The Chinese art market, ravaged by the collapse in prices that saw the disappearance of scores of galleries in the first months of this year, has witnessed the first tentative signs of recovery, underwritten by significant regional government investment in both Shanghai and Beijing.
In June, Shanghai’s Eastlink gallery—one of the country’s longest surviving contemporary galleries—opened a new 700 sq. m space in Beijing. The Chinese capital and other regions will also receive huge investments to stimulate “creative industries”—an umbrella term which includes the arts. Under this programme, said Dong Menyang, director of the Art Beijing fair, “the Beijing government has also set aside Rmb1bn ($146m) to promote cultural industry development.”