UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Contemporary art museum in 798 Art Zone, Beijing, China
The UCCA Center for Contemporary Art is a contemporary art museum in the 798 Art Zone of Beijing's Chaoyang District, housed in a converted industrial building. Multiple floors contain exhibition galleries that rotate displays of modern artworks throughout the year.
The museum was founded in 2007 by Belgian collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens, transforming a former electronics factory into a contemporary art institution. This conversion was part of a broader movement that developed the 798 Art Zone into a major cultural hub in Beijing.
UCCA's name comes from Belgian collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens, who founded it in 2007; the Chinese name 尤伦斯 transliterates their surname. The opening show, "'85 New Wave: The Birth of Chinese Contemporary Art", was the first museum exhibition devoted to that 1980s movement. Today the centre runs lectures, panel discussions, film screenings, performances, workshops and festivals alongside its exhibitions.
The building is located in a lively art district with other galleries, studios, and cafes nearby, making it worth exploring the wider neighborhood. Weekday visits are generally less crowded than weekends, especially in the early afternoon hours.
The building was designed by East German architects from the Dessau Design Institute, the postwar successor to the Bauhaus, and first opened in 1957 as part of Factory 798. Its renovation in 2007 was led by architects Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Qingyun Ma, and in 2018 the Dutch firm OMA redesigned the entrance and added a café.
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