Wei Shen

The project develops from my dissertation, which looked at the cultural phenomenon of private art museum boom in China in recent 10 years. While the western museums are suffering cuts in public funding, many of them facing uncertain futures the opposite is true in China. There seems to be more interest in art than ever before. They are emerging partly as a result of public demand but mostly to reflect a sense of national identity and confidence linked to continued financial and economic growth. However, many of these highly promoted and architecturally celebrated buildings remain empty following their grand opening. Meanwhile, there does not seem to be any middle ground or room for conversation. My work aims to provide a context behind the empty space, to facilitate a platform for discussion by gathering interviews I conducted with people from the local community; the curator; and also visitors who coming to this particular art museum.  The role that this project has assumed is to observe and to make us reconsider the way we connect with and understand art in museums and exhibition context.