The Making of Global City: Cultural Mega-projects and Private Art Museums in Shanghai and Hong Kong

• In Event: 115 - Section on Asia and Asian America Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 06. Research on Economic and Cultural Institutions in China

Abstract

Art museums are key in defining global city status. The two major global cities in Asia, Shanghai and Hong Kong, are aspired to become the art center of Asia via the construction of cultural mega-projects and the private-public partnership in the making of private art museums. This research focus on the rise of private museums in Shanghai and its linkage to the state-led cultural mega-projects, the West Bund Cultural Corridor, using Hong Kong’s cultural mega-projects, the West Kowloon Cultural District, as a reference point. The paper firstly highlights the rise of China’s contemporary art scene, which is followed by the discussion of two waterfront cultural mega-projects in Shanghai and Hong Kong, and ends with the discussion of challenges, policy implication and the role of state in the making of global cultural center.

Author

• Siqi Tu