AbstractThe major shifts in art gallery and museumare described in four parts. Firstly, the reform of the industry in which thecentral government intends to enact the new policy relating to the state-ownedmuseums as public institutions, ismost
important shift in this field. Secondly, developing as part of the cultural
tourism industry is a new strategy in China to develop the private owned
museum. Thirdly, this paper describes the issues in commercial galleries, such
as the immature art market. Lastly, a lack of educational resources also
hinders the development of the industry. These changes and issues lead to that
the marketsofinternationalartworks, and art museum and gallery industry in China are expanding, but it isstill unpredictable.
Keywords:gallery, museum, cultural industry, China, art market, arts management
Introduction
Since the reform of the economic system (1992), the types of
museum and gallery industry began to diversify. There are mainly 3 types of
museums and galleries (the state-owned museum, the private-owned museum and
commercial gallery) in China nowadays. Furthermore, the advent of the art
district inmajor cities is another feature of the development
of art gallery and museums, such as the 798 art districtin Beijing. Lastly, the advent of art exhibitionprovides a platform for the galleries to promote their reputationinternationally.
According to the data from the
nationalCultural Relics department (2015),the types (exceptgalleries) also couldbe categorized as general
museum, historic museum, art museum and science museum (Peoplenet, 2015). Although
the historic museum still occupies a nearly half of the total number, the
structure of the museum industry started to change. This article describes
recent major shifts in this industry mainly from four categories, the
state-owned museum, the private-owned museum, commercial galleries and
education.
1.Major shifts in art gallery and museums infrastructure
1.1 The increasing scale of theart museum and gallery industry
Nowadays, China is experiencing
the third wave of museum fever. According to the data from the nationalCultural Relics
department (2015), until theend of
2014, the number of registered museumsis 4510. This number in 2013 was 4165, but the number of museums
increases more than 200 annually in the last 10 years. Most local governments regard the construction of museums as their
achievement. In this case, their budgets allocate more to the museum building
rather than soft abilities, such as staff, collection and activities they held.
In many cases, the museums could not actively engage with the general public.
The president of the national cultural relics department, Li (2014), the
president of the state department of cultural administrative and heritage sector
said that the attendance of museums in China is 600 million (Huaxianet, 2014),
which is still very low.
The number of commercial
galleries and the private owned museums increases sharply since 2004. According
toMarket survey of Chinese Museum industry andprediction on futuredevelopment,the number of the private-owned museums occupies 11.9% of total number ofmuseums and is located in 28 provinces except Guangxi, Xizang and Xinjiang.
AccordingtoAnnual report on development of
China’s cultural industries(2003) in which the art museum and gallery industryis referred to the central part of cultural industries, the central governmentclarifies the legal definition of the private-owned museums and commercialgalleries in order to reduce the financial dispute.
Sincethe state council formulatedSome provisions
on the entry of non public capital into the cultural industry (2005),theprivate capital investment in culture field has been encouraged and protectedby the central government. As a new form of museums, it is increasingsignificantly. To cope with this phenomenon, the central government publishedOpinions onpromoting the development of private museums(2010)in
which the government acknowledged that the registration and managing process
should be reformed to become more effectively. In addition, local government
should take responsibilities in developing the private-owned museum and grant
to the museum a positive developing circumstance. Lastly, the opinions state
that the censorship by which the government could address thecommon phenomenon thatthefake artwork isrampant in China,should be enhanced.Xingcheng Cao, a collector from Taiwan, wasinterviewed by media in Shanghai in 2012, said that the fake antiques andartworks occupied a very high percentage of total private collections. Heprovided an example that he had visited some private-owned museums in southernChina. The antiques in one of these museums are totally counterfeits.
Accordingtothe research on gallery industry from
central academy of arts(2013), the galleries are mainly located in theprovinces and cities of Beijing (631galleries), Shandong (545 galleries) andGuangdong (518 galleries). The development of economics in these places isfaster in comparison with other parts of China.
1.2 The central government intendsto reform the state-owned museums as public institution.
According toProvisional Regulations on the registration and administration of
public institutions(2004), ‘public institution’ is referred to anorganization, founded by government but is not government or state organs. Theobjectives of public institutions are not-for-profits. The state-owned museumsin China are defined as public institution legally. The model of thestate-owned museum in operation is based on the planning economic system thatis not suitable in marketing economy.
The external issue of the
state-owned museum is that the central could not have enough financial
resources to support the museum. Li (2012) states that a lack of funding is a
common phenomenon in the state-owned museums. In this case, the museums only
havethe ability to maintain themselves in operationin which the museums could not consider the educational and social functions.The lack of funding hinders the state-owned museums directly.
In 2012,the state council enactedGuiding
opinions on the reform of the classification and promoting the reform of public
institutions. In the opinions, the government has cognized that
thepresentoperationalmodel of the state-owned museums hindered the development of the museumindustry. To be specific, the management infrastructure is not scientific and alack of supervising. In addition, the development strategy plan cannot map themarket correctly.
