Doctor’s orders: drink and dance! 🧪👨🏻🔬
Paging all partygoers: an arts collective is turning an abandoned hospital into an experimental art and music event in Shanghai.
The New Writing Supermarket (NWS), an arts incubator and community of creators, is built on the belief that art should be as accessible as any supermarket.
And this weekend, for two nights only (Friday and Saturday, July 10–11), NWS makes the case that art can be just as essential to our wellbeing as a visit to the doctor — empty wards will be filled with art, music and drinks at an event titled Backrooms Ward.
Dance your way over to the nurses’ station, which will be distributing drinks or ‘Social Enhancement Fluids.’ ⚗️
A subtle homage to Backrooms (2026), the latest horror film from American independent entertainment company A24, the event transforms the old hospital into an ‘in-between space’ existing just beyond reality.
“We accidentally discovered an abandoned hospital. Soon, the walls will be reduced to rubble.”
— Hana Chen, co-founder of NWS
“Before the hospital is transformed into a new space, we got the green light to throw an art event,” gushes Chen. “My boyfriend was telling me about alternate reality games (ARG) and backroom stuff, so I was like dude, this place is perfect for that.”
Backrooms Ward is neither a haunted house nor an escape room, but a liminal labyrinth of art and immersive experiences.
Over 20 artists — from dancers and DJs to poets and playwrights — will act as ‘doctors’ on duty in their respective rooms.
On June 24th, NWS put out an open call for artists across its social media channels, with submissions closing on July 2nd. “You may be serious, absurd, profound, or gentle. Installation, painting, movement, performance, music — or anything that doesn’t even have a proper name,” read part of the invitation.
EXAMPLES OF EXPERIENCES:
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Come witness a hospital’s final heartbeat as the New Writing Supermarket jolts the building from flatline to bassline. ⚡
After all, come August, the consultation rooms, hum of fluorescent lights, and every echoing corridor will become archive.
All visuals provided by New Writing Supermarket. This article may be referenced but is not to be replicated without prior consent from Time Out Shanghai.