Problems and Possibilities:
Curators and Art Museums in China

By Zhang Zhaohui and Yang Yingshi

In the spring of 1997, the Italian city of Baleggio drew much attention from the global art world. It brought together an extraordinary array of world-class curators. Heated discussions were generated by a conference of over thirty curators. Stimulating topics ranged from the position and role of mega-international contemporary art exhibitions, art museums and curators, to the significance of contemporary art in the global cultural scene. The meeting ended with an insightful presentation by Michael Bensen,an art critic from the New York Times. His concluding speech, entitled The Era of Curator, had a strong impact upon the international art and culture community. It is widely regarded as a manifesto stating that after the last 150 years'development of modern and contemporary art, the curator is playing a pivotal and growing role in the age of the Internet and globalization.

The changing meaning of the word "curator" reflects the evolution of this occupation. We used to translate it into a Chinese word that means" a person in charge of a museum". It is true that in the west, "curator" once referred to those who operated a museum, such as the preservation and the research staff. However,the emergence of an European avant-garde and its growing presence in art museums since 1964 gave rise to professionals specialized in organizing contemporary art exhibitions. Today, curator means "a person who organizes art events".

The role that curators play is crucial in contemporary art practice. They function as a bridge to associate the public with the art,the artist and the art world.Usually, museums are the place where art and the public meet. The public recognition of a masterpiece comes when it is collected and put on longterm display. Similarly, an artist gains his or her name after showing his or her works in prestigious exhibitions, which are commonly housed by famous museums and curated by renowned curators.

Due to the increasing presence of diversity and multicultural elements in exhibitions, independent curators emerged in the 1970s. Euro-American curatorial mechanisms developed close ties with the art museum system. Japanese museums adopted European practices after World War II and established their own curatorship.

The mechanism of art museums in mainland China and Taiwan, however, is quite different from their Euro-American counterparts. For a long time, there was no clear connection between the exhibition, research and preservation sectors. The rules and regulations concerning the role and position of art museum staff were borrowed from those of other research institutes, such as the libraries.

Therefore, it is understandable that there was a debate in Taiwanese art magazines over the translation of the word "curator": Is it more appropriate to translate it into "yanju yuan" (researcher) or into "cehua ren" (person who organizes exhibitions)? Such an environment could hardly nurture Euro-American style curatorial organs.

On the mainland, despite this absence, independent curators stand out and enliven the scene by promoting experimental art projects. The pioneer curators are ambitious young or middle-aged critics who participated in organizing exhibitions as the "academic host". In the early 1990s, the most influential among them were, Yin Jinan, who was in charge of the show The New Generation, and Lu Peng/Huang Zhuan who co-organized Guangzhou the Biennale. In 1994, like-minded critics staged nation-wide nomination exhibitions,each featuring ink, oil painting and installation. However, most of their work was confined to the periphery of the exhibition, such as writing commentary, organizing symposiums and press conferences. It appeared that they did not have a strong voice in such central issues as the explanation of the curatorial promise, the selection of art works or site installation.

The mid-1990s witnessed the emergence of curators with new faces and rich artistic backgrounds. Most of them had a career in art, criticism, or journalism. For instance, Beijing-based curators Feng Bo-yi and Huang Du work for official art magazines as editors; Leng Lin specializes in theoretical research and Wu Chunmei had a career in oil painting. Shanghai-based curator Wang Nanming formerly devoted himself to art theory and calligraphy and Zhu Qi worked as a literary critic. It is appropriate to label them "curators". Unlike their predecessors characterized by collectivism and idealism, those young curators were equipped with individual perceptibilities,sensibilities, and superb communication skills in dealing with artists, sponsors and the Press.

They endeavored to explore new possibilities in experimental art and to open up new vistas. Unique curatorial ideals found their expression in such vigorous shows as Wu Meichun's Post-Sensibility, Feng Bo-yi's The Trace of Existence, and Leng Lin's It's Me.
In 1999, two cutting-edge curators made their debut: Zhang Zhaohui and Gu Zhenqing. Zhang, the former staff member of the National Art Museum, with a MA.in Curatorial Studies from Bard College, New York, brought fresh perspectives and highly professional practice to the exhibition. The shows named Departing from China, and Food as Art demonstrate the vigor and depth of his curatorial strategy and activities. Gu, an former art dealer, did a valiant job by exploring the intimate ties between Man and Animal. The boldness and sensitivity embodied in his show ignited a great deal of attacks in the media over the territory of contemporary art.

