Murals on the 100-meter-long walls surrounding a future public art center that is under construction at 8 Hengshan Road in Xuhui. — Wang Rongjiang

ARTISTS are being invited to paint walls in downtown Xuhui District to turn a construction site into a temporary art gallery.

A graffiti painter Lin Zinan (also known as Zinan Lam) and his colleagues are braving the scorching weather to draw on the 100-meter-long walls surrounding a future public art center that is under construction at 8 Hengshan Road.

The graffiti work named The New Wave will be completed by Saturday and will be displayed for about three months. After that, other artists will be invited to create new works on the walls, an official taking charge of the construction project said yesterday.

Three-dimensional paintings, music and light will be added to future wall artworks. The construction walls — all 24 of them — will be demolished after the completion of the project. The life and art center will have galleries and other cultural venues for the public, the official said.

The district government has been decorating neighborhoods, streets and public transport to add an artistic flavor to the district.

In one campaign, the district government decorated a Metro train on Line 1 and another on Line 9 with many photographs taken by residents about the landmarks and historic structures of Xuhui. The trains named “Xuhui Civilization” began operating on the two lines from yesterday.