In the eyes of many, the West Bund — the so called "new cultural corridor" along the Huangpu River — is still a remote area.

But for Zhou Teihai, it is a perfect venue for his West Bund Art & Design fair scheduled for September 25 to 29.

"Can you find such a similar place elsewhere in Shanghai?" he asked, "Definitely no. It is sited in downtown along the Huangpu River filled with some historical trace. Here the view is splendid, plus it has a spacious exhibition area with incredible high ceilings."

Sited in an old 8,000-square-meter warehouse, the fair will introduce some new concepts in the management of an art fair. Of course, this is not the first time that Zhou, one of China's best-known contemporary artists, has been involved in an art fair.

Born in 1966 in Shanghai, Zhou is famous for his attempts to satirize much of modern Chinese art. He does not paint his own works, though he earned an arts degree from the School of Fine Arts at Shanghai University in 1989. A typical process for Zhou is to conceptualize a work, realize it on the computer, then rely on assistants to physically create it. He is known for appropriating the Camel advertising character known as Joe Camel (he plays it off his family name, "Zhou") and making large paintings that reference famous Western motifs from art history.

But Zhou has something bigger in mind — everything related to art is art.

Zhou helped launch the first real international art fair "ShContemporary" at Shanghai Exhibition Center in 2007, which some called the best art fair in Asia that year. Several years later, he became director of the Minsheng Art Museum. The new non-government art museum soon earned a reputation via a series of big exhibitions that included many big names in the art community, such as Zhang Enli.

"I am always interested in new things; perhaps that's why I can't stop," he said. "It is akin to the switch-role practice. Now I fully understand the position of an artist, a fair director and a curator, which broadens my way of thinking. I never give up the role of being an artist."

When some are still regretting that Zhou left behind ShContemporary and Minsheng Art Museum, Zhou makes a return. Judging from the name of the fair, "West Bund Art & Design," some would mistake it for being about the latest crossover trends between art and design.

"No, it is not about that," Zhou said, "It is still about art itself, but at the same time I add some design things separately at this fair."

Then why add design elements?

"Because we have the same target as buyers," he said. "Those art collectors are also interested in finding the top design elements either to decorate their house or for their own appreciation. So why not provide them both at an art fair?"

Surprisingly, only 20 top galleries around the world are invited to cover the 8,000 square-meter space at the fair, in addition to eight designing organizations, brands and designers.

Usually the number of galleries attracted to an art fair reflect the fair's popularity — understandable given that the fair's profit comes from selling in its exhibition booths.

"That's not contradictory," Zhou said, "Each gallery will have bigger space for a perfect display of their artworks. For example, at this fair, they have nearly 100 to 140 square meters per booth." He said that Yayoi Kusama and her "mirror room" and the artworks created by Anish Kapoor — heavyweight names in today's international art stage — would participate at the West Bund fair.

"This is the fair's strategy, to distinguish the image of our fair from other art fairs," Zhou said.

Bigger space and famous names seem likely to build the status of this coming art fair in Asia.

"Oh, don't say this at the beginning, but I am aiming at the status of number three in Asia," Zhou said.

Zhou prefers to keep a humble attitude, and the man is noted for his gentleness and politeness in developing his social web.

But based on his veteran knowledge of art and management, plus previous successes and strong social connections, this new edition of an art fair seems unlikely to disappoint attendees.

In recent months, Zhou has been fully occupied in scheduling the exhibition.

"Currently I can't give too many details about the design part, because we are still in the preparation period," he said, "But I promise that there will be some of the world's top furniture and luminaire design brands."

When talking about the location of the fair, Zhou gets excited.

"When I was first invited by the Xuhui District government to the West Bund, I was quite shocked," he said, "Here is no longer the 'lonely, sleepy area' in my mind, but instead, the new boulevard, the greenery and water affinity platform conjuring up a unique landscape along the Huangpu River. It is amazing that Xuhui District government thoroughly changed the look of this place in the past five years. The newly opened Long Museum West Bund and Yuz Museum, to be opened at the end of this month, are all in our neighborhood. Obviously fusing the annual 'West Bund Art & Design,' the West Bund Cultural Corridor is shaping up as the city's latest art magnet."