the museum and the Shanghai Biennale; emerging curators seeking professional development; and cultural institutions and foundations partnering on cross-cultural exchange. Revenue is generated through ticket sales, three membership tiers (Individual at 200 yuan/year, Dual at 300 yuan/year, and Prestige at 1,000 yuan/year), and bookstore sales. As a state-owned cultural institution, PSA does not publish financial statements and is funded through government appropriations supplemented by earned revenue.

PSA's go-to-market motion is event-driven, reaching audiences through exhibitions, public programs including talks, theater performances, and family activities, and the Shanghai Biennale. Distribution channels include the physical museum venue, a WeChat mini-program for digital ticketing and membership, the on-site Dododo Bookstore, and a membership program providing exclusive access. The museum has established strategic partnerships with Chanel (long-term partnership since 2024, including the Espace Gabrielle Chanel renovation in 2025), Cartier, M+ Museum Hong Kong, the Canada Centre for Architecture, the Lina Bo Bardi Institute, and the German Consulate General Shanghai, with international collaborations and exhibitions as a core strategic pillar.

Name

Power Station of Art

Legal name

上海当代艺术博物馆

Website

https://powerstationofart.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Power Station of Art (PSA) is China's first state-owned contemporary art museum, established in 2012 in Shanghai, operating a multi-program platform including the Shanghai Biennale, Emerging Curators Project, and ETC Library to serve public visitors, contemporary artists, and emerging curators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Shanghai

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Visitors purchase tickets to view exhibitions at the museum.
2. Membership Programs: Annual membership subscriptions offering free exhibition access, green channel privileges, member-exclusive events, and discounts at the bookstore and cafe. Three tiers: Individual (200 yuan/year), Dual (300 yuan/year), and Premium (1000 yuan/year).
3. Bookstore Sales: 对对对书店 (Dododo Bookstore) sells art books and lifestyle publications with membership discounts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Power Station of Art (PSA) is a state-owned contemporary art museum operating rotating thematic exhibitions, a Shanghai Biennale, curatorial development programs, a design-focused event series, a public library, and an on-site bookstore. It sells admission tickets, membership subscriptions, and art-related retail, and is targeted at the general public, art professionals, students, and design practitioners.

Product overview

Power Station of Art (PSA / 上海当代艺术博物馆) is China's first state-owned contemporary art museum, established in 2012 in a repurposed power station building along the Huangpu River. The institution operates as a multi-program platform rather than a single product, organized around several core exhibition brands and sub-programs. Its flagship product is the Shanghai Biennale (上海双年展), an internationally recognized biennial now in its 15th edition. Supporting programs include the Emerging Curators Project (青策计划), a annual platform for young Chinese curators launched in 2014; the Power Station of Design (设计中心), which focuses on architecture and design exhibitions; the New Cultural Producers (新文化制作人), a Chanel Culture Fund collaboration now in its fourth season; the Thematic Exhibition series; the China Contemporary Art Collection Series for museum collection retrospectives; the PSA Collection Exhibition; and the ETC Library (等等图书馆), China's first public contemporary art and design library at 1,700 sqm. Additional offerings include the Dododo Bookstore (对对对书店) for art publications and a tiered Membership program. The museum also provides public programming through talks, theatre performances, family activities, and special events across its facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 青策计划: 青年策展人计划，PSA年度展览品牌暨学术品牌项目，发掘华人青年策展力量
• 上海当代艺术博物馆设计中心
• 等等图书馆
• 上海双年展
• 对对对书店
• 嘉柏丽尔·香奈儿空间

