Standard Chartered pioneers 'Global Chinese Services' initiative

Standard Chartered has long focused on addressing clients' aspirations beyond wealth, seeking shared identity and values among global Chinese communities — a vision resonating with the concept of a "shared destiny".

Meanwhile, to highlight the bank's role in China's modernization, Standard Chartered officially opened the "PIXEL HORIZONS 1858-2025:Standard Chartered Global Chinese CONTINUUM" at Shanghai's century-old historic site ZhangYuan on March 27.

Structured around the bank's 167-year history in China, the exhibition explores three dimensions — history, urbanity, and modernity — through the dual concepts of "reflections" and "boundlessness", showcasing Chinese artists' profound dialogues between cultural exploration and financial civilization.

Co-curated by Richard Li, head of wealth and retail banking, China & DCE China, group head of global Chinese at Standard Chartered, and Cao Dan, president of MMART+ (the Art platform of Meta Media), and publisher of The Art Journal, Art Review China and LEAP (Hypermedia Group's cultural platform), the exhibition features collaborative works from seven groups of Chinese artists based in London, New York, Rotterdam, Shanghai, and beyond.

The choice of ZhangYuan as the venue reflects its deep historical ties with Standard Chartered. The exhibition is housed at No 41 ZhangYuan's Yuan Link (W16), a protected heritage building whose first owner, Wang Xianchen, once served as the comprador for The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China (now Standard Chartered). Wang witnessed the rise of Shanghai's financial sector, leaving indelible imprints of the bank's century-long interplay with the city within this Sino-Western architectural gem.

It has been learned that through this exhibition, Standard Chartered wants to demonstrate its commitment to cultural empowerment. Using bronze mirrors as a symbolic thread, the show interweaves historical archives with contemporary art, highlighting both the bank's role in China's modernization and the cross-media expressions of Chinese artists in fostering cultural identity within a globalized world.