Online interaction, cross-border cooperation, and new exhibition appearances, the art exhibition industry ushered in recovery——
How art museums and audiences "run in both directions"
On June 24, the opening of Gallery Week Beijing 2022 brought the long-lost hustle and bustle and vitality to the 798 Art Center.
More than 30 exhibition institutions have launched more than 40 blockbuster exhibitions, and activities such as audio guides, forum lectures, art exhibitions, and stamp collection and awards have been staged online and offline, attracting many art lovers to experience the atmosphere of art despite the sweltering heat.
"After the art museums and exhibition halls reopened, many friends in the group made an appointment to visit as soon as possible, and shared their admission experience and exhibition experience in the group." Wang Jing is the official account of Beijing's literary and art activities "Le Wan Beijing" ”, who pushes the latest information on art exhibitions in the fan group every week.
"Gallery Week is a major event in the Beijing art circle. It is usually held in March every year. This year, it was postponed to the end of June. My friends and I have been paying attention."
Looking at the whole country, art museums in Shanghai have resumed work and production one after another, welcoming the audience with a new look; various cultural and artistic activities in Shenzhen are also being carried out in an orderly manner... Based on the current situation, how can the art exhibition industry maintain a positive interaction with the audience, and more To meet people's spiritual needs well, the reporter conducted an in-depth interview on this.
Live webcast, curating from niche to mass
In the past May, Li Xue, a "heavy enthusiast" of the art exhibition, admitted that he was "busier than usual".
In the mobile phone calendar, she clearly records the live broadcast events she wants to watch every day. The time, platform, content, guests and other information are readily available, and sometimes she has to "catch up" two events at the same time.
In Li Xue's view, in the days of staying at home, the cloud exploration exhibition is like "giving charcoal in the snow", which can somewhat make up for the lack of being able to visit the scene in person.
"In the live broadcast room, you can meet many experts and scholars who are rarely seen in ordinary times, and listen to their professional explanations and comments. This excellent learning opportunity is very valuable."
Today, virtual exhibition halls, cloud tours, online seminars, and interaction and sharing on various new media platforms have become the "standard" for the daily operation of art museums.
Especially in the days when offline viewing of exhibitions is not possible, digital technology breaks the limitations of time and space, making it possible for the museum to have a "zero distance dialogue" with the audience.
In Beijing, the Mumu Art Museum has launched a series of live broadcasts of the "Not Going to See the Exhibition Plan" and the "Art Workers" series of live broadcasts focusing on the topic of the graduation season of college students since the first weekend when the museum was closed in May.
"We try to present the exhibition works of the art museum and the daily work status of the staff online, and actively interact with the audience to trigger an immersive experience." Lin Han, founder of Mumu Art Museum, introduced the art museum's Weibo live broadcast Each show has more than 10,000 viewers, and the recent Douyin tour live broadcast in cooperation with Beijing Gallery Week has also gained millions of views.
"In the days when we couldn't watch the exhibition offline, we met with the audience in the live broadcast room and confirmed each other with likes and swipes."
"Cloud exhibition has the characteristics of autonomy, interactivity and entertainment, which can make the planning and communication of art museums from the niche to the public, the interactive experience from one-way to two-way, and the communication intensity and radiation range have been greatly improved." Shenzhen Guan Shanyue Chen Xiangbo, director of the museum, said.
During the closing period, although Beijing Zhonghua Art Museum did not launch online activities, it has been pushing videos and texts related to the exhibition through its official account, helping readers to understand the stories behind the exhibition and maintaining a "dialogue" with readers.
"People need deep reading to calm their hearts and deepen their thinking," said curator Lu Yinghua.
Cross-border innovation, multi-dimensional display of the beauty of life
On June 18, a double-decker bus decorated with the words "PAM Pingshan Art Museum" appeared in the streets and alleys of Pingshan District, Shenzhen.
During the 4-hour journey, the artists performed image graffiti, a cappella, modern dance, musical instruments and other programs in a flash mob, bringing contemporary art from cultural venues to public spaces such as communities and factories. in front of the audience.
In the three years since its opening, Pingshan Art Museum has held 25 exhibitions, attracting more than 320,000 visitors, and has been selected as one of the top ten domestic contemporary art museums by professional media for two consecutive years.
"On the third anniversary of the opening of Pingshan Art Museum, we launched the 'Global Art Bus Roaming Program', inviting everyone to participate in this artistic journey full of drama, contingency and co-creation." Liu Xiao, Director of Pingshan Art Museum They all compared this event to "setting off fireworks". "Small fireworks and big fireworks are constantly shining in the sky above the city, so as to bring colorful city life to the citizens."
