November 17–21, 2014
Nanjing Museum, Jiangsu Province
China
Developed in collaboration with the Nanjing Museum, Meeting the West: Exhibitions from American Museums is a program aimed at building cultural dialogues, bridging experiences, and creating pathways for collaboration between Chinese and American museums.
The program offers two integrated components: a Forum for museum leaders to discuss possible opportunities and challenges around exhibition collaborations, and an Exhibition Expo to present exhibition projects available for travel from U.S. to Chinese museums.
The two-day Forum, which coincides with the opening of the Exhibition Expo, features panel presentations by specialists in the field and discussions on topics including successful collaborations, finance, and audience engagement, as well as selecting and shipping objects. Additionally, U.S. participants are invited to continue this dialogue about exhibition exchange during a two-day tour of museums and heritage sites in Wuxi and Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.
For the Exhibition Expo, held at the Nanjing Museum, participating U.S. museums present information on their institutions and up to three exhibitions that may be made available to travel to China. The Expo opens on November 18, 2014, and remains on view for the following month. All U.S. exhibition presentations are also featured in a catalogue published and distributed by the Nanjing Museum.
Participating U.S. Institutions:
American Alliance of Museums, American Federation of Arts, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Baltimore Museum of Art, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Brooklyn Museum, Clark Art Institute, Cleveland Museum of Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Dallas Museum of Art, Dennos Museum Center, Frick Art and Historical Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Newark Museum, Neuberger Museum of Art, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Peabody-Essex Museum, The Phillips Collection, Portland Art Museum, San Antonio Museum of Art, Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, Terra Foundation for American Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Meeting the West: Exhibitions from American Museums is supported by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Mrs. Donald M. Cox, and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
VIDEOS
Panel 1:
Exhibitions: Collaborating for Successful Exhibitions
How do you measure successful exhibitions? What do you want from a partner in an exhibition project? What do you recommend to strengthen the nature and quality of exhibition partnerships between American and Chinese museums?
Moderators:
Dan Monroe, The Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Director and CEO, Peabody Essex Museum
Chen Xiejun, Director, Shanghai Museum
Participants:
Guo Xiaoling, Director, Beijing Capital Museum
Tom Loughman, Associate Director for Program and Planning, Clark Art Institute
Wu Weishan, Director, National Art Museum of China
Alex Nyerges, Director, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Panel 2:
Engaging Audiences: Collaborating across Departments
How does audience research inform exhibition development? What are models for
cross-functional collaboration and why is it important? How do curatorial, education, design, and technology staff work together to develop exhibitions that engage our visitors? What are the challenges for Chinese museums sending exhibitions for U.S. audiences and vice versa when our respective audiences may have different objectives and cultural contexts for their museum visits?
Moderator:
Tian Kai, Director, Henan Provincial Museum and E. Michael Whittington, Director and CEO, Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Participants:
Kaywin Feldman, Director and President, Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Antonia Boström, Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Shi Jinming, Director, Shanxi Museum
Luo Xiangjun, Director, Hebei Provincial Museum
Panel 3:
The Financial Picture: Exhibition Budgets, Funding, and Philanthropy
Chinese and U.S. museums operate with very different financial models. How can we find common ground for developing exhibition budgets and funding mechanisms that will serve both parties? Are there lessons from the U.S. philanthropic community that could be useful in developing a philanthropic culture in China?
Moderators:
Robin Nicholson, Director, Frick Art and Historical Center
Chen Hao, Director, Zhejiang Provincial Museum
Participants:
Thomas J. Loughman, Associate Director for Program and Planning, Clark Art Institute
Colin Mackenzie, Senior Curator of Chinese Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Chen Xiejun, Director, Shanghai Museum
Fang Qin, Director, Hubei Provincial Museum
Panel 4:
Object Lessons: Selecting, Shipping, Snstalling and Protecting Objects
How can we secure appropriate loans? What are some of the parameters for both countries regarding loans? What are the logistics behind a successful exhibition?
Moderator:
Nancy Berliner, Wu Tung Curator of Chinese Art, Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Shi Jinming, Director, Shanxi Provincial Museum
Participants:
Kelly Swain, Senior Coordinator of Exhibitions, Smithsonian International Institute
Anita Chung, Curator of Chinese Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art
Liu Yang, Head of the Asian Art Department and Curator of Chinese Art, Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Tian Kai, Director, Henan Museum
Chen Ruijin, Director, Suzhou Museum
