Page 54 - AC-3-2

Arts & Communication The rise and fall of global art worlds

converted rubber goods factory in a suburban This raises important questions about how future private–
neighborhood of Hamburg, which he acquired in 2007. public partnerships might be shaped.
The following year, the Phoenix factory permanently
housed and exhibited the Falckenberg Collection, which 3.2. The global art world and private museums: Yuz
today comprises approximately 2,200 contemporary works Museum, China
by 450 artists. Referring back to Falckenberg’s earlier After nine years, the Yuz Museum vacated the vast converted
27
statement that private museums do not last as long as airplane hangar in Shanghai’s West Bund cultural district
public museums, he also questioned the limitations of and relocated it to a new suburban facility shortly after the
public institutions and their willingness to accept personal Chinese-Indonesian founder and collector Budi Tek passed
collections. He believed that “the problem lies in the away in March 2022. The new venue opened in May 2023.
28
antagonism that exists between private collectors and Located in Shanghai’s ancient town of Panlong, the museum
museums, a result of new perceptions of their respective is built on a scenic green area containing rivers, paddies,
roles”. Such observations inform how he has gone and bamboo forests. The formation of the Yuz Foundation
29
about supporting artists, his collecting philosophy, and and Yuz Museum reflected Tek’s overarching ambition to
his motivation for staging innovative exhibitions while perpetuate his collection, museum, and personal legacy
ensuring that the Falckenberg Collection remains publicly beyond his own lifetime, to memorialize his legacy. The
accessible, both during and beyond his lifetime. inaugural exhibition “A Journey” (May 18 to August 13,
th
In 2011, Falckenberg partnered with Hamburg’s 2023) celebrated the foundation’s 10 anniversary by
Deichtorhallen. His collection was made available on a showcasing 40 works from the Yuz collection.
long-term loan, as was the Phoenix factory exhibition Tek’s grand cultural vision was to transform the Yuz
space, which displays works from his holdings, including Museum into the public sphere. When this approach
large installation works. The partnership was initially proved unsuccessful, he considered an alternative path
based on a contract between the city of Hamburg and by partnering with the Los Angeles County Museum of
Falckenberg, which was set to expire in 2023. The original Art (LACMA) in 2018 – 2019. This partnership would
agreement included the city’s contribution of €570,000 per create a “joint-venture foundation to oversee the bulk
year to cover exhibitions and staff costs, with any additional of his collection while giving the Yuz Museum access to
expenses borne by Falckenberg. The agreement has been LACMA’s holdings”. Tek’s untimely death accelerated the
29
32
extended to 2032, although the details of the new contract arrangement between the Yuz Foundation and LACMA,
have not been publicly disclosed. This arrangement was ensuring that the Yuz Museum (now somewhat reduced
especially significant because Falckenberg passed away on in scale and presence) and Tek’s 1,500-strong collection
November 6, 2023. of contemporary Chinese and international art remain
Falckenberg and other German collectors have sought in China. The museum will now operate as a distinct
to secure complex long-term loan agreements with key entity under the joint management of the Yuz Foundation
exhibition spaces and public art museums, even though they and LACMA. Furthermore, this strategic partnership
have established their own private collection museums. will include exhibition exchanges and possible funding
30
In doing so, they have sought more permanent solutions to contributions from the Qatar Museums Authority, which
ensure that their private museums and collections remain is overseen by the Qatari ruling family.
intact through such partnerships with the public sector. This partnership represents transcultural collaboration
This reflects Falckenberg’s belief that “private museums between a private museum (Yuz Museum), a private/public
usually have a limited lifetime, unlike public museums”. institution (LACMA), and the Qatari state authority,
28
I have argued that such arrangements might counter the forming a hybrid model that is geographically and culturally
current perception that the creation of a private museum is diverse in its formation. As stated on the Yuz Museum
a natural step toward securing the future of a collection—a website: “This collaboration was established to jointly
step that provides some form of guarantee that the develop and share exhibitions and cultural programs across
collection will remain intact indefinitely. However, it these prestigious institutions, effectively creating a multi-
31
should be noted that public institutions are often reluctant site exhibition program with a truly global perspective”.
33
to agree to such binding agreements due to declining The exhibition “Watering the Desert | Contemporary Art
government funding, rising operating costs, and increasing from Qatar” (November 8, 2023, to March 3, 2024) features
demands placed on public institutions. These institutions 37 Qatari and Qatar-based contemporary artists exhibiting
must also uphold their obligations to their collections and in China. The partnerships will also allow contemporary
33
curatorial missions to avoid compromising their integrity. Chinese artworks from the Yuz Museum to be displayed

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 6 doi: 10.36922/ac.2880