A wave of closures and cutbacks is sweeping through China’s private art museums, ringing alarm bells about the sector’s sustainability and raising questions about the outlook for one of the world’s biggest art markets.
The Jupiter Museum of Art, in Shenzhen, announced its shutdown in June. Days later, Qingdao’s TAG Art Museum followed suit. Others, such as Ennova Art Museum in Langfang, founded by the company behind Hong Kong-listed ENN Energy Holdings, have been dormant for months.
Even the Beijing-headquartered UCCA Centre for Contemporary Art has come under financial pressure. Insiders say the pioneering 18-year-old institution withheld wages from January to June, and that its plans for its Shanghai branch, which opened in 2021, are unclear.
The non-profit foundation, backed by private investors, has expanded its footprint aggressively, opening three more branches: in Beidaihe in 2018, Shanghai in 2021 and Yixing in 2024.