Private museums struggle for visitors

The Civil Power features artworks by both established and promising young artists. [Photo by Deng Zhangyu/China Daily]

Considered one of the country's biggest private art museums, Beijing Mingsheng focuses on “civil power”. With the advantage of funding and the resource of contemporary artists in China, it plans to create a social public space by holding concerts, fashion shows and other performances.

Huang Zhuan, executive director of the Contemporary Art Terminal Institute, describes the art world as a glacier. Shows, art museums and auctions are only the tip of an iceberg. What lies underneath is research and education and the institute dives deep to do the research.

According to Xie Suzhen, the position of the institute has a new style of its own. “It sets its own document database, and maintains a solid academic pursuit. This is an unfamiliar way in the field of contemporary art museums, but it is a right way. It will attract the real contemporary art lovers, and they will find what they need here,” Xie said.