The Beijing Culture and Art Center, which opened in January in the heart of the city, doesn't see itself as an up-end art space, but rather as a "back garden", where residents can gather for chats while enjoy interesting shows and their children can participate in a variety of programs after school.

Hosted in a traditional courtyard house, the institution is staging exhibitions to share with visitors links between the past and present, its director, Cui Qiao, says.

The ongoing inaugural exhibitions, running through March, include the Muji Award 04 in China that displays award-winners of the Japanese brand's fourth-edition design competition and Muji's poster collections; Skeleton-Infill, which shows architectural designs for the public good; and Saving Face, a multimedia installation that discusses interactions between people and cyberspace.