Private Museums: Private Fortunes and Public Gains

While attending an exhibition opening in Singapore last week I got to talking to a former gallerist and collector about the health of the art market in Southeast Asia. My reply was that although I was no longer dealing, there were signs that things were slow but there was still hope on the horizon. Much of our conversation revolved around gallery closures, new operating models, and private museums. On reflection, much of what we discussed was touched upon in my quote for the Singapore Business Review some time ago:

“…in the current environment, yes if your business model is not strong, then there will be some natural attrition, because it’s a tough business. You have to work at it through thick and thin and continually grow your client base,” Hampe said, adding that the closure of seven galleries at Gillman Barrack in Singapore in the last year, along with that of the Pinacotheque museum should be put into context. 

“I don’t think it has anything to do with the market. A lot of these organisations appeared because of unnatural intervention. The galleries at Gillman had been incentivised by EDB (Singapore’s Economic Development Board) to set up there, but many had not thought through their business model and [researched] the market in the region and what collectors were ready to embrace. A lot of them were never going to work,” Hampe said, adding “as for the Pinacotheque, museum audiences are hard won over in Singapore and there is already a glut of museums. It really wasn’t well thought out!” (Art dealers find safe haven in Asian collectors’ insatiable appetite, Singapore Business Review, July 2016)

Considering the positive outlook for Southeast Asia in terms of GDP growth, population, and rising middle classes - especially Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam - establishing and growing an arts business in the region is still a worthy prospect. Consolidation looks to be a major theme and I will endeavour to look into that in more detail in a later post.

What is most present in the mind is the recent opening of Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art (MOCAA) in Cape Town, South Africa. The privately funded museum is billed as Africa’s first contemporary art museum and was launched just before the opening of 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London. Cycling back to global market opportunities in recent years, much emphasis had previously been put on the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries. However we seem to be entering a new phase with regional emphasis on ICASA (India, China, Africa, and Southeast Asia). The great value that the museum can contribute not only towards the African art market but also education and understanding is certainly exciting for both Africans and the art world, however the project is not without its detractors. The director’s conflicts of interest and economic and social exclusion have been called out in particular. 

In our immediate vicinity, next month’s launch of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia is hotly anticipated. Despite the four richest men in Indonesia owning as much wealth as the country’s poorest 100 million citizens, Museum MACAN’s director Aaron Seeto has placed much emphasis on the educational imperative of the museum and made it quite clear the museum's purpose is “… NOT just a conversation for elite communities, it’s a conversation for everyone.” Understandably some scepticism lingers in the region as many projects have been short-term vanity projects or despite the great energy and hope surrounding a project, ended up operating quite differently from their publicly stated intentions. 

At the end of the day, without strong public art institutions in Indonesia or South Africa, to have private museums of this calibre can only been seen positively for now. Perhaps, in much the same way as many venerable art institutions in the US evolved, private museums may eventually become public institutions. For now, the art world can count itself lucky that there are individuals with the passion and the means to fill the vacuum. 

References:

https://sbr.com.sg/sites/default/files/singaporebusinessreview/print/Art.pdf

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-global-forces-inspiring-a-new-narrative-of-progress

https://hyperallergic.com/401607/a-closer-look-at-africas-first-contemporary-art-museum/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/23/indonesias-four-richest-men-own-same-as-countrys-poorest-100-million

https://asiancorrespondent.com/2017/09/indonesias-museum-macan-signals-bright-future-art-asia/