Bund 18 Jiushi Art Gallery Hosts Cross-Cultural Exhibition 'Parrotgration'

If you go

When: Through June 29

Where: 2nd Floor, No 18 East Zhongshan Road Number One, Huangpu district

Open: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am – 6 pm (last entry at 5:30 pm)

Admission: Free

The Parrotgration Etre Passeur de Cultures exhibition.gif

The Parrotgration: Etre Passeur de Cultures exhibition is on display at the Bund 18 Jiushi Art Gallery. [Photo/Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum]

The Bund 18 Jiushi Art Gallery has launched its first exhibition of 2026, Parrotgration: Etre Passeur de Cultures. Co-organized by the Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum and Paris-based A2Z Art Gallery, the exhibition is supported by the Consulate General of France in Shanghai and forms part of the official program of the 20th Festival Croisements, a long-running cultural and artistic exchange series between China and France.

The exhibition brings together more than 70 works by 15 artists from around the world, spanning a range of media, including oil painting, ink art, and acrylic.

The term "Parrotgration" draws on a real-life story from Paris. In the 1970s, a shipment of tropical parrots escaped during air transport and began a new life in the city. Over the decades, their numbers in the Ile-de-France region have grown to an estimated 10,000 to 20,000. Once outsiders, these parrots have now become an unexpected part of Parisian life.

The curatorial team coined the term "Parrotgration" by blending "parrot" with "immigration", transforming a story of natural migration into a metaphor for cultural fusion. Many of the artists featured in the exhibition have their own experiences of migration or living between cultures, serving as bridges between East and West. Their works invite viewers to explore the deeper meaning behind "Parrotgration", a reflection on how new traditions take root while remaining connected to their origins.