AccordingtoNational Heritage Museum career
development plan,the percentage of the state-owned museums would bereduced to 50% of total museums.
1.3 The private-owned museums isbeing developed as a part of cultural tourism industry
Although there is a tax exemption
policy to encourage the development of the private-owned museums, the legal
rights of the museums towards tax exemption could not be well protected.
Furthermore, in termsof mostprivate museums rely on large enterprises financially, which contributes tothat they have not built a system to cooperate with other organizations andindividuals, the tickets fee is the main income of the private-owned museum,however, only the income from the tickets cannot maintain the museum inoperation.
It is internationally acceptedthat operating dining and shops could increase the income of the museum.Meanwhile, the visiting experience, in many cases, could be improved. As Li(2012) mentioned, GM-TCD (General Museum Tourism Complex Development) is anoperational model that learned from western private museums. GM-TCD has becomea trend in museum industry in China. For instance, Jianchuan museums in Sichuanprovince, founded by Jianchuan Fan, are largest museum group in China, whichare connected with tourism, dining and entertainment. Nowadays, Anren, theplace that Jianchuan museums located has become a famous place of interests. Onthis occasion, the tickets fee is only a small part of total income because themain income is from dining and recommendation.
1.4Theprimary market and the secondary market of art are upside down and the informalcooperation
Inwestern countries, the commercial gallery is a typical primary market of art.Meanwhile, the auction company is the secondary market of art. Furthermore, theturnovers of the primary and secondary markets are nearly same. However, theprimary and secondary markets in China are upside down. In the case of thatthere is no defined law and policy to guide and supervise the primary andsecondary market, in many cases, artists prefer to sell their artworks onauction rather than to sell their artworks in galleries. According toAnnual report on art market in China(2013), the total turnover of art market is 240 billion RMB (48 billion AUD). Theturnover of auction market is 107 billion RMB (21 billion AUD) and the turnoverof galleries and art exhibitions is 39 billion RMB (8 billion AUD). Accordingtothe research on art market in China(2013), the turnover and the number of galleries experienced a decrease from2011 to 2013.
Thesecond issue in gallery industry is that artists prefer to sell the artworkssecretly and informally. In other words, the artists sell their artworks to thebuyers directly. Both sides think it is mutual beneficial for two sides, artistand buyer. Furthermore, they don’t need to pay the tax in this case, in whichthe government could not supervise this field effectively. Lastly, thegalleries could not well promote the reputation of their cooperated artists,which leads to that most artists are reluctant to sell their artworks ingalleries. Because of the reasons as previously mentioned, the galleries inChina survive stressfully. In 2013, there were 20% (55 galleries) of totalinvestigated galleries (262 galleries) closed and the number of new galleriesis 127.
Inorder to change the unreasonable development of the art market, in 2011, thestate council enacted2012 tariff
implementation planand determined to decrease the tariffs of artworks. Thetax rate would reduce from 12% to 6 %. Furthermore, the national cultural departmentenactedNotice on strengthening the work
of art market managementin which it states that the culturaladministrative department should manage and guide the gallery industry andshould crater a positive environment for galleries. These policies could motivatethe gallery industry to cope with the situation as previously mentioned to someextent.
1.5 The expansion of recruitmentscale in arts management at universities
As a new major in China, the
recruitment scale of arts management is increasing significantly in terms of
the universities viewed themarkeddevelopment of the cultural industries (include museum and gallery industry).However, the universities have not fully considered the external environmentand their own resources that brought a series of issues.
Firstly, there is a lack of the
teachers, specifically the professionals in arts management. Xie (2008)
indicates that the recruitment of undergraduates is large. Meanwhile, the scale
of postgraduate is comparatively small. In many cases, a number of the students
who are major in arts management could not find a suitable job butthe art museum and gallery industry encountered anissue that art museums and galleries lack the top talents who have professionaladministrative skills.
2. Mean for the internationalart and museum world
2.1. The expanding market of international art
Althoughmost collectors are not interested in foreign artworks, the situation ischanging. The auction companies in China rarely sell international artworks in therecent 20 years. Conversely, the large enterprises in China play active rolesin international auctions. For example, in 2013, in New York Christie's, Wandaenterprise cost 172 million RMB (28 million USD) to buy the painting, Claude etPaloma, painted by Pablo Picasso. The news states that this is the first stepin that Wanda involves in the international art market and Wanda regards theinternational artworks they bought as a platform to show their corporateculture (Caijing 2013). Wang (2014) states that the turnover of the buyers fromMainland China occupies 10% of total turnover in Asian buyers in Sothebys in2004. The number increased to 40% in 2010. In the last 10 years, the Asiancollectors cost 2 billion USD to buy non-Chinese artworks. The main focuses ofChinese buyers are classical painting, impressionism and modern arts.