Products and services

• Shanghai Biennale A major biennial international contemporary art exhibition held at PSA, featuring commissioned and curated works by Chinese and international artists. Targeted at the general public, art professionals, and international cultural visitors.
• Thematic Exhibitions Rotating curated exhibitions of contemporary art produced or hosted by PSA on focused themes. Targeted at general public visitors, students, and art professionals.
• Emerging Curators Project A structured curatorial development program that mentors emerging curators through funded project production and exhibition at PSA. Targeted at early-career curators and art researchers.
• Power Station of Design An annual design event series featuring exhibitions, talks, and forums on contemporary design practice. Targeted at designers, design professionals, students, and the design-interested public.
• New Cultural Producers A program supporting emerging cultural producers through project development and presentation opportunities at PSA. Targeted at emerging cultural practitioners and creative professionals.
• China Contemporary Art Collection Series Exhibition series presenting works from China's contemporary art holdings, providing scholarly and public access to key Chinese contemporary artworks. Targeted at researchers, students, and the art-interested public.
• PSA Collection Exhibition Exhibition showcasing artworks from PSA's own collection. Targeted at general public visitors, students, and art researchers.
• ETC Library An on-site public library specializing in contemporary art, design, and architecture references. Targeted at researchers, students, design professionals, and visiting public.
• Dododo Bookstore An on-site bookstore selling art books, design publications, exhibition catalogs, and museum-related merchandise. Targeted at museum visitors, designers, and art book collectors.
• PSA Membership Program Tiered annual membership providing benefits such as unlimited exhibition visits, member-exclusive events, and bookstore discounts. Targeted at local residents, frequent museum visitors, and culture enthusiasts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 67 artists from around the world participated in the 15th Shanghai Biennale
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Chanel (香奈儿)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 May 2024PSA and Chanel announced a long-term strategic partnership in May 2024 involving museum space improvements, documentation and collection research. The partnership includes the 'New Cultural Producers' project initiated in 2021, focusing on different creative fields each year including craftsmanship, architecture, theater, and text/art. The third floor of PSA was renovated and named 'Espace Gabrielle Chanel' (嘉柏丽尔·香奈儿空间).
• Chanel Cultural Fund (香奈儿文化基金)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2021Co-initiated the 'New Cultural Producers' (新文化制作人) project in 2021 with Chanel Cultural Fund, annually soliciting innovative exhibition proposals from creators across different creative fields. The project provides comprehensive exhibition platforms and support for curators, creators, and practitioners with cultural vision.
• Lina Bo Bardi Institute (丽娜·波与P.M.巴蒂研究所)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating on the exhibition 'Lina Bo Bardi: The Poetics of Survival' presenting the Italian-Brazilian architect's works in mainland China for the first time. The exhibition features over 300 works including architectural models, drawings, paintings, historical photographs, videos, and archival documents.
• German Consulate General Shanghai - Cultural Education Section (德国驻上海总领事馆文化教育处)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint presenter of the exhibition 'TECHNO WORLDS — FINAL SAMPLING' (人机迷离) as part of the five-year global touring exhibition project 'TECHNO WORLDS' initiated by German cultural institutions in 2021.
• Cartier (卡地亚)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCartier Art Foundation collaborated on exhibitions including 'A Beautiful Elsewhere' (陌生风景) in 2018 and 'Tree, Tree' (树，树) in 2021.
• M+ Museum Hong KongminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSA collaborates with M+ Museum on curatorial projects and exhibitions. Curator Wang Lei from M+ curated 'I.M. Pei: Life as Architecture' (贝聿铭：人生如建筑) at PSA in 2025.
• Canada Centre for Architecture (CCA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with CCA on the exhibition 'What is Modern? Chinese Architecture Biographies 1949-1979' (何以现代) presented at CCA in 2025-2026.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights10 records

Direct peers

• Yuz Museum Shanghai: Shanghai contemporary art museum located in the West Bund. Direct peer because it presents large-scale international contemporary exhibitions with comparable brand-sponsor engagement model and targets the same Shanghai contemporary art-going public.
• Long Museum (West Bund Museum): Shanghai-based contemporary art museum on the West Bund. Direct peer because it operates a major contemporary art venue in the same Shanghai cultural corridor (West Bund vs. South Bund), serving overlapping audiences and competing for the same exhibitions and sponsors.
• Rockbund Art Museum: Shanghai contemporary art museum. Direct peer because it operates within the same Shanghai institutional landscape, focusing on contemporary Chinese and international artists with comparable exhibition cadence and audience.
• Tai Kwun Contemporary (Hong Kong): Hong Kong's contemporary art center within a heritage compound. Direct peer because it combines contemporary art programming with public-program and curatorial-research offerings similar to PSA's Emerging Curators Project and ETC Library; PSA has co-curated with Tai Kwun curator Dr. Pi Li.
• UCCA Center for Contemporary Art (Ullens Center): Beijing-based contemporary art institution. Direct peer because it operates comparable contemporary art programming, member-driven business model, and biennale-adjacent exhibition strategy targeting the same tier of Chinese contemporary art audience.
• M+ Museum Hong Kong: Hong Kong's flagship contemporary visual culture museum. Direct peer because it operates a comparable scale of contemporary art exhibitions, biennale-grade programming, and cross-institutional collaborations with PSA (PSA and M+ have jointly curated shows such as the I.M. Pei retrospective).

Broad incumbents

• CAFA Art Museum (Central Academy of Fine Arts): Beijing-based art museum affiliated with China's leading fine arts university. Comparable as a major Chinese art institution presenting contemporary exhibitions, though its academic affiliation differentiates its programming and audience mix from PSA.
• MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts: Rome's national contemporary art museum housed in a repurposed industrial building. Comparable because it operates a contemporary art museum in a converted industrial architecture setting similar to PSA's repurposed power plant, with comparable curatorial and public-program offerings.
• Centre Pompidou: Paris-based national museum of modern and contemporary art. Comparable as an international contemporary art institution of similar curatorial ambition and biennale-tier programming scale, with whom Chinese museums benchmark global programming standards.

Emerging players

• Tank Shanghai: Shanghai contemporary art space converted from industrial fuel tanks. Comparable because it operates a contemporary art venue in a repurposed industrial building within Shanghai's West Bund art district, though smaller in scale and programming cadence than PSA.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PowerStationArt
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/power-station-of-art

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Power Station of Art