Soul Art Center / TEMP

Founded by a former media executive, the art center is the latest establishment in Beijing's 798 district. Nestled in one of the buildings on the main street, it gets a touch of history symbolic of the Soviet-German-China industrial partnerships from the 1950s. In the 90s, these Bauhaus structures became the breeding ground for an emboldened artistic community, paving the way for a neighborhood hosting cutting-edge galleries and boutiques. The project takes its name from "sòng 頌". Despite its similarity to *song* in English, it embodies more than the art of music. This poetic format originates from rituals that chant ode to higher beings with reverence. No culture lives without rituals. Commissioned to give the space an ambitious new start, TEMP revitalizes the space with a drastically different approach from its previous tenants. Referencing ritual sites from across cultures, the team carefully crafted an unassuming journey singing to art, an ode to its secular spirituality.