This "curator phenomenon" is note-worthy for its breadth and vitality. Professor Wu Hong from Chicago University conducted one-year field research into of Chinese contemporary art and recently presented an overview entitled Exhibiting Chinese Experimental Art at SMART Art Museum in the University of Chicago.The show and its documentary catalogue offered an impressive survey of leading cutators and diverted international attention to the vigorous curatorial scene in China.

It is the private contemporary art museums that took the lead in embracing independent curators. The cooperation between Huang Zhuan, Zhu Qi and the Shanghe Art Museum in Chengdu, Sichuan province; between Li Xianting, Liao Wen and the Taida Art Museum in Tianjing; between Zhang Zhaohui and the Design Museum in Beijing has proved to be fairly fruitful. Indeed, the new approach has made noticeable accomplishments in terms of qualifying for exhibitions and raising a museum's profile.

At the turn of the century, curators were introduced to revitalize several official art museums in southern cities. Curators have injected innovative ideas and international flavour the exhibitions. The most remarkable was arguably the Shanghai Biennale 2000, which was orchestrated by the quartet--Hou Hanru based in Paris, Shimzu Toshino from Tokyo, Zhang Qing and Li Xu from the Shanghai Art Museum.

The well-received show in the Guangdong Art Museum, Individual and Society in Art: Works of 11 Chinese Young Artists, curated by independent curator Wang Nanming appears to be quite illuminating. Highlighting artists born in 1970s, the exhibition suggests that the museum functions not only as a solemn temple for displaying classic art, but also as a power plant for generating new trends in contemporary art and stimulating artistic and intellectual exchange.(see Catalogue and Preface of Guangdong Art Museum Exhibition, July,2000). In early 2000, independent curator Zhang Zhaohui, took the reins of the curatorial department of the He Xiangning Art Gallery. Through introducing a program of reforms, attempts were made to operate the Official art museum more effectively and creatively. To go a step further, a fruitful interaction between the art museum and the public has been fostered in this commercially advanced special econimic zone. Powerful shows focusing on international art such as Gravity of the Garden: the Art of Tanaka Masato were staged. Two notable Yearlong Exhibitions of Contemporary Sculpture were organized by guest curators Huang Zhuan, Yi Ying and Yin Shuangxi.

In the past, official art museums, in effect, made ends meet by renting exhibition space. Dynamic curators have reversed this course-introducinginternational practices, enlivening the scene and forging a new image of those government-run museums. However, there is no such a thing as an overnight improvement. Problems as well as possibilities in curators' collaboration with official museums deserve further consideration. A highly professional and relatively stable curatorial staff is highly essential in building a new curatorial system in offical art museums. However, many independent curators'amerturism - most of them are primarily critics - can hardly meet this requirement. A favorable educational, personnel and financial climate also contributes greatly to the flowering of art museums and curatorial activities. It is understandable that in this initial stage of the collaboration, there is much still to be done.Based on the observations above, we would like to propose some ideas that concern the development of art museums and curatorial mechanisms in China.The rapid expansion of art activities has resulted in a growing need for highly skilled curators. Therefore, first of all, courses like Curatorial Studies and Art Museum Studies, with both a theoretical and practical intent, should be offered to students in Art History Department. We need programs in which students can work as interns in art museums. The direct work experience prepares them for future professional careers within art organizations.Secondly,due to the importance of funding, we need laws and regulations to channel private donations to such non-profit art organizations as national art museums.Thirdly, museums should upgrade their exhibitions and services. One effective way is to fashion "brand names". Exhibitions like The State of Chinese Art in the Guangdong Art Museum, Yearlong Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture in the He Xiangning Art Gallery and Shanghai Biennale in the Shanghai Art Museum offer classic examples. We need better exhibitions and better art museums.

Fourthly, the bureaucracy should be replaced by a highly efficient, international standard administrative and curatorial body in which expertise and talents are highly valued.

Last but not the least, we need to integrate the research and exhibition sectors and encourage a reciprocal relationship between them. And most importantly, the curator and assistant curator need to play a central role in art activities.

As Bensen claimed, the era of curators is dawning. Chinese curators and art museums are striving to present a new landscape for the flourishing Chinese contemporary art.