Li Qian
Jing An Kerry Centre has launched its “Axis for Sparks” cultural season, partnering with global lifestyle magazine Monocle on a series of art- and culture-led events.
At the center is Monocle’s first pop-up store and café in China, now open in the North Zone’s L1 atrium.
Designed in the magazine’s signature minimalist style, the space features more than 200 curated items, from books and apparel to stationery and fragrance, along with Shanghai-exclusive products. A café, also making its China debut, adds a social layer to the retail space.
Calypso hosted the global debut of The Entrepreneurs Live, a forum linked to Monocle’s annual business publication The Entrepreneurs. The event brought together nearly 20 industry leaders and more than 100 entrepreneurs to discuss market trends, brand development and innovation.
Elsewhere, a street-corner newsstand created with Gr8 One has opened on L1, offering Monocle titles alongside a selection of publications from China National Publications Import & Export Group.
During the same period, JAKC has partnered with MAO Space to present the exhibition “Dragon Scale Binding and Contemporary Practice” by artist Zhang Xiaodong, a national-level inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage craft.
Staged at 57 and 65 Anyi Road, the show reinterprets the intricate bookbinding technique — originating in the Tang Dynasty court and once nearly lost — through a contemporary lens. Set within historic buildings tied to Shanghai’s urban memory, it explores the relationship between reading, time and cultural continuity.
The season runs through June 30, linking its programs into a continuous, walkable route—from the North Zone atrium to the historic buildings along Anyi Road. International and local elements, as well as retail and culture, are brought together into a single experience, encouraging visitors to move from viewing to participation.
The program also feeds into the city’s “FIRST in Shanghai” initiative, positioning JAKC as a hub where different cultural strands meet and interact within everyday urban life.
