Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has announced plans to open an eponymous contemporary art institution in late 2027, at its Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base. This futuristic complex, currently under construction, will also house JD.com’s new headquarters, according to an official statement.
The multidisciplinary space is set to span more than 10,000 square metres and include facilities for exhibitions, live performances, immersive installations, workshops and retail. The JD.com Museum’s programming will focus on the intersection of art, technology, ecology and urbanism.
JD.com said the museum’s Shenzhen-based team would be led by executive director Robin Peckham, a US-born, Hong Kong-based curator and editor who previously served as co-director of Taipei Dangdai Art & Ideas and editor-in-chief of LEAP – an international contemporary art magazine focused on China. Peckham has curated exhibitions for institutions including the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art and the K11 Art Foundation.
“I am thrilled to help launch a new cultural chapter for a company that is already one of the most fascinating stories in the development of the Chinese technology sector,” Peckham said in a statement. He described Shenzhen as feeling like “the most exciting place in the world to explore the intersection of art and technology right now.”
[See more: Major retrospective of Portuguese artist Helena Almeida on at Macao Museum of Art]
This year, ahead of its formal opening, the JD.com Museum plans to roll out a series of public initiatives under the banner “Unboxing JD Museum.” The programme will involve pop-up workshops and exhibitions using JD.com’s delivery boxes and will invite participation from artists, curators and JD.com employees, according to the announcement.
German architecture firm Büro Ole Scheeren designed the building that will house the forthcoming museum, with Shanghai’s Neri&Hu Design and Research Office handling the spatial design.
Dubbed “China’s Amazon” and founded in 1998, JD.com is the nation’s largest retailer by revenue and ranked 44th on the Fortune Global 500 list for 2025.