Aspreviously mentioned, the Chinese government reduced the tariff tax, itmotivates Chinese buyers and collectors to purchase international artworks. Theinternational artworks with the authentic certification could repel Chinesebuyers’ suspicion, as the issue of fake is a common phenomenon in art market inChina. However, the large enterprises, such as Wanda may more aim to promoteits reputation through the purchasing behavior. In this case, it seems that theinternational artworks may not be their real necessities. Furthermore, accordingto the interview between Yingge Wang and Artronnet, the primary issue of thatChinese collectors purchase international artworks is a lack of knowledgetowards the artworks (Artronnet, 2015).
The secondfinancial opportunity for international artworks is that the collections aredetermined constitutions in operation as GM-TCD for the private-owned museums.However, if the visitors don’t have the interests in international artworksbecause of a lack of relevant cultural background, the market of internationalartworks in this field is unpredictable.
2.2.Provide experience from galleries and museums in China
Since many museums in developingcountries adopted the new museology in operation, they have put forward lots ofmethods to cope with the issues in art museum and gallery management.
Most large-scale cities in China
are crowded. A large number of visitors makes the museums become inaccessible.
For example, during the festivals, the visitors have to wait for a long time
before they enter the museum. In addition, the cultural heritage cannot be
reconstructed to some extent, such as the Palace Museum. However, the museums
in China can learn the experience from Louvre. In 1981, the president
commissioned Ieoh Ming Pei to redesign the Louvre without reconstruction to the
ancient palace. Pei planned to fully utilize the underground space of Louvre to
address the shortage of space in Louvre. Furthermore, a part of the underground
space was rented for commercial use. This is a mutual beneficial model.
As the gallery and museummanagement infrastructure is not mature, a percentage of the galleries andmuseums may intend to employ the foreign professionals. In addition, in thecase of that the professionals relating to arts management are not enough becauseof a lack of the educational resources, foreign professionals could have morechances to be employed.
There is also an experimental
idea. The central government could employ selected foreign professionals to
participate in the reform of the state-owned museums directly because
traditional power would slow the reform process.Foreign professionals have a more opening mind in comparison withChinese professionals who are conservative.
2.3. The cross-culturalcommunication through artists
Since the foreign capital
invested in gallery industry, the countries outside China know many Chinese
artists, such as Bing Xu, Xiaogang Zhang and Lijun Fang.These artists all have connections with the foreigncapital galleries.
2.4 Invest and participate in
this field become more profitable andunpredictable
Aspreviously mentioned, the primary and secondary markets of arts in China areupside down because the management infrastructure of galleries is not matureand the tax relating to artworks is still comparatively high. In addition, the artistsand the buyers do not trust the domestic-capital injected galleries.Conversely, in the case of that the artists and the buyers prefer to connectwith the famous foreign-capital injected galleries, foreign investors don’tneed to worry about that they could not compete with native galleries equally.However, there is potential issue that the artists prefer to sell theirartworks privately. In many cases, most artists are unwilling to cooperate withthe galleries that are not famous domestically. Negotiating with artists is amission for the foreign capital galleries to complete.
AccordingtoThe research on 798 art district in
Beijingfrom Central Academy of Arts, there are many forms of foreigngalleries in the 798. To be specific, the branches of the international artsorganizations occupy 60% of total galleries; Chinese-foreign cooperation galleriesoccupy 9%; NPOs occupy 5%; the percentage of the galleries that are founded byforeign-Chinese is 6%; the percentage of the private investments is 20%. Branchis the main form of foreign gallery in China. It seems that the art market inChina is not mature enough and a lack of effective policy to regulate thisfield. However, in this context of that the international art organizations aremore likely to cope with the potential issues, to privately invest in thisfield may be unpredictable. The gallery association was founded in Beijing andbridges the galleries and local government. In many cases, the associationcould help foreign investors to address some issues in operation and informsome essential information. Therefore, to open a gallery in large cities ismore feasible because the gallery industry in small cities is not wellregulated.
Since
the government formulated the policy to define the private not-for-profits
museums,oversea foundations have the chance to participate
in non-for-profits projects. However,interms of the government laws and policies are not effective and systematic,foreign NPOs are more likely to encounter a series of issues in registrationand operation. For instance, Ullen art centre in 798 art district, an NPO,registered as an enterprise to operate this space because the registrationprocess of an NPO in China is comparatively complex and the tax exemption inrelation to NPO is not clear.
2.5 More Chinese students wouldprefer to study arts management for postgraduate degree oversea
Because of the lack of educational resources andprofessional managers relating to museum and gallery management, graduates aremore likely to study oversea for a postgraduate degree.
Conclusion
The art gallery and museum industry in China is developing rapidly
but is not mature enough. Although the government has intention to encourage the
development of this industry, this will be a long term. In this case, the
industry is unpredictable and profitable. International art market and museum
world are connected with the industry in Chinasince China joined WTO.However, this field in which the art market is not well regulated andsupervised, the foreign investors have to interpret the authentic situationwith field investigation.
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