China facing the collapse of private art museums
Private museums do not have a very long history in China, but in their short time in the country they have been booming.
Yet, despite this rapid growth in numbers, it seems that only a few have the ability to survive.
Claiming to be "the largest private museum" in China with its 6,600 square meters of exhibition space and more than 300 jades, porcelains and paintings, the Longsheng Museum closed down last month after operating for a little more than a year.
Earlier that same month, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in Beijing, which has been operating for eight years and is considered one of the most successful private museums in the Chinese mainland, announced it was going up for sale.
These news stories caused quite a stir throughout the art industry, leading many to start worrying about the health of the private museum industry in China.
Market woes
The Longshen Museum closed its doors due to the delayed payment of more than 6 million yuan ($903,000) in rent. It is currently unknown if the museum will reopen.
Longsheng is not the only museum facing a financial crisis. The Rongbaozhai Group, famous for traditional Chinese paintings, stationary and auctions, fell into a more than 50 million yuan crisis during the first half of this year.
Growth in the first three months of the year was faster than expected, with an expansion of 1.7 percent in annualized, price-adjusted terms. But in the months after that, slowing growth in China and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union weighed on the economy, and investors flocked to the Japanese currency, causing it to gain strength — and sap momentum from the Japanese economy.
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