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Contemporary Art in Nanjing Sidelined by Focus on Museums

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The past weekend saw International Museum Day take place, with Nanjing jumping on the bandwagon by flinging open the doors of many museums for free entry and staging a multitude of museum-oriented events. Yet, is a virtual obsession by the authorities with the city’s long history unwittingly assisting in the demise of other cultural forms such as contemporary art?

During the upsurge of art galleries in the 1990s, the number of private art galleries in Nanjing increased by nearly 50, apparently overnight. However, on account of the financial crisis in 2008, many closed their doors. Balancing their operations is not a new problem faced by private art galleries in Nanjing, but for any with an interest in contemporary art it is persistent, since mainstream tastes still favour traditional calligraphy and painting.

Of course, none of this presented any kind of a setback for International Museum Day in Nanjing. Held on or around 18 May all around the world, Nanjing chose once again to focus on the historical; the Yuhuatai Martyrs Memorial Hall holding a “Victory Memory” oral history exhibition, to which it invited war veterans, and Nanjing Museum’s presenting of the Changsha Museum Collection of Tang Dynasty Porcelain Kilns.

Plenty still wish to break the mould, however. Talented artists are challenging the tough situation, and it is particularly difficult for those caught in the middle between tradition and innovation. Xia A (夏阿) is a freelance artist based in Nanjing, famous for his traditional Chinese-style paintings that feature the online buzz or the contemporary lifestyles and values of today’s modern society. Most are recreations of traditional famous paintings or find their origins in Chinese fairy stories. Perhaps his most famous mocks one of the four greats of Chinese literature, “Journey to the West”, in which the four protaganists take a rest around a tree, with Tang Sanzang smoking nonchalantly while all around is desolation.

Xia is now an online celebrity with going on half a million fans on Weibo, which brings him his fair share of supporters and detractors. As regards the latter, who criticise his art work as disrespectful to traditional Chinese culture, Xia argues, “What I am doing is just for fun; it doesn’t mean it should be accepted by all”.

While Xia has held his own exhibition on several occasions, he still finds it hard to be recognised as an artist in Nanjing. Traditional Chinese painting still leads the way; when the mainstream focuses more on that gone before, contemporary art can hardly find its way. “Art here is relatively localised, all following the fixed thought of Nanjing, not considering the long-term, like art in Beijing. The artists in Nanjing are dispersive, which means they are independent and share totally different thoughts”, commented Guan Ce on the Yachang Art web portal.

Thankfully, it was not all dowdy, dusty history during Nanjing’s version of International Museum Day. “Wonderful Night at the Museum”, launched by the Nanjing Museum, Oriental Metropolitan Museum and Ming Xiaoling Museum had the theme of “Meeting the Future in the Museum”, presenting traditional culture with a modern vision.

Nevertheless, it takes longer than one might imagine to brush away the cobwebs. Song Xuewei, owner of the art gallery, Taogu Garden, told The Nanjinger, “When I came back to Nanjing, I feel this city so lacks vitality in terms of art”. Song thus started her own space, sharing the contemporary art works of her artist friends.

Another recent positive development has been a growing rebirth in the number of private art galleries in the city, while exhibitions from foreign countries make regular appearances at the Nanjing Museum. If the likes of such could be made the focus of next year’s International Museum Day, there would less of a long way to go for local artists to receive their deserved attention from the public.

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