Bridging Cultures and Inspiring art: A Chinese artist’s Perspective on Museums, Collaboration, and Creative Aesthetics
Date：2023-06-02
Qian Wu, a Chinese artist, addressed the third dialogue of the China-Europe-America Museums Cooperation Initiative from an artist’s perspective, highlighting the important role of museums in cultivating artistic creation and innovation. He shared his artistic experiences in the context of cultural exchanges among China, Europe and America, including his “BLUE | Qian Wu Solo Exhibition” at the Cultural Association MoCA, Venice, “Blues in the Sky”, an art-themed cabin he presented in partnership with Xiamen Airlines, and “San Marino-Xiamen World Heritage Photo Exhibition” co-curated by him. Qian emphasized the interconnectedness of civilizations and look forward to increased communication and cooperation among international museums.
Qian Wu, a Chinese artist, was born in Xiamen, China, took up art from a very young age. He graduated from the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University, and received master degree from the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University. From 2011 to 2016, he studied at the Art Students League of New York. He completed the first advanced research class on abstract art at Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2020, and he served as a visiting scholar at the China National Academy of Painting from 2021 to 2022. He has held solo exhibitions in cities such as New York, London, Venice, and Milan.
Full text of the speech
Hello everyone! I am Qian Wu, a Chinese artist. It is a real pleasure to have been invited here to represent the international artists who are participating in the "China-Europe-America Museums Cooperation Initiative" forum. We are grateful to participate in this event and gain insights into the present while exploring our path to the future.
I have been fortunate to develop close connections with China, Europe, and the US. The art market and its mechanisms have been continuously improving and expanding in these three regions for centuries. Galleries, auction houses, museums, collectors, critics, curators and so on, make up a functioning art system. When contemporary artists’ artworks go into a museum, they also become part of a museum’s ecosystem; from another perspective, the emergence of artists and art trends is inseparable from the support and development of museums and art galleries.
Apart from art creation, artists need to be recognized by academic institutions. In this sense, museums have an inherently important function, that is, to cultivate and inspire artists' creativity. In fact, one of the purposes of many art museums is to provide exhibition opportunities for artists and to collect their works. Therefore, to ensure stability of cultural traditions, museums play an important role in stimulating artistic innovation. When I studied in Chicago and New York, I realized that art galleries and museums there were not just galleries and museums, but also schools and classrooms.
In recent years, cultural exchanges between China and European countries have become increasingly frequent. For example, the tightening bond between China and Italy is especially noticeable. I just participated in the awards ceremony of the 17th Arte Laguna Prize in Venice, Italy. I was successfully shortlisted and won the Emerging Artist Award. I am the first Chinese artist ever and the only award winner in the painting category. Invited by the organizer, the Cultural Association MoCA, I held my first solo exhibition “BLUE | Qian Wu Solo Exhibition” in Europe at the Cultural Association MoCA, Venice.
Currently, I live and work in Xiamen, China, a beautiful seaside city attracting many tourists with its beautiful scenery and rich cultural heritage. Recently, Xiamen Airlines invited me to present a "Blue Series" art-themed cabin named "Blues in the Sky", which will exhibit in the Xiamen Airlines Gallery for one month. This is a new attempt of "Art Xiamen Airlines" and the first artist-themed cabin of Xiamen Airlines. It showcased an extension and expansion of the art exhibition space.
As a signature of Xiamen, "the Kulangsu, an Historic International Settlement Island" is an important carrier of exchanges and mutual learning among different cultures. In January this year, the "San Marino-Xiamen World Heritage Photo Exhibition" I co-curated was held at the Kulangsu Gallery of Foreign Artefacts from the Palace Museum Collection, clearly showing the rich cultural heritage of the two places to audiences at home and abroad. San Marino National Television reported it with the title "A photo exhibition in Xiamen highlighting the civilization of China and San Marino" as a gift to the 50th anniversary of China-San Marino diplomatic relations establishment.
From September 1st to October 1st this year, there will be the San Marino Republic Day and the President's Autumn Inauguration. "San Marino-Xiamen World Heritage Photo Exhibition" will tour the capital of San Marino. Invited by the Ministry of Culture and the Government of San Marino, I will give a speech at a large forum themed "Art Bridging People's Hearts" hosted by San Marino to encourage dialogue on the friendship and philosophy behind this exhibition.
As an artist and curator, for me, civilizations are not isolated, but endlessly seeking out each other. Today’s initiative deepens the cooperation and understanding among international museums and promotes extensive cross-culture partnership in arts. The influence of Chinese, European, and American cultures on contemporary art never fades, and the fusion and enlightenment they bring will be revisited in the context of globalization. I am very much looking forward to more communication and cooperation among international museums in the future.
Finally, I wish the "China-Europe-America Museums Cooperation Initiative" a great success! Thank you.
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