The Power Station of Art, modeled on the Tate Modern, opened in 2012 and is situated in a former electric plant. “Contemporary art in China is still in its youth stage, so to educate people about contemporary art is the most important vision and mission in our museum,” says Gong, who claims the museum has offered more than 200 educational programs in the last 12 months. Gong has also hired a staff of 36 full-time employees, a modest number compared with the museum’s attendance figures, which reached 300,000 in its first year. During her tenure, the museum has hosted “ Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal,” the first show of the artist’s work in China (absent his Mao portraits, which were deemed too controversial). The choice of Gong was controversial, given her lack of training and the fact that she is related to a well-placed local official, a factor instrumental in her selection. Modeled on the Tate Modern, the expansive facility, situated in a former electric plant, was converted into a museum at a cost of $64 million, provided solely by the Shanghai government. Gong, who had no prior museum experience, was appointed deputy director of the Power Station of Art, which opened in September 2012. “The biggest challenge? I guess it is to persuade myself to keep up with all the other challenges,” says Gong Yan, the former editor in chief of the Chinese-language magazine Art World. The only institution with a curatorial studies program that includes contemporary art is the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, but most of its graduates prefer to go to work for auction houses and galleries. Furthermore, museums have limited ability to attract private donors or corporate sponsors, and they lack trained professionals, including curators, art handlers, collection managers, and research assistants. In the first place, China does not have a tax structure allowing for donations to nonprofit institutions, whether government-controlled or privately owned, and while there are funds for building construction, there are none for operating expenses. With such government support-in the form of direct funding or real-estate tax advantages-doors have opened for these new projects, but major challenges remain. Shanghai’s impulse to build so many museums is the direct result of a governmental five-year plan for the city to become an artistic center on par with London, Paris, and New York. This museum-building boom parallels the creation of Chinese megacities, each wanting its share of cultural tourist draws. ![]() ©BHARTI KHER/COURTESY THE ARTIST AND ROCKBUND ART MUSEUM, SHANGHAIĪccording to the latest government statistics, China is building approximately 100 museums a year, an increase from fewer than 2,500 in 2001 to more than 3,500 a decade later, with 390 opening in 2011 alone.
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