China’s economy is deteriorating, and the real estate market’s slump has led to the collapse of many privately-owned art museums that thrived during the real estate boom.
According to reports from mainland Chinese media, in the past two years, there has been a wave of closures among privately-owned art museums in China. From Shenzhen and Shanghai to Qingdao, numerous privately-owned art museums have been shutting down.
Just in the first half of last year, no fewer than ten privately-owned art museums closed their doors, including Dongyi Art Museum, OCAT Shanghai, Shanghai Himalayas Art Museum, and Meiding Art Museum.
Last June, the Shenzhen Jupiter Art Museum located in the Futian Bonded Zone in Shenzhen also announced its closure. Its farewell letter stated, “The original intention of the art museum was established by companies for their own brand, but everything changed after the epidemic. Operational pressures, financial shortages, bottlenecks in audience participation… like an invisible tide, slowly eroding the dam that sustains us.”
At the beginning of last year, the Shanghai Himalayas Art Museum designed by a Japanese architect ceased operations. At the same time, in Langfang, Hebei Province, the Ennova Art Center supported by the New Or Group quietly entered a state of suspension. In February of the same year, the Dongyi Art Museum on the Bund in Shanghai also announced its closure.
In July of last year, the West Sea Art Museum in Qingdao also announced its closure, declaring the end of what was once hailed as the “most beautiful seaside art museum.” Designed by the French architectural master and Pritzker Prize winner Jean Nouvel, some have called it a “symphony of light and sea.”
This museum covers an area of 17,000 square meters and consists of 12 exhibition halls with distinct designs. It was reportedly a total investment of 1.9 billion RMB, but it operated for less than four years.
Former Director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of the People’s Republic of China, Liu Yuzhu, once stated that from 2016 to 2020, China averaged adding one museum every two days. And before 2016, many big bosses had already invested in establishing art museums.
On the 5th of this month, the WeChat public account “Hi Art” in mainland China focused on the art industry, saying that, after experiencing the peak of the real estate dividend and enduring three years of consumption due to the epidemic, art museums now face comprehensive changes in audience habits, financial structures, and cultural environments.
Wang Kaimei, the director of the “Hao Art Museum” in Shanghai, said at the 8th anniversary celebration of the museum, “Many peers are facing common difficulties. When the once economic pillar industry enters a period of adjustment, cultural institutions that depend on it will inevitably feel a chill.”
Sanlian Life Weekly analyzed that the main reason for the mass closures of privately-owned art museums, which once enjoyed infinite glory, is that the “real estate+culture” model that these museums rely on for survival is no longer sustainable.
Most privately-owned art museums are funded by individuals or companies and lack a complete foundation, sponsors, and donation system. Many privately-owned art museums have been closely linked to the real estate industry since their inception.
At the same time, China lacks a systemic background that supports cultural and artistic endeavors. Before the closure of art museums, there would already be a plethora of abandoned buildings, unattended green spaces, and mostly stalled supporting facilities around. Once real estate developers or investors withdraw their funds, the art museum becomes unsustainable.
U.S. economist Li Hengqing told Epoch Times that the collapse of China’s real estate market has had a chain effect on many related industries, including steel, cement, home furnishings, household appliances, social services, chemical industry, transportation, finance, and even small restaurants and inns around real estate, resulting in 47 companies being affected and shutting down altogether.