June brings a vibrant mix of art, from local graduates to international voices. Step inside, take a closer look, and let each space tell its story. Here's a small selection of what's happening around the city, just for you.
Qingzhou Smile: Buddhist Images of Qingzhou, China
青州微笑：中國古青州佛造像藝術展
Few discoveries in Chinese archaeology have attracted as much international attention as the Buddhist sculptures unearthed at the Longxing Temple site in Qingzhou in 1996. This major exhibition brings together 62 masterpieces spanning five centuries, offering visitors a rare chance to encounter the celebrated "Qingzhou Smile," known for its gentle expressions, graceful forms, and remarkable serenity.
Created between the 6th and 11th centuries, these sculptures emerged at a crossroads of cultural exchange, where Buddhist traditions from India and Central Asia blended with Chinese aesthetics. The result was a unique sculptural language now regarded as one of the high points of Chinese Buddhist art.
Beyond their artistic beauty, the works tell a deeply human story. Many were created during periods of war and political upheaval, yet their calm, compassionate expressions convey hope and resilience. From elegantly draped Buddhas to contemplative bodhisattvas, the exhibition offers an intimate look at how faith, art and everyday life intersected in medieval China.
Event Details
Guangzhou
Dates: June 20 to December 19 (closed on Mondays)
Venue: Hall 1, Guangzhou Museum of Art (广州艺术博物院)
Address: No. 198 Yiyuan Road, Haizhu District
Admission: Free (museum entry)
Exhibition ticket: RMB 78 per person
Where to get tickets: Scan the QR code below
*On June 11 at 12:00 PM, limited-time tickets go on sale:
Flash Sale: RMB 19.9 per person (2,000 tickets)
Early Bird: RMB 49 per person (5,000 tickets)
Bingo! Shekou: The 10th Shekou AMaS
BINGO! SHEKOU 第十屆蛇口山海藝術節
This summer, Shenzhen's coastal district of Shekou becomes a city-wide canvas as the 10th Shekou AMaS returns under the theme "BINGO! SHEKOU." The festival features seven major thematic sections, interwoven with dozens of neighbourhood-based programs, transforming everyday urban spaces into a living network of art, with exhibitions, performances and installations unfolding across streets, shops, and community corners.
Rather than being confined to galleries, artworks appear unexpectedly in daily life, inside local stores, along pedestrian streets, and within community spaces. The program features site-specific installations, graffiti events, pop-up performances, and participatory workshops, inviting visitors to encounter art as part of ordinary routines rather than a separate cultural experience.
Highlights include works by contemporary artists YKON (鱼枪), WHYYY (黄立炜), and Tan Xuan (谭轩), alongside community-driven projects that blur the line between artist and audience, streets become galleries, residents become co-creators, and daily life becomes infused with creativity.
Event Details
Shenzhen
Dates: May 22 to August 30
Venue: Nanhai E-Cool; Sea World Culture and Arts Center; Prince Bay Garden City Villa
BETWEEN LANDSCAPE AND IMAGINATION:Contemporary Italian Art in China
風景與想像之間——義大利當代藝術在中國
The exhibition brings together nine Italian artists exploring how we see, remember, and imagine the world through contemporary art. Moving across painting, photography, and video, it uses landscape not just as subject matter, but as a way of thinking and perceiving.
Rather than telling a single story, the show unfolds as a series of visual experiences. Paintings by Paolo Parisi, David Rinaldo, Luca Bertolo, and Giulio Saverio Rossi balance abstraction and figuration, rethinking what painting can be today. Marco Bagnoli adds a reflective tone, where precise structure meets ideas of spirituality and inner order.
Photography by Goldschmied & Chiari, Giovanni Ozzola, and Luca Trevisani captures moments that feel suspended in time, transforming ordinary scenes into meditations on memory and perception. Video works by Yuri Ancarani and Luca Trevisani explore the subtle interplay of sound, silence, nature, and human systems.
Across these practices, the exhibition invites viewers to slow down and reconsider how images shape our understanding of time and reality. It is less about fixed meaning, and more about the act of looking itself.
Event Details
Guangzhou
Dates: May 29 to August 5 (closed on Mondays)
Venue: Hall 5/6, 2F, Guangdong Museum of Art (Bai'etan) (广东美术馆新馆)
Address: No. 19, Bai'etan South Road, Liwan District
Admission: Free
Reservation: Via the WeChat official account of "广东美术馆" (pinyin: guang dong mei shu guan)
2026 Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts degree show
2026廣州美術學院畢業展
The 2026 Degree Show at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (GAFA) presents graduation works from students across the academy, including undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The exhibition showcases projects from Innovation Design, Visual Arts Design, and Architecture & Applied Arts, and more, highlighting a wide range of creative practices at the culmination of their academic journey.
Running from May 19 to June 27, the exhibition will be held in three phases. For more details, please refer to: 2026 Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts degree show to open on May 19
Event Details
Guangzhou
Dates: May 19 to June 27 (closed on Mondays)
Venue:
GAFA Art Museum (University Town Campus)
GAFA Art Museum (Changgang Campus)
Memorial Hall of Lingnan School of Painting (Changgang Campus)
Admission: RMB 10 per person
Where to get tickets: Da Mai
Reporter | Li Muzi
Poster | Lai Meiya
