Private Museums in China: A Critical Discussion of the Current Industry Boom

Private museums in China: A critical discussion of the current industry boom
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Private museums in China: A critical discussion of the current industry boom
1.0 Introduction
In the art market, the role played by museums in significant. China is putting up modern art museums at an unparalleled pace. Individuals and private firms gradually more have not only the means of establishing these contemporary museums, but they also have the know-how to keep the museums going, usually to a higher standard compared with the country’s public or government-owned museums (Denton, 2015). Private museums in China have been flourishing since the 1990s in all parts of China, particularly in economically-developed regions like Guangdong, Shanghai, and Beijing. Unlike state-owned museums, private museums in general enjoy more freedom. This research paper provides a critical and detailed discussion regarding the boom of privately-owned art museums in China today.
2.0 Purpose of study and research question
At the present time, China is in the period of rapid economic development while the boom of the privately funded museums is up surging. Private museums have been springing up in the mainland of China in recent years, and their numbers continue to increase. Although it is difficult to provide the exact figures due to the inconsistency of statistical standards across provinces and the lack of credibility of government statistics, Liang, Hack and Lanchun (2015) reported that by the year 2014, there had been nearly 1,000 non-state-funded art museums established in China and over 170 of them were founded within the last year; that is 2013. The explosive rise of non-state-funded ventures in China has been widely criticized and questioned whether it is false prosperity. A report for the Cable News Network (CNN) questioned whether the private art museums in China are empty vanity projects or icons, and pointed out that this trend will leave nothing more than exceptionally dazzling architectural structures (McCafferty, 2016). Another article by Dezeen Magazine (2015) claimed that even with massive amounts of private funding floating into the private museums, China could never buy culture. This leads to the research question that inspires and guides this study:
Are private museums in China, whether emerging or established, in sustainable development?
With the aim to provide a reasonable response to the criticisms pointing to the China’s private sector participation in cultural activities, this study takes the form of a critical review of relevant literatures including newspaper reports and articles, explores current issues and problems of the management of private museums in China – especially challenges brought about by the boom of the industry. The paper also investigates possible solutions; that is, how to maintain a sustainable development through self-improvement, cultural policy reform and legal enforcement. By conducting this research, it is expected to form a critical understanding towards the current situation of private museums in China and identify the possibilities associated with management.
3.0 Content areas to be discussed in the research paper include the ...