Dramatic art museums with high entry bars worry some local artists (2)

Cultural landmarks

"The high-entry bar may reduce the number of various exhibitions that used to be held frequently in Shanghai," said Lu Chuntao, a middle-aged Shanghai painter who plans to hold a solo exhibition of his new ink-wash works at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Singapore.

"Originally I planned a tour exhibition, first stopping in Shanghai and then Sinapore. However, this turns out to be a mission impossible," Lu says.

The museum in Pudong replaces the former Shanghai Art Museum in the downtown People's Park area, which had frequent changes of exhibition and showcased a great deal of varied art. Built in 1933 as the clubhouse of the Shanghai Race Club, the museum was in operation for 13 years and was home to the Shanghai Biennale. It was closed permanently on December 31, 2012. The government is yet to announce its future use.

"In fact, there are many exhibition halls in the daunting new space, but due to the high entrance level, it is not easy to find a place for yourself," Lu said.

"Of course, I am not opposed to building it into a top museum in Asia and the world," said Lu. "But there should be some other choices for artists so they can exhibit their works."

Another downtown museum, the Liu Haisu Art Museum, is closed to the public for a year since last September as a new site for the museum is under construction. It will take more than two years before the new museum opens its door to the public.

On the private side, Shanghai has a limited number of options. They include the Minsheng Art Museum, the Long Art Museum and the Rockbund Art Museum.

Minsheng has been quiet for a while after a reshuffle of its curating team. The team so far has not been productive in organizing exhibitions.

Private museums

The Long Art Museum exclusively features the collection of its owner, Liu Yiqian.

Rockbund Art Museum adopts a high-end strategy. Its solo exhibitions only target big stars such as Zhang Huan and Cai Guoqiang.

Solo exhibitions are very important to an artist, sometimes marking the conclusion of an artistic period, a showcase for new works and a reminder that the artist is still active.

Gallery space is limited, not everyone is invited to exhibit, and the purpose is commercial.

"Finding a suitable venue for artists is a bit tough this year," says noted local artist Want Yuhong. "Museums are the ideal venue, since they are more serious and academic. Some galleries invite me to exhibit, but they are more commercial and the space is too limited."

Museum exhibitions also signify an artist's academic recognition and status.

Tourist destination

The downside of being so popular is that the Shanghai China Art Museum is becoming too "touristy." The 300,000 people who visited during the Spring Festival were mostly tourists, not locals, says Wu Wenwen, spokeswoman at the museum.

Li Lei, former director at Shanghai Art Museum and now an organizing member of the new museum, defended the new museum.

"Why it is not good for tourists to visit Shanghai China Art Museum? Art has no boundaries. It is our hope to spread art to more people. They may not intend to visit an art museum but because of the charm of the former China Pavilion, they will unwittingly begin a journey of art. Consequently, they might bring their children for a second or third visit when they come to Shanghai."

Unlike the Shanghai China Art Museum, the Power Station of Art drew only 4,000 Spring Festival visitors to the site of the former Expo Future City Pavilion in the old power plant. It definitely lacks the star power of the China National Pavilion.

Andy Warhol

Its first solo exhibition will be held in April for noted American pop artist Andy Warhol, according to one of the museum's curators Xiang Liping. Xiang agreed that the museum set a high bar for artists who want to showcase their artworks there.

"Of course, we will consider the possibilities for Chinese artists to exhibit their artworks here," Xiang said. "They can submit their requests and the academic committee at the museum will have the right to say no or yes."

Xiang's words echoed with Li Lei.

"Our next exhibition will be an American contemporary art exhibition. We are at the infant stage in running such a gigantic, quality museum. We hope to bring more top quality exhibitions to build the museum's image. But certainly we will reserve space for Chinese artists in the future."

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