At the western end of Beijing's Xishan Cultural and Creative Avenue, the Middle Art Museum is located here. Founded in 2011, the Middle Art Museum and the surrounding art institutions were planned and rebuilt on the basis of the old factory building, and now it has formed a number of cultural venues such as art museums, theaters, concert halls, and art centers. Artistic practice in the Middle Arts District is taking place subtly in the west of the city, and every year a large number of young people come to the theater to perform, watch old movies, see exhibitions... Art, film and theatre are constantly breaking boundaries and merging with each other here.
In fact, the predecessor of the Middle Art Museum was established in 2008 and officially registered as a non-profit art institution in 2011. In the past ten years, the museum has experienced two directors, Yuan Zuo and Lu Yinghua based on their respective artistic practices and research directions, from focusing on painterliness to focusing on academic combing as the goal; in practice, the middle art museum insists on facing Chinese problems and scenes, looking for appropriate ways to explore the evolution trajectory of art. In the past two years of exhibitions, the Middle Art Museum has focused more on the artistic experience of individuals under the undercurrent of the times, excavating those individuals who have been hidden by history, and constructing the development context of art history by caring about the times. It tries to revisit the historical context, return to the scene of Chinese art and thought in the second half of the twentieth century, and sort out the historical process of Chinese contemporary art.
Exterior view of the Middle Art Museum
However, for a private non-profit art museum, how to maintain its own academic positioning while taking into account its own survival problems? Perhaps it is a problem that domestic art museums cannot get around. Based on this, shortly after the establishment of the art museum, the Intermediate Art Foundation was established to solve this problem - the art museum itself does not have to bear hematopoiesis, and it has enough independence to do its own exhibition and academic research. This direction has been clear at the beginning of the establishment of the foundation, and Huang Xiaohua, chairman of the Middle Art Foundation, admitted that he is more of a servant when sponsoring the art museum, but he participates more in the exhibition and academic direction of the art museum to maintain the independence of the art museum itself.
Ten years to sharpen a sword. As Huang Xiaohua, chairman of the Middle Art Foundation, said, the foundation can be like a reservoir, bringing together more forces, in the sponsorship of art museums, the establishment of a reasonable guarantee mechanism is the most important part. So what is the relationship between the Foundation and the Museum? What are the differences in the way art museums operate at home and abroad? Where is the positioning and development direction of the Middle Art Museum? These questions were also answered in the dialogue.
dialogue
Q: Artron Art Network
A: Huang Xiaohua
Ten years to start as a accumulation of experience
Q: As a private art museum, the Middle Art Museum is a very important model in China, what stages do you think the development of the Middle Art Museum has gone through?
A: The history of the middle art museum is a little earlier than ten years, the first non-profit institution that was not registered, called the art museum, the early resources are not too rich, can only find the media or cultural institutions to cooperate, held several exhibitions, but also opened up some theatrical resources, but not systematic enough.
"The Tides of The Times: 'Seal Bay' John Walker Painting Exhibition", 2010
"Is It True- Wu Xiaohai Solo Exhibition" Exhibition Scene, 2011
"The Third Way - Yuan Yunfu and Yuan Yunsheng Painting Exhibition", 2014
After the establishment of the art museum, I want to use at least ten years as an attempt to accumulate experience, saying that where to go may be a little vague, but at that time, I already knew Yuan Zuo, who was the first director of the Middle Art Museum. Yuan Zuo has experienced the initial stage of the art museum, and the current director Lu Yinghua focuses on academic research, especially the construction of art history since 1949, and pays attention to the present, is very concerned about the political ecology, ideological dynamics and spiritual state of our times, and pays attention to expanding the boundaries of interdisciplinary fields such as history, philosophy, culture, and art. Until the completion of the "Salon salon" exhibition in 2017, we felt that this art museum would definitely continue this academic development direction.
Middle Art Museum 2017 Exhibition "Salon Salon
From 1972 to 1982, beijing was the perspective
Modern Art Practice Silhouette" exhibition poster
Q: This is also closely related to the current development of art, and the boundaries of contemporary art have been continuously broadened in recent years. What do you think the positioning of the middle art museum should be among the private art museums in China?
A: We're a little proud of that — we don't think we should just look at the current art scene. In fact, the road of modernity in Chinese art is far from complete, nor has it been taken well. In this process, there are great deficiencies and distortions in the construction of social modernization, which is a kind of fragmentary modernization. We should see this all the more today. Therefore, private art museums should not only discuss contemporary culture, but also be able to jump out of it, look back at the past, and pay attention to the issue of modernization. I think that from the aesthetic standards on painterliness established by Yuan Zuo to the current focus of Director Lu Yinghua on academics, there is no doubt that we will strengthen this aspect.
"Yvonne Reina and Wenhui: Dance is There", exhibition scene, 2019
The Foundation is like a reservoir
Q: Could you please introduce the Middle Art Foundation and what is its relationship with the Middle Art Museum?
