On 17 June 2014, the V&A and China signed a collaboration to build and launch the first design museum in China in the Southern city of Shenzhen. The museum will be jointly run by the V&A and local professionals and will boost China’s design industry and creative scene in Shenzhen.
3D model rendering of the Shekou Museum in Shenzhen. © China Merchants Property Development and Maki Associates. Image courtesy V&A.
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and China Merchants Group (CMG) officially announced a pioneering collaboration on 17 June 2014 (pdf download) to create the first major design museum in Shenzhen’s Shekou district. The collaboration agreement between the two entities is the first one to be signed between one of the oldest and most influential companies in China and a public institution in the United Kingdom.
As mentioned in the Architects Journal, the project is estimated at around GBP16 million (USD27,149,745). The museum, slated to open at the end of 2016, will be designed by Tokyo architect and 1993 Pritzker Prize winner Fumihiko Maki and his studio. The museum will be built on the grounds of the Shenzhen Sea World Cultural Arts Centre, which is currently under construction and also planned by Maki.
A UK-China partnership
V&A Director Martin Roth and V&A Chief Operating Officer Tim Reeve signed the contract with CMG’s Vice-President Mr. Sun Chengming during an official ceremony on 17 June 2014. Headed by the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister David Cameron, the ceremony took place during China Premier Li Keqiang’s first visit to the United Kingdom since taking up office last March 2013.
The official contract follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between V&A and CMG in December 2013 during Cameron’s visit to China.
The V&A will play an advisory role to the Shekou Museum, helping with the development of the Shekou Museum’s own collection and providing the necessary professional training for its senior staff. A V&A senior curator will hold a three-year post as Head of the Shekou and V&A Partnership in Shenzhen.
The Shekou Museum will also be host to a dedicated V&A gallery, where the British museum will organise curated displays of its own collection and present its major exhibitions.
3D site plan of the Shekou Museum in Shenzhen. © China Merchants Property Development and Maki Associates. Image courtesy V&A.
Shenzhen, City of Design
Hong Kong, which has become a major art hub in Asia, is a burgeoning financial and business centre, but the choice of Shenzhen for this major design museum was not a random one. Shenzhen was selected as the location following its 2008 UNESCO designation as the City of Design in China. The Southern city is home to more than 6,000 design companies employing over 60,000 people.
Curator Aric Chen told Dezeen that M+, slated to open in Hong Kong in 2017, aims to put emphasis on its Hong Kong perspective while other museums such as the V&A tend to put Asian design on the periphery. The V&A is planning ambitious programming and exhibitions of its collection, as well as, curated exhibitions of design at the Shekou Museum to boost the design and creative scene in Shenzhen and in China.
In the announcement press release, Mr. Sun, Vice-President of CMG, said:
As part of our redevelopment of the Shekou district of Shenzhen, we wanted to offer the local residents an internationally important museum that would help promote the development of China’s creative industries and further progress design in China. We can think of no better partner to do this with than the V&A, which brings with it a wealth of expertise on the role of a contemporary design museum, as well as, understanding of Chinese culture through their long-standing connections with China.
C. A. Xuan Mai Ardia
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Related Topics: design, promoting art, nonprofit, museums, art and design in Shenzhen
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