A Shenzhen Retrospective | Part IV: Shenzhen's SIMOA museum brings art and tech into harmony

2026/10/22

Day four of our foreign journalist tour of Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province was an eventful one, with us being touted around to several sites to witness the wonders of Shenzhen and how the city is bringing us into the future.

The location that most captivated me, personally, however, was the Shenzhen International Museum of Art (SIMOA). Opened just this spring, the museum is a bit out of the way from the city center - in Guangming district - but in my opinion it's worth the trip to see a very unique collection of art in a quickly developing part of the city.

The exterior of the Shenzhen International Museum of Art (SIMOA) in Guangming district, Shenzhen city, south China's Guangdong Province. (People's Daily Online/Andrew Smith)

One of the first thing you'll notice about the museum is the imposing size of the building. At 135,000 square meters, it dominates the eye when first encountering it, and the interior has vast, wide open spaces that give one the sense of being able to fully engage with the art around you, rather than being overwhelmed by cramped or cluttered space.

Art installations in the main hall of the Shenzhen International Museum of Art (SIMOA) in Guangming district, Shenzhen city, south China's Guangdong Province. (People's Daily Online/Andrew Smith)

The museum, in addition to both temporary exhibits and a permanent collection, hosts educational initiatives such as regular classes, lectures and seminars as well as a large library and archive for artists and art researchers. It's not just a museum - it's a multifunctional institution dedicated to the expansion of arts and culture on a vast international scale.

During my visit, I was highly impressed by the exhibitions. The first exhibit we visited was a current temporary exhibition about Russian abstract art. As someone who has a deep affinity for Russian avant-garde art, particularly from the pre-revolutionary and revolutionary periods, it was a real treat to see some classic pieces that are still challenging, thought-provoking and cutting-edge all these decades later.

Visitors enjoy a special exhibit on Russian avant-garde art at the Shenzhen International Museum of Art (SIMOA) in Guangming district, Shenzhen city, south China's Guangdong Province. (People's Daily Online/Andrew Smith)

Another major exhibition that moved me was an exhibition using Chinese calligraphy, antique Chinese books, and traditional poetry arranged in various ways - wall to wall, on the floor, on the ceiling - to truly convey the beauty and heritage of China's millennia of written word as a work of visual art itself.

A series of art installations celebrating Chinese calligraphy and characters on display at the Shenzhen International Museum of Art (SIMOA) in Guangming district, Shenzhen city, south China's Guangdong Province. (People's Daily Online/Andrew Smith)

The most important, innovative and engaging part of the entire museum was the digital art pieces that permeated the entire building. Computer-generated, LED light-based and 3D-printed installations were everywhere, and truly challenged traditional notions of the meaning of art and how art is created.

Digitally-generated art on display at the Shenzhen International Museum of Art (SIMOA) in Guangming district, Shenzhen city, south China's Guangdong Province. (People's Daily Online/Andrew Smith)

Once again, much like the Shenzhen Library I mentioned in an earlier installment in this series, the SIMOA is a place where tech and culture are fused together to compliment and enhance one another. Art is a living, breathing medium that must keep up with the times and look toward the future, and the SIMOA is making sure that stays as true as ever.