A: We set up a foundation shortly after we registered with the museum, because it was recognized at that time that it could not be supported by scattered patrons, and that the foundation could be like a reservoir, bringing together more power. At present, the patron of the foundation is still relatively single, that is, the builder of the most original art district. There are more than a dozen independent patrons, and the statements and decisions of these dozen people can basically be agreed upon. At the same time, the advantage of this is that the foundation and the art museum can form a relationship of mutual supervision and support.
Q: How to ensure the sustainability of patrons' investment in the museum?
A: We have established a guarantee mechanism, the middle foundation set up funds for the art museum, it is very simple to say, in fact, it is not just a matter of paying money, we should do it more actively, and then go up another level. The advantage of the foundation is that it and the art museum are the relationship of supervision and support, not only sponsorship, fundraising, but also to ensure the academic nature of the art museum, rather than on the one hand to grasp the academic content, on the other hand, but also to talk with others about the conditions and costs of fundraising.
Although the patrons of the foundation will not be too involved in the exhibition and operation plan of the art museum, a relatively complete mechanism has been formed between the foundation and the art museum, including regular meetings, the declaration and supplementary report of the exhibition plan, the formulation of the budget, and so on. At present, the Middle Art Museum is still supported by patrons, but we don't want it to be able to make blood, it can also have a good public welfare and academic nature at the same time as revenue, but it has not yet developed to this extent.
In addition, other institutions have their own income, such as art theaters and theaters, and the middle theater is still smallly famous in the entire circle of art films, which can bring some commercial revenue. If you don't make something with depth, you are sorry for such a three mountains and five gardens.
Q: Is the positioning of the Middle Art Museum at different stages in line with the expectations of the patrons?
A: It's not accurate to say that, my perception is that it follows the art museum, and it is the art museum that influences us. In the past ten years, the art museum has experienced two directors, each with different directions, whether in the study of painting or academic construction, including the recent series of art history research exhibitions, the discussion of countermeasure exhibitions and activities with more academic attention, and the museum may also make an in-depth discussion of painting in the future, because painting is far from being discussed.
Q: The Middle Art Museum has also set up a board of directors, what is the main purpose?
A: The members of the council are some art lovers, and they also have local sponsorship of cultural welfare. For example, Chen Jinsong has been doing mangrove culture protection for many years, he has been the rotating chairman of Alxa, and he often participates in nationwide public welfare undertakings. There is also a director from Shanghai, Tang Chunshan, who is also an important patron of the School of Humanities of Tongji University. He often mentions a philosopher he sponsors, Professor Sun Zhouxing, although philosophy is the basic starting point of Professor Sun, he is also very concerned and wants to participate in the practice of art, with the help of art to better carry reason, such research is powerful.
The Third Council of the Third Session of the Intermediate Art Foundation was held
There is more than one way for private art museums in China
Q: In your observations and feelings about the Middle Art Museum, which path do you think private art museums in China should take?
A: There is more than one way, compared with the survival mode of foreign non-profit art museums, the National Art Museum of China should not distinguish between non-profit and public welfare, because even if it is for profit, it is used for public welfare purposes to establish a better accumulation of precipitation for future exhibitions and funds. Art museums can only be non-profit institutions, and this matter should be established clearly.
The core of the art museum is the exhibition, whether it is a master exhibition, an internet celebrity exhibition, an academic exhibition, etc. should be done, some exhibitions do a good job, for example, the exhibition of the West Bund Art Museum Kandinsky has made a more systematic and rational combing, this kind of master exhibition is undoubtedly helpful to domestic audiences. The purpose of the internet celebrity exhibition is to solve the problem of funds, there are tickets to have income, in order to have advertising sponsorship.
Q: Since the development of Chinese art museums in the 1990s, what stage do you think the development of private art museums in China has reached?
A: It is still just getting started, and the domestic private art museums are still pouring in, which is a good thing, there is a certain quantity to have quality, and there will be industry rules. I know that there are a considerable number of art museums, but there may be no qualifications, in the end still do not think clearly about what to do, there is no clear mechanism, not that there is such a space, there are some collections, know some artists, you can run an art institution.
In the final analysis, it is a competition for the setting of long-term planning and management structure, some people can build the mechanism well, hire professional people to manage, and some people are experts themselves, and they have spent a lifetime of research efforts on this matter. There are also many foreign countries, for example, there is a doctor who likes art, pours all his efforts to buy the works of Picasso and Matisse, and then builds art museums, does research and analysis, writes books and even one day becomes a city business card.
Q: There will also be some differences in the characteristics of the art museum, and there are still great differences in the acceptance and participation of the public in Beijing and Shanghai, what do you think is the reason for this difference?
A: This is related to the public's cognitive ability and consumption ability, cultural consumption ability, leisure time arrangement ability, in the final analysis, it is the way of life of people. The art museum also undertakes a part of the function of cultivating and educating the public's aesthetics, the commercialization of the Shanghai Art Museum or its public taste is relatively good, and Beijing has never lacked depth of thought, each maintaining its own characteristics.
How to break the boundaries, how to understand the difficult reading of contemporary art, how to make it penetrating and closely related to our current life and social development, these are very important considerations for artists and curators. We have also benefited from this sponsorship, and the museum has added a lot of new insights to our thinking dimension.