10th 'Amid Mountains and Seas' art festival opens in Shekou

The 10th "Amid Mountains and Seas" Art Festival (Shekou AMaS) officially opened today, inviting local residents and visitors to rediscover Shekou through a fresh perspective and embark on a journey of art amid mountains and seas. 

Posters courtesy of the Sea World Culture and Arts Center

Initiated by the Sea World Culture and Arts Center (SWCAC), this edition also serves as a special summer project of the "Shekou Art Walk" program. Themed "BINGO! SHEKOU," it extends art into streets, corners, and neighborhoods across Shekou, transforming the area into an open and interactive exhibition.

The event consists of seven thematic sections and dozens of activities across multiple neighborhoods. From artistic reinterpretations of street shops to redesigned walking routes, international graffiti projects and street performances, the festival, through unexpected encounters with art, aims to affirm: art is here, life is now. 

Hang Se Hau

At the heart of this edition is "Hang Se Hau (Walk in Shekou)," a project rooted in Shekou's layered urban identity. Often seen as one of the city's most vivid examples of urban hybridity. Responding to this setting, the project invites 22 local creators to temporarily step beyond the role of artist and become operators of local shops. By inserting little changes into neighborhood life, the project aims to subtly reshape how people experience familiar places.

Time: June 12–Aug. 30

Venues: Sea World, VILLA, Nanhai E-cool, and SWCAC (海上世界、太子湾花园城VILLA、南海意库、海上世界文化艺术中心）

'Take Your Time' Reading Street

The inaugural "Take Your Time" Reading Street seeks to raise people's awareness of reading as a daily habit. 

A special program of the Nanhai E-Cool subvenue of the ongoing 22nd China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair, the project turns the neighborhood into a temporary space for slow wandering, slow reading, and slow conversation. Publishers, bookstores, cultural brands and content creators will gather for themed markets, talks, curated displays and interactive installations designed to rethink the relationship between books, readers and public space.

Time: May 22–24

Venue: Nanhai E-Cool (南海意库)

'YKON's solo exhibition

Artist YKON will present "Under the Dream Scale Mark," a solo exhibition spanning Shenzhen and Beijing.

Known for a style built through collage, brushwork, gritty texture and displacement, YKON's work deconstructs familiar visual memories before rebuilding them into intentionally altered forms. The exhibition reflects on both fading fragments of the past and the reconstruction of personal and collective memory.

Time: June 13–July 19

Venue: Art Store, L1, SWCAC (海上世界文化艺术中心L1艺术商店)

Asian Youth Trend Culture Festival

The Asian Youth Trend Culture Festival will include a graffiti competition and a graffiti culture exhibition. Twenty graffiti artists from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan will participate in paired competition through random draws. The event aims to combine the vitality of street art with urban culture and transform public space into an open-air art venue.

Time: 

Graffiti competition: June 11-12 

Graffiti culture exhibition: June 12-Aug. 30

Venue:

Graffiti competition: SWCAC West gate parking lot  (海上世界文化艺术中心西门地面停车场)

Graffiti culture exhibition: SWCAC L1 glass space  (海上世界文化艺术中心L1玻璃空间)

World Cup x Artist Collaboration

Inspired by the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, artist Tan Xuan has created a soccer-themed illustrated map of Shekou. Centered around Shekou landmarks including Nanhai E-Cool, K11, VILLA and Sea World, the project uses soccer as a narrative thread to connect Shekou's international outlook with its local identity.

Time: June

Venue: VILLA (太子湾花园城VILLA)

THE DEAL AVENUE

Inspired by the theatrical aesthetics of "The Deal," this outdoor project extends stage design elements beyond the theater into waterfront public space. Printing-house motifs, vintage French visual references and immersive set design transform the plaza into an environment intended for strolling, resting and cultural encounters.

Time: May 30–Nov. 25

Venue: Sea World central plaza (海上世界中心广场)

'Wandering the Streets' artist pop-up

Developed as an extension of "Hang Se Hau," this projects sends artists into fishing docks, neighborhood restaurants, schools and other community spaces. Through workshops, conversations and collaborative activities, participating artists engage directly with residents and bring art to their everyday environments.

Time: June 12–Aug. 30

Venue: Across Shekou

'Diverse Mountains and Seas' neighborhood programs

The festival also includes an array of other activities including family workshops, children's arts education programs, community writing projects, public art collaborations and more casual public activities ranging from jazz and craft beer evenings to pet sports events and floral salons.

Together, these programs aim to connect galleries, office spaces, markets, parks and residential spaces into an evolving ecosystem of public participation — one designed to be open, local and shaped collectively.

Time: June–August

Venue: Across Sea World and VILLA (海上世界与太子湾片区)