On October 28, Shanghai Television's "News Report" program featured the Taopu plot that had lain abandoned for over two decades and was transformed through urban renewal into the Taomanli art community. Leveraging an "art empowers the community, the community nourishes art" model, the project achieved full occupancy within just over a year of opening, delivering impressive business results.
On October 28, Shanghai Television's "News Report": Idle rural homes made a stunning comeback to become an art district, with Taomanli reaching full occupancy within a year of opening. The old, deserted Taopu plot, abandoned for more than twenty years, delivered a surprising business answer after urban renewal. The Taomanli art community achieved one hundred percent occupancy just over a year after opening. Behind this popularity is Taomanli's development model of "art empowers the community, the community nourishes art."
Located in Taopu, Taomanli features standalone buildings arranged in a scattered layout, with art sculptures dotting the streets and alleys, exuding a rich artistic atmosphere. It is hard to imagine that this place was once a stretch of idle rural homes left barren for over twenty years. Through urban renewal and business format restructuring, it has now become an open public space for daily leisure for surrounding residents. "It used to be very abandoned and overgrown with weeds; now it has kept pace with the times, and that artistic vibe has emerged," said Jin Yinyan, a villager from Liziyuan Village.
Since opening more than a year ago, all sixteen standalone buildings in the park have been fully rented. Unlike ordinary cultural and creative parks that rely on simple leasing, here artists have transformed from "tenants" into "co-builders." "Right downstairs from us is the Fangcunshan Contemporary Art Center, which is very convenient. Whenever there are activities or suitable works, we can directly exhibit them — that is a great form of support," said Zhan Xinglong, a resident artist. A German artist, Zhou Haonan, who has been rooted in Shanghai for twenty years, also brought his new works to move in. He said, "This is a good platform. My works need a home. Seeing many aunties taking photos with my works is quite nice and quite interesting."
After moving into the park, artists exchange their use of studio spaces by offering public art education classes and creating customized works exclusive to the park. This not only effectively reduces their rental pressure but also provides surrounding residents with abundant cultural resources. Yang Lujia, an art education consultant based in the park, said: "We now hold roughly two to three large weekend art salon events each month, mainly for public welfare. In the early stages, they gave us some rent reductions, which is very friendly to us." "We will create a form for the artists — for example, each quarter they need to provide some public service courses, art education courses, or exhibitions for our community. That way, artists both participate in co-building and develop more affection and connection to this community," introduced Zhang Jing, founder of Taomanli.
Business has warmth, and art has the breath of everyday life. Taopu Town provides full supporting services for artists, including business and industrial-commercial registration, and has explored a replicable path of "art empowers the community, the community nourishes art." Gao Weichao, Deputy Party Secretary of Taopu Town, stated, "These administrative affairs related to establishment and founding are all handled directly by the park through a one-stop service. We also hope that the creation of this public welfare platform can reach back and benefit our surrounding communities, providing artistic cultivation and cultural enrichment for more of our people."
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