If the moving bus brings the art in the art museum into daily life, then the cross-border cooperation between the exhibition and other art forms is to attract the audience to return to the art museum through the method of "1+1>2". Experience the beauty of life.
Since the opening of the "Austin Lee: Paradise on Earth" exhibition at the Mumu Art Museum (Hall 798) in mid-February, various art groups such as music, dance, comedy and others have come to the scene to seek inspiration and inspiration in the cross-border cooperation with the exhibition. Sparks: Contemporary dancers adjust their costumes and choreography in combination with the highly saturated space design of the exhibition to bring unique dance performances to the audience; at the popular dance party on weekends, swing dancers lead the audience to dance to the music while admiring the artwork. Wonderful; the actors of the improv comedy troupe visited the art museum at night to convey the wisdom and romance of the comedian to the audience; in the immersive art healing activity, the artist used the real scene arrangement of the exhibition to let the participants through a variety of artistic expressions. Harvest positive emotional experiences.
"After each round of the epidemic, the recovery of offline business requires a process, and it will take at least 2 to 3 weeks for passenger traffic to recover." In order to cope with these challenges, Lin Han said that the museum chose to extend the opening time. Art guide activities allow the audience to have greater interest and a more relaxed time to walk into the museum.
"After the resumption of the museum, we immediately launched a new issue of 'One-day Bloggers You Can Also' Free Visiting Group Activities, striving to shorten the recovery period and make the audience more motivated to participate."
Lin Han further commented: "Through planning high-quality exhibitions and cross-border innovative activities, we hope to find new ways for art museums to communicate with audiences and advocate a way of life of an 'art community'."
New exhibitions appear frequently, and the museum looks forward to face-to-face communication with the audience
In an online art healing open class recently held at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Liu Zhengkui, a researcher at the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, talked about "nurturing the heart with beauty".
He pointed out that the healing function of art lies in acceptance and positive construction, which enables people to maintain a balance between rationality and sensibility, and to see the world from the perspective of beauty.
"Let art enter everyone's life and integrate into this era." He appealed.
Entering June, with the improvement of the epidemic situation in Beijing, Shanghai and other places, the work of the art museum has gradually returned to the right track, and the exhibition plans that have been accumulated for a long time will be released in the second half of the year.
On the 20th, the exhibition "The Story of Blue and White" was exhibited at the Poly Art Museum; on the 21st, the "Deng Tuo Donated Ancient Paintings Exhibition" opened at the National Art Museum of China; on the 25th, "Encounter Mesopotamia - Ancient Syria" "Exhibition of Fine Cultural Relics" made a wonderful appearance at the National Classics Museum... In the latest issue of "Events of the Week" on the official account, Wang Jing carefully selected 10 art exhibitions to promote. The circle of enthusiasts is lively again."
"On the day of the reopening, we prepared three exhibition-related prizes and gave them to the first three visitors. Unexpectedly, they were all given away at the moment of the opening." Lu Yinghua introduced that the museum will focus on the current exhibition. The two exhibitions feature seminars, guided tours, and art education, and in the second half of the year there will be an exhibition on the history of 20th-century photography.
"Everyone has gone all out for this, and the urgency of the work has become stronger. We will find a way to continue to advance the work within limited conditions."
At Shenzhen Pingshan Art Museum, Liu Xiaodu and his staff are carefully preparing for the project "Shenzhen Contemporary Artists Series Exhibition".
In his opinion, Shenzhen does not lack traditional art galleries, but lacks public art galleries purely dedicated to contemporary art, and Pingshan Art Museum is trying to make up for this vacancy.
"The whole series is expected to be an exhibition of seven Shenzhen contemporary artists, only one in the first half of the year, and four more in the second half of the year, but we will finalize all the details of the project this year." Liu Xiaodu said.
With the summer vacation approaching, Mumu Art Museum is also intensively preparing for the new exhibition to open at the end of July and early August.
"Qianliang Hutong will hold Martin Margiela's first solo exhibition in Asia. The artist will personally select volunteers to participate in the presentation of his works. We have received hundreds of registration emails; Hall 798 will welcome young Hungarian artist Sabo. This is the first solo exhibition in the art museum of Erzis Bozzo, and some of his creations are deeply influenced by the Chinese mythical story "Havoc in Heaven"." Lin Han said that the art museum will also hold a series of wonderful art markets, youth art festivals, etc. Activity.
How to deal with unknown risks and challenges, Lin Han gave a series of answers such as "make emergency plans in advance", "keep communication with the audience", "closer and more friendly team" and "learn from peers".
"Art galleries are only a part of the entire industry ecology. The recovery of the industry requires the joint efforts of everyone. We are willing to persevere. We can only see if we go far enough." He said.
(Reporter Zhang